Hi Scott, thanks for the kind words. I am honoured you feel my article can provide some insight for your students. It has certainty resonated with many people, and for that I feel grateful. However, I certainly don’t consider myself an expert by any means. I wrote this article really as an expression of my love for poetry, and I enjoy sharing new-found knowledge as I acquire it. I suppose what students might take from it is simply this: that poetry requires both the willingness to learn some of the rules, and the courage to break them; to experiment with prose and write something that resonates within them. What upsets them? What inspires them? What haunts them?

I have come to learn, for myself, that poetry is such a personal endeavour. It has to be. Almost all of my poetry, often some of my best, is continually rejected by literary publications. And then now and again, on a blue moon, every two years or so, something is published. If I was to measure my worth as a writer against this brutal reality, I would no longer be writing my poetry. Therefore, poetry must remain first a requirement of the heart; a need to express oneself, just as we need food to sustain the body. Leonard Cohen once said, “Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” I subscribe to this, and those who “burn well” will understand the many layers of this quote, I’m sure.

As far as a good book goes, one that teaches poetry, I honestly can’t think of many that I have picked up and felt instantly inspired. I appreciate a How To Write Poetry book that can instruct on form, verse, imagery, etc, while not taking itself too seriously; remaining playful and inspiring the reader to paint with their words. I also appreciate a book that can offer a little history lesson, here and there. I own Stephen Fry’s book ‘The Ode Less Travelled,’ and would recommend it as a humorous, entertaining and well crafted introduction to poetry.

I hope you enjoy opening some hearts and minds to the world of poetry – there is a treasure trove of gold out there to excavate, and I’m sure you will tap into what motivates and inspires each of your students.

Kind regards,

Jakob