If you want to write good poetry, you need to read more than just good poetry. Don’t get me wrong, it pays to analyse and enjoy the greats. But don’t limit your options for inspiration. Read some ‘bad’ poetry and question why you don’t like it…

Poems have a way of just appearing. Often they come unannounced, bursting out of the silence, screaming to be heard and written down then and there. They are brutal. They don’t negotiate. And they rarely give a second chance. Thus, I have learnt too always be open and ready. I always have something to write on with me; I sleep with a notepad under my pillow, and exercise with another close at hand. I have had the conversation with my family, letting them know that there will be times when I simply must stop whatever it is I am doing to go and write…