  Poetry
This week: Edited by: larryp
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A poet laureate is a poet recognized by a government as the official poet of a country, state or city. The term laureate is related to the laurel wreath, which would crown the head of great writers or poets. It is a symbol of Apollo, the Greek god of wisdom. Thus the title of poet laureate infers the poet is exceptionally skilled and wise.
The tradition of recognizing a poet laureate first began in England. A term, prior to the reign of James I, would have been “king’s poet.” This reflects earlier traditions of a poet or minstrel that might work only at the pleasure of the king and compose poems that would specifically honor the king. Having a minstrel, storyteller or poet, is much older than the monarchies of England. Any nobleman in most European countries would have had designated poets to help mark special occasions and provide entertainment.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-poet-laureate.htm
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One of our members at Writing.com, Pen Name   had the opportunity to review Professor Kevin Stein, the poet laureate of her home state, Illinois, USA. Excerpts from her review are included in this newsletter.
Kevin Stein is the Director of Creative Writing at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and has been Illinois’ Poet Laureate since 2003. He is a highly-published poet and a member of many fellowships. Kevin Stein, an active critic and editor, is passionate about his field of work and the art of poetry. He is involved with organizing the poetic works of Illinois’ poets, while mentoring and nurturing the ‘young poetic voices’ of Bradley University, where the art of poetry thrives – due much to Mr. Stein’s efforts.
~~The Interview~~
Kevin Stein on reviewing or critiquing:
Pen Name - Good morning, thank you so much for speaking with me today. Let me tell you what this is for: writing dot com is a website for writers, where we review and critique each other's work. I am one of the editors for an unofficial site newsletter called the "Reviewing Newsletter."
 Kevin Stein – Oh, okay, when you contacted me, I wasn't sure what you meant by "reviewing." By reviewing, you mean critiquing.
Pen Name You have arguably reached the pinnacle of achievement for your craft of poetry. Do you feel you no longer benefit from someone else reviewing your poems?
Kevin Stein – Only or fool or a god might think that. I've come to depend upon readers I have come to trust over the years. The kinds of comments someone can get from someone besides your mother or your spouse, who will always say nice things, you need someone who can tell you when you've screwed up. They can help you reveal the gem in your work. Let me ask you a question: Don't you feel you are a better ‘critiquer’ of other folks' poems than you are your own?
Kevin Stein on reviewing accomplished poets:
Pen Name – Now that you are following in the footsteps of the great poets, including former Illinois Poet Laureate Carl Sandburg, are people too intimidated or afraid to give you their honest opinions of your poetry?
Kevin Stein – That's a good question. I think I've found two extremes. Some folks are indeed a little hesitant. They don't see their opinion as valuable. They don't see their opinion as a matter of taste.
Pen Name – Taste?
Kevin Stein – Yes, people have different tastes in poetry. The other extreme is that folks like to find fault in one's work because it makes one feel good, or if this poem is flawed, and this person is fairly skilled, there is hope for me.
Kevin Stein on the value of mentors:
Pen Name – In your formative years as a writer and poet, who was a mentor to you? Who gave you feedback when you shared your poetry?
Kevin Stein – I've been lucky. In graduate school at Indiana University, I was surrounded by a wonderful group of fiction and poetry writers, some of whom have gone on to have very fine careers. I think that circle of readers is tremendously important for a writer.
Pen Name – That is what draws and keeps writers to Writing.com
Kevin Stein – Specifically, Dee Young, Ralph Burns, Keith Ratzlaff, fiction writer Clint McCown. These are poets and writers that I still share my work with to this day… Like I say, I feel I've been lucky. It's a solitary art we have chosen, but that sense of community is integral to your growth as a writer.
Kevin Stein on confidence and arrogance:
Pen Name – When did you first feel confident being an editor and literary critic?
Kevin Stein – (laughs) I still don't. That kind of confidence can border on arrogance, which is problematic. I like that sense of unease, uncertainty that I get when I read a poem. I always like to interrogate myself and my own assumptions about poetry once I'm reading it. It's essential to keeping the possibilities of poetry alive. By the time I began to write essays about poetry, I began to think I was valuable. But one can think one knows too much.
Pen Name – So you've never been a know-it-all.
Kevin Stein – I've never met any know-it-alls I like, have you? I've developed a body of knowledge, but I never think of it as complete or full. One has to keep adding to it.
Kevin Stein on important factors in critiquing
Pen Name – For you, what are the elements of a good critique?
Kevin Stein – Attention to detail, an awareness of the overall design, goal, or purpose of the piece of writing. Scrupulous honesty. Lastly, a sense of goodwill.
For more about Poet Kevin Stein, visit:
http://www.bradley.edu/poet/bio/index.shtml
I really appreciate this interview. Since coming to Writing.com, I have greatly enhanced my poetry skills and my reviewing skills. I still have a great deal to learn and I consider the input of other poets invaluable. A poet is in a dangerous place when he or she thinks they have reached a pinnacle where they no longer have anything to learn or gain.
Writing poetry is exciting and challenging, and often lonely. To find a group of fellow poets who promote a ‘sense of goodwill’ and ‘shoot straight’ is foundational, in my opinion, to improving as a poet. This, however, does not take away from the value of personal research, which is another foundation for improvement.
~~The Next Form Challenge~~
For the year 2008, I am presenting a monthy form challenge. All the forms to date have been metered forms and the last few have been sonnet forms. I thought you may like a break from the meter and sonnets, so this month, the form is non-metered and non-rhyming. It is not, however, an easy form.
The Sestina is a form employing six repeating line-ending words, which are repeated in varying sequence in each stanza of the poem. I have provided a few Sestina poems in the featured poems in the "Editor's Picks" for this newsletter.
For an explanation of the Sestina form, see:
If you decide to create a Sestina, I invite you to post it in the non-contest poetry activity "Invalid Item" where you will earn gps for posting your poem and receive credit toward earning a Poetry Merit Badge.
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Some sestina poems from around Writing.com:
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The following sestina poem is by Lexi. When I first came to Writing.com, Lexi was an editor of the Poetry Newsletter. She was also one of my mentors, not only in poetry, but in moderatiing contests as well. Today, there remains a sense of goodwill between Lexi and myself. Her sestina poem inspired my first attempt to create a sestina form.
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Saraband Sonnets written for "Invalid Item" , an activity for creating poems to forms featured in the Poetry Newsletter by larryp
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#1444143 by Not Available. |
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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This newsletter was packed with great material. I could study from this for weeks! warriormom
As always, you put a newsletter together that is truely worth the read.
Monty
monty31802
The editing team of the Poetry Newsletter appreciates your feedback and comments. Thank you for taking the time to read the Poetry Newsletter.
If you have suggestions for topics you would like to see covered in the Poetry Newsletter, please send me an email.
larryp
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Poetry: July 16, 2008 Issue [#2500]
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