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8.
AOTW: What advice do you give to aspiring poets? Who do you tell them to read?
Robin Hirsch: See above [question 5]. Any and all those names, plus some real gutsy contemporary writers --- Jackie Sheeler, Angelo Verga, etc., etc., --- who write about real stuff --- sex, drugs, rock n' roll.
Mary Ann Hoberman: Most of the aspiring writers of poetry for children who ask me for advice turn to me because my verse rhymes. They say that they are discouraged from writing in rhyme by teachers and editors. And truthfully, when I look at much of the rhyming verse written for children, both published and unpublished, I am inclined to agree with them! It doesn't scan properly; the rhymes are often awkward and gratuitous; the subject matter is not very interesting. The use of rhyme seems to bring out the worst in writers who are not born to it. So my advice to such writers is the same as my advice to children --- a poem doesn't have to rhyme and shouldn't rhyme unless it is born that way. If rhythm and rhyme are not organic to what you are saying, don't try to superimpose it.
As for what to read, go to the masters: Lear, Carroll, Milne, Sandburg, Seuss are the ones who jump to mind.
X. J. Kennedy: I suggest that they read widely and at random, trying to inhale some earlier poetry and folk poetry (like the English & Scottish popular ballads and American blues lyrics) as well as contemporary stuff.
Paul B. Janeczko: Any aspiring writers needs to do two things: read and write. You can't be a good writer unless you are a reader. I would tell aspiring poets to grab some anthologies and experiences some new voices. Find poets you like and read as much as you can by that person.
Sonya Sones: Write from the heart. Write about what you know (your own experiences and feelings). Don't avoid writing about the pain in your life. Do avoid using adjectives and cliches. Try to find ways to describe things in fresh, new ways. Similes work well for that. Try to show instead of tell. Like instead of saying "I felt sad" (telling), say "my heart sunk all the way to China" (showing). And read whoever, and whatever, inspires you. It doesn't even have to be poetry. And there are lots of excellent books about how to write poetry that can teach you a lot, including one by my own teacher, Myra Cohn Livingston, called Poem Making.
Marilyn Singer: I tell poets to read a lot and observe a lot. I also tell them to listen to good musical comedy lyricists --- Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin, etc. Those guys know how to use words! As far as poets go, I like the ones mentioned before (Shakespeare, Donne, Hopkins, Dylan Thomas), as well as Basho, Langston Hughes, T. S. Eliot, Naomi Shihab Nye, Billy Collins, Nikki Giovanni, Jane Yolen, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Nikki Grimes, Alice Schertle, Kristine O'Connell George, Karla Kuskin, Ashley Bryan, Valerie Worth, and many, many others.
Alan Katz: The only advice I would give them is to ask someone else for advice. But I do know Marie Ponsot's work is worth reading.
Betsy Franco: Everyone has something to say. Believe in yourself. Then stretch yourself by reading poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks and B. P. Nichol. It took me a long time to let myself be inspired by other poets, but now it's an integral part of my process.
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