Category: essay
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Sink the Shot and Save the Poem
Let’s talk about ending poems. Reading through slush I’m always looking for a kick-ass ending to a poem. It’s like watching a close basketball game. Last quarter, 2 seconds on the clock, poet racing down the page. Here’s the throw at the buzzer and Ohh…..it bounces off the rim. I hate that. I want the…
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Reading, Writing, and Reviewing
Forgive me Internet, for I have sinned. I meant to write a review of that kick-ass book I just read, but alas, my own ego got in the way. The book inspired me to whip open my poetry file and start banging out words. Reading is not a soul-sucking endeavor, as some people seem to…
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Spin Poetry from your Dreams
Poetry Triggers – Dreams by Elya Braden, Gyroscope Review Assistant Editor Many famous writers have used their dreams as inspiration for their writing, including Edgar Allen Poe for The Raven and Mary Shelley for Frankenstein. Often, when I sit down to write a poem based on a past experience, my initial writing is “too linear.”…
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Poetry Triggers – Music
What flips you over into a poetry mindset? A word, a smell, a glimpse of a sunset over the mountains, the feel of sand while walking on a beach? Many times, for me, it’s a song. It could be the music or the words, but the winning combination is usually the right mix of intelligent…
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Great Openings in Poetry
Instead of telling you of my trials and tribulations pertaining to the writing of multiple poems per week, I thought instead I’d discuss some of my influences – a poet whose work I admire, a poet I read for inspiration, a poet who piss me off because I will never, ever be able to turn…
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Poem Analysis – Taming the Wild Verse
Faced with a daunting task, you whip out your sword and poke tentatively at the page. The poem rears back like a cobra and strikes, rapping your knuckles and yanking the blade from your numb fingers. Defenseless, you stand and accept the myriad of paper cuts dished out by the sneering paper. Reading a poem…