Today, as all of us in America know, is inauguration day. And, regardless of political and partisan affiliations, today is a day to come together and celebrate our democracy. Because, whether we agree with our country's selection of the president-elect or not, we will have a peaceful transition of power. Nowadays, after 45 presidents, this may seem normal. But back in 1801 when sitting president John Adams was not reelected in favor of his political adversary Thomas Jefferson, the nation was holding its breath and the world waited for us to collapse. But we did not. And today, for the 46th time, we are renewing our resolve to stay united, seemingly against the odds at times.

Plus, as if that is not enough reason to celebrate, the first young poet, former National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, will become the 6th and youngest inaugural poet ever. And, fun fact: she was a WriteGirl! Her poem, "The Hill We Climb", was specifically commissioned for the inauguration and is sure to be a treat to watch. (And it was! The word play, the hand motions, the Maya Angelou bird cage ring!)

But just because the president of the United States didn't personally contact you to write a poem to celebrate today doesn't mean that you can't. This momentous event only comes once every four years, after all. That's not to mention the unique set of circumstances and challenges our country has to overcome. So, today, I challenge you to write something, anything, to mark the occasion. It could be a six word story, a poem, a creative nonfiction piece, a book idea. And, if you feel so inclined, share it with us in the comments. We could make a fun bout of this :)

(publication date = last time updated)

Hi guys! I'm hoping to create a post on publication prepping tips soon, but seeing as this one took a while to get to, I think I'll leave you with a few slivers of advice just in case: read pieces the publication has published before submitting and adhere to their submission guidelines to the T. Also-- I'd love if you guys could help me build this list! Just comment down below any publications you've enjoyed reading or submitting to, and I'll check it out + add it. We can all help one another out :)

Although poetry is more than the words it's made of, there are methods you can use to better translate the image, emotions, or thoughts in your head onto the page and recreate the moment. So after you are able to transfer your poem onto paper, consider some of the following aspects of it to see if you can better convey what you mean to say (hey, that rhymed!).

The title of your poem is always important, because it's kind of like the headline of your poem. It sets the entire tone. As such, there is also a lot of ways to pique interest in your poem and play around with your title. For instance, a haiku with a super long title. Or a poem where the title can serve as your first line. Have fun with it, and consider whether or not you would read a poem with your title.

It's been a trend recently, at least in the poems I'm reading, to strategically use capitalization to convey the state of mind of the narrator or the general mood of the poem. One of the most noticeable uses of it that I think is most meaningful is not capitalizing "I". It illustrates that the narrator isn't confident, and feels that they don't deserve to be capitalized. You can also use capitalization, like in the middle of a line, to emphasize a word. The reason the capitalization is meaningful is because poetry is also very visual, and details like that of this one can add to the reader's experience.

Archetypes are one of the things I learned in school from reading poetry and short stories, and the concept in itself is pretty cool. Essentially, it's how certains things (colors, numbers, seasons, time of day) have various meanings and connotations that can be utilized, and the knowledge of these symbols and what they mean is knowledge every person already has when their born. Neat, right? Some examples are winter symbolizes death, and light symbolizes knowledge. Perhaps not all of your readers will consciously notice these, but utilizing archetypes can add another dimension to your poetry, and using specific symbols can add undercurrents and depth to your poem. (I'll post a list soon & link it, but for now you'll have to look them up)

Punctuation is important in your poem, particularly because poetry can also become aural (the listen version of visual). As maybe your teachers have told you, you aren't supposed to pause at the end of each line-- it's at the punctuation. The use of punctuation, or lack of thereof, can be used to indicate states of mind, the cadence of the poem, etc.

This one relates back to the visual aspect of poetry. Line breaks give more air to your piece, which also adds to the form of it. I've seen poem in the shape of a lightning bolt, and created one with different justifications (left, right, center), so there's definitely a lot to fiddle with.

This one is kind of self-explanatory, but what I'm getting at here is the flow or choppiness of a poem. This is partially controlled by punctuation and line breaks (for phrasing), and really affects the way your (or the narrator's) voice will come through. The best way to determine if it flows the way you'd like it to is to read it aloud. 

...yeah, this one encompasses a lot. And they affect everything above this. Similes, metaphors, repetition, alliteration, and rhyme are probably some of the main ones, or most noticeable ones, but there is also assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, etc. Idioms aren't too common though, but it can be fun to put a spin on common idioms. I think it's important to look at what each poetic device does to it's reader as well. For example, the similes and metaphors affect the imagery of a poem. Repetition, alliteration, consonance, and assonance slow the reader down, making them move attention to the words. Rhyme gives the poem a certain cadence-y feeling to it. Most of these poetic devices should come naturally within the writing, and if it doesn't don't force it! Overdoing it with poetic devices can definitely detract from your poetry's original messages.

And I believe that concludes the technical elements! I like to think that the consideration of these elements should come in the editing phase, but you have the ultimate jurisdiction over that. Hope this helped, and let me know how it went + any questions down in the comments!

Poetry is one of my favorite forms of creative writing, and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. Now, you probably know a good amount amount poetic devices from school: rhyme, alliteration, metaphor, similes, idioms, personification, assonance, consonance, etc. Because of this, I won't go into detail on each. However, many times, the way poetry is taught in classrooms is through poems with more archaic language, and this results in lots of people believing that poetry is fancy nonsense. 

If you can't tell, I'm somewhat irked with this method of teaching poetry, just because it's because of these misconceptions that were formed and nurtured that prevented me from writing poetry earlier on.

So, if poetry is not a crazy code created simply for the purpose of torturing innocent students, what is it? 

The answer to this question is different for every poet. That is part of the beauty of poetry, I believe. According to the dictionary, it's "a literary piece with a special intensity". In my opinion, poetry is boundless. It can rhyme, it can not rhyme. It can be a sentence long, or a page. A poet can write for others, and they can write for themselves. Poetry is anything you, the poet, call poetry. In short, poetry is freedom.

At its core though, the one thing all good poems have in common is sensory details and emotion. Sensory details is a fancy phrase for tidbits that appeal to either your sight, touch, hearing, smell, or taste. These details are important because they serve as gateways to allowing the reader to experience what you are writing about, which lends itself to conveying emotion. 

With those being the only two "requirements" really, poetry can be intimidating in it's vastness. What I mean by vastness is that there are so many artistic choices you can make, it's hard to know where to start. Thus, I think the first step to begin writing poetry is to sit down and try to write a poem. If you think it should rhyme, make it rhyme! Not sure? Maybe give a prompt a go. Whatever you do, just start writing. After you get down that first poem, you might you think it sucks. And maybe it does. But write another, and another after that. They will be better.

As you continue to write it, you'll find that poetry is not hard, and that anyone can write it. Is just a matter of whether you're willing to put your mind on the page.