Category Archives: Poetry

It’s National Poetry Day

  By John Rea-Hedrick | October 8, 2009 - 4:51 pm | Poetry
Leave a comment

I’m home caring for a flu-ridden family today, but thanks to Twitter (and @heatherwpetty). I learned that today is National Poetry Day!

I blogged earlier this week that when I’m writing fiction and caught up in word dissection, I find switching to formal poetry helps me to get it out of my system.  It also leaves me with some new poetry.  So in the spirit of National Poetry Day I’ve decided I’d share some of my poetry here.

Your comments are welcome, just remember . . . I’m a poetry amateur so be gentle if you must be brutal!

Thanks!

If you want to follow my future poetry postings just click on the Poetry category link.

How writing poetry helps me write fiction

  By John Rea-Hedrick | October 7, 2009 - 7:44 am | Poetry, Writing
2 Comments

I am a stickler for words.  I’ve tried to pretend it’s not true, but it is.  For instance . . .

  • I hate it when people at the office chat over instant messaging in all lower case and and don’t bother to spell check. (NOT referring here to texting shorthand like ‘thx’ or ‘l8r’)
  • I cringe (just a little) when my 12YO says at the dinner table ‘Can I be excused?’, instead of ‘May I…’  (Of course she can, but whether or not I’ll let her is another matter.)
  • My hackles raise just a bit whenever anyone says to me ‘Why don’t you {fill in the blank}’.  (They’re not really asking me if I will do something; they’re asking me to tell them why I won’t.

I digress.

Often when I’m working on a story I find myself rewriting the same passages over and over again, trying to get the words just right.  (more…)