How I Write and Edit My Poems
I want them to be gems.
Poetry is so personal. Still, good poetry is not independent of rules and processes. The craft matters.
This article is not a manual. This is my way of making poetry. The writing is highly subjective, but the editing applies to a broader range of poetry.
The writing
I experimented with poetry in meter and rhyme, in my youth, and even won prizes with it. But, with time, I settled with a stable and defined free form of lyric poetry. I needed an extremely dense, minimalistic, and authentic form, so I saw any structure as an impediment.
My writing starts with inspiration. If this sounds naïve, it is. I’m probably not a poet. I’m only able to write poems on inspiration. If I try to force my writing, that’s a sure ticket to a complete disaster.
Inspiration happens rarely, but it happens. It feels like some events and energies intersect into a particular moment of my life. I know that that moment is unique, and it carries a powerful feeling or emotion.
Nowadays, inspiration also decides the language, either native — Italian — or English.
Words start to flow. One by one. Sometimes stumbling, sometimes more regular. It happens that, line by line, the full but short poem is…
