A roundup of Substacks that teach poetry!
Poetry (pen) Pals #45
A slightly different one this week.
With being a bit of a poetry novice, my initial intention with this poetry blog (anyone else STILL struggle with what to call the damn Substack thing) was never to teach. Well, not in the traditional way anyway. I supposed there might well be lessons hidden within my going wrongs and honest reflections. Connection through me sharing some of my own poetry. I felt I could bring a lot of passion and plenty of encouragement to read and write more poetry but craft knowledge - erm nope. Experience having published numerous collections - not here.
I more hoped that we would ‘learn’ together via the process of enjoying and playing with poetry. From live poetry circles providing a safe place to listen and practise (don’t forget we have our Poets Christmas (not) Party tomorrow evening - details here). From other poets, from reading A LOT of poetry (particularly poetry written by women), from just having a go at some poetry prompts without any pressure to ‘learn’ at all.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to improve my craft and since there are so many newsletters dedicated to writing fiction and memoir and even Substacks (!) I’ve been wondering where we can find the talented poetry teachers on here. I’ve read a few ‘roundups’ of publications writing poetry (I am here for all of these), but I’m yet to find one that tells me the best places to get my fix of HOW to write poetry.
The poetry scene on Substack seems to be a growing one. It’s still not huge of course but compared to the often tiny sections of book shelves IRL (in an Oxfam bookshop I visited this past week there was a shelf dedicated to books on ‘dogs’ (!) but no poetry section), it feels encouragingly positive. It feels welcoming and full of poetic delights.
And I know that within this scene there are some wonderful places to learn the craft of poetry writing. So I started making a list. I asked the question on Notes and had a few suggestions - thank you (less engagement than when I previously posted a picture of my guinea pig though so, you know, don’t rely on Notes too heavily, ha).
But it’s within the comments and over time that I hope this list will grow. Because I know there are others yet to be discovered. And I can update this post and we can all save it and come back to it when we need, not just encouragement and plenty of poetry to read (hopefully I’d feature on my own list for this…) but also a touch of real expertise.
Yes please.
SUBSTACKS that teach the CRAFT of POETRY WRITING:
- - Poet and essayist Maggie Smith gives craft tips, poem dissections and SO many reasons to love poetry (and life).
- - Many brilliant poems / essays shared which prompt deeper thinking and inspiration for our own poetry writing.
100 Poems by
- As the name suggests, tons of great poetry, prompts and ‘explorations of craft and creativity.’- . A personal favourite. Expect powerful honesty, real experience of poetry publishing and generous poetry guidance. Oh and it can also be very funny.
- - Learn from one of the best - real expertise and excellent poetry round ups via ‘Poems for the Weekend.’
Unbox your Words -
- Give yourself permission to play. Yes.The Day Job -
- A growing collection of guidance and life as a full time poet.Segments -
- Poems, creative essays and craft notes aplenty.Velvet Reverie -
- Self-publishing experience, prompts and wonderful poetry.The Orange Verse -
- Prompts, inspiration, poems, community!PopPoetry -
- For an intriguing foray into poetry, pop culture and creativity this is the place. A less obvious way into poetry, which of course, is appreciated.Poetry Bulletin -
- Aiming to make the publication process ‘friendly and easier.’ Enough said.Poetry Witchery -
- Spells, magic. mythology and poetcraft.Poetry Unbound -
- Most of us will know of this one and have enjoyed Pádraig’s dulcit tones on the podcast by the same name. But within this Substack you’ll also find questions begging to inspire some of your own poetry.Poet to Poet by
- For a focus on manuscript development.How to Survive an Existential Crisis -
- Musings on life and poetry with challenges and craft notes from the brilliant Nikita Gill.Unschool for Writers -
- Articles and writing advice on far more than just poetry.Corie Feiner -
- Yoga poems and lots more linking poetry to the body!Image Word Mystery -
- “the power of creative play to create meaning,” for those who enjoy delving deep with their poetry.Over to you… any others????
Your Writing Prompt for this week:
Sometimes it won’t be a ‘prompt’ that I feel an urgency to share. It will be a story or a conversation, a feeling or an injustice. Because for me personally I won’t always start off wanting to write a poem but end up in that realm. The inspiration can come from someone else’s poem, or essay, or song. And sometimes it will come from an intentional desire to try something new.
This week I was wanting to try out a different poetry form again and for that I realised I needed some help. A few months ago I slowed down my search for guest writers. Why? Well, partly because I realised that finding the right guests was taking up a lot of time (I’m not ‘well connected’ in the poetry world). And partly because I wanted to try and get braver with using my own voice. This was always meant to be a personal Substack and I felt I was hiding a bit. Saying that, the guest posts have been a real highlight this year, so, hmm, one I’m still mulling over.
Anyway, this week, in searching out places to learn the craft of poetry writing, I found a brilliant post by someone who also clearly values playfulness and embracing the process. So that’s where we are heading. Over to
whose post instructs on how to write a sestina:
A sestina!!! Are you up for it? I’m a little daunted I’ll be honest. But it’s just play remember, just playing. Thank you
- we’ll be sure to head over and link to / share our efforts and gratitude.Until Friday,
Nelly x
P.s Don’t forget to let me know any other poetry teachers on here that should be on the list. I’m sure there must be tons more. Surely?
Such a good list! I'm now following so many more teachers and eager to hear what they have to say. Thank you, Nelly! (and just FYI, I consider you part of this list).
Gorgeous selection Nelly! I'm biased but Maya C. Popa's group is incredible xo