<div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:black;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">This is a
challenging piece of work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I think you’ve
done a supurb job in describing the process, <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">though I have some
suggestions and questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">I found it to be a
thought provoking<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">essay. <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">It is academic in
nature. <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Consequently, it
is not a spellbinding, can’t-put-it-down kind of work. <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Yet, you’ve
managed to make it exciting and worth the effort to to study the essay.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">It’sworth several
reads, and should be published.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Thoughts On The
Poetic Process: an essay</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">© By Brad Corallo</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Word count 825</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Linda Gray Sexton wrote: “writing is magic. Because it
harnesses the energy generated by the chaos within.”(1) So, what is a poet but
a lightning rod of the human condition? The desirability of being a lightning
rod is questionable. Psychological thunder storms are a needed source of one’s
energy. Thus a certain amount of violent and exquisite pain must inspire and
inform the poet’s work. In addition to sharing the magic of the strike of
electrically created luminescence, a lightning rod also conducts and safely disperses
energy. This process may be seen as the basis of the poet’s creative spark and
with artfully channeled energy a poem may be quickened. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Everything in this
paragraph is so far beautifully<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></font><font size="3">written.</font><font size="3"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Electrifying , one
might say.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">For some, this process can be cathartic and even
therapeutic. Of course, there is a price to pay for catharsis and therapy.
Endurance, intensity and hard work are often required. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">In this writer’s experience, things that are less
spectacular than lightning strikes often are the events that nudge the
evolution of one or more word sequences toward the development and birth of a
poem. Almost anything: a song, a cat rolling over in a patch of sunlight, an
unpleasant bus trip, observing people interacting, an unusual odor and an ice
cream cone to mention a few can cause the creation of a seemingly significant
phrase or word sequence. When this happens the poet must get it written down in
some fashion as soon as possible. After this occurs, a complex creative process
may be activated. Sometimes these phrases and word sequences can ignite a
frenzy of ideas which are written down rapidly and even feverishly. At this
stage, the poet is not concerned with perfecting language. Rather it is more
important to capture connected ideas or images before they get away. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">Great </font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">description. This is (one) example of how
a</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">poem may be generated.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">It certainly fits
what is most often my process.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Other times, thoughts and images may slowly constellate
around the initial seed i.e. the seemingly significant phrase or word sequence.
In this case, shifting around the various components may facilitate poem
development. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">I believe you are
saying that non-vocalized sensations can inspire<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">a poem in the same way that words and
language can. <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Of course, since
it is a poem, these impressions have to be translated into words.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">For some, once the process is activated, God help anyone or
anything that interrupts or interferes with it. Other poets can start and stop
the process; finding that periods of time away from the developing organism can
enhance its flourishing and growth. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">It often works
that way for me.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">*</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Approximately five years ago, when I had a first poem
published, I was deeply invested in trying to figure out where poems came from.
I wrote the below then and have resurrected it as I believe it is seminal to
the current effort. I am not sure if there need to be eight steps in the
process. Some may be combined. But I do think that the below does accurately put
into words a process that still can amaze me after all the poems and all the
years. Truly, it still does and I think it always will.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">1. Idea/inspiration: this occurs when I feel the “itch” from
which a poem can come. It might start from something I hear, observe or
experience or it can come like a flash from somewhere unknown. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">One source not
mentioned is when you try to find<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">the
inspiration or idea without it coming unexpectedly. <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">People who write
on a schedule, need to develop that source.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">2. Incubation: this takes place in the mind. It is a process
in which the idea/inspiration gathers crucial bits which will be important
parts of its expression. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Here, examples
would be helpful.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">3. Initial burst: frenzied compulsive writing about the
incubated idea/inspiration.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Although I am
familiar with this step, much of my writing does not go through a frenzied,
compulsive step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">It’s nice when it
does. <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">A lot of writing
is just slogging through wetlands.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">4. Irrigation: this involves feeding the main emerging
themes of the proto-poem.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Examples needed.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">5. Crystallization: this is the forming of the basic matrix
of the poem.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Is this like
outlining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Is this just
getting a clearer idea of where the poem is going and what it will be about? <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I’m pretty sure
you don’t mean this. <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">I think you can
describe this step more clearly.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">6. paring: this is eliminating whole lines, repositioning
words and lines and generally cutting out the deadwood.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Absolutely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">Clear.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">7. Polishing: this is taking the pared piece and doing fine
tuned word substitution, smoothing phrasing, refining lines and pauses and
determining desired punctuation. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Easily understood.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Absoluely
necessary.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></span></o:p></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">8. completion: this is that moment when you know that for
better or worse the poem is indisputably DONE!!! Some writers have told me that
“8” can be indefinite for them. For me “8” is when the “itch” in “1” is fully
and comfortably scratched and the cat purrs.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><font size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Sometimes this
never happens, yet the piece is ready for presentation.<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">NOTES:</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">(1) Linda Gray Sexton</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Searching for <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Mercy
Street</st1:address></st1:street></font><font size="3">: my journey back to my mother Anne Sexton,</font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">Little Brown and
Company</font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">1994 (audio version) section “Companionship.” </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">2. The portion above the star was written August 27, 2019
totally independent of the section below the star and was influenced by my
emersion in Anne Sexton’s life and work. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">3. The section below the star was written September 20, 2014
and was inspired by an interview with Margo Lagattuta from Books and Beyond in
which she discussed her piece “The Seven Elephants of Creativity.” As stated
above, I was about to be published for the first time around 9-20-14 and was
obsessed with the question of where poems came from. I wrote the second section
below the star accept for the bridging paragraph at that time. Originally there
was no thought of fitting it into the current piece. However I somehow remembered
it,reread it and felt it was well thought out and worthy of inclusion. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><st1:personname w:st="on"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">jamesstarfire@gmail.com</font></st1:personname></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><o:p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></o:p></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font></div>