Poet Jane Hirshfield said "... the feeling I have about poem-writing (is) that it is always an exploration, of discovering something I didn't already know. Who I am shifts from moment to moment, year to year. What I can perceive does as well. A new poem peers into mystery, into whatever lies just beyond the edge of knowable ground."
I bring a different poem to the writing classes each week, not only to inspire but to introduce new poets to the group members.
Tone by Sonnet L’Abbe
is an important aspect of any class text. Ask your professor if you may say no way! to object, or hey! to interject, in any essay meant to earn respect. You can’t say: this dude Knows his shit. Nor can you Say: he’s full of it. to argue Your point, your joint Gotta have vocab game. However and nonetheless Kick but’s ass. They got Up-in-the-front-of-the-class. Address to impress. Your convention hall pass. The rules of tone are all unspoken. One learns the hard way that they can be broken. ~ from Red Silk: An Anthology of South Asian Canadian Women Poets (Mansfield Press, 2004)