Excerpt: The Zen of Poetry by Cynthia Sharp
Guidance For Beginner to Intermediate Writers
I’m so grateful to The Seaboard Review of Book’s Editor-in-Chief James M. Fisher for this opportunity to share an excerpt from my new release The Zen of Poetry for Beginner to Intermediate Writers! Like Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art, The Zen of Poetry for Beginner to Intermediate Writers is an intentionally distilled, concise invitation to get going. Wrapped in gentle zen, the book offers a quick look at current poetry trends with exercises from my most popular workshops, building a meditative approach to a solid writing practice. Ideal for individual use at home, community centres and retreats, in addition to college and high school classrooms, this conversational guide is for anyone who wants to try poetry for the first time and isn't sure where to start, along with seasoned bards wishing to rekindle their passion for the craft.
“I wanted to do for poetry what Elements of Style does for prose—condense a decade of study and experience into an accessible, easy-to-follow guide.”
The chapters progress from a beginner to a high intermediate level so that there’s something for everyone, from people writing their first poem to those delving deeply into literary analysis and editing techniques.
For TSR readers, an excerpt exercise—respond to the poem “What Stories Are in Your Hands?”
What Stories Are in Your Hands?
When you look at your palms, what stories do they hold? What spirits have you loved? What work have you done? What have your hands built? What children have they held? Have they washed dishes, served coffee, poured tea? Painted pictures, cleaned the containers, wiped down the room? Have they soothingly filtered sand or tenderly touched the smooth ocean-washed stones by the sea? What strength is in your fingertips? Do they lightly brush the hair from a child's eyes? Press deeply into the strings of a guitar? Gently caress your partner's skin? What stories are in your hands?
Watch: The Zen of Poetry Launch with Host Barbara Ehrentreu
About the Author
Known as Canada’s Mary Oliver, Cynthia Sharp is the Writers International Network Vancouver Poet Laureate. She’s the author of Ordinary Light, a first-prize winner in the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society BC Author Awards, as well as in the International Impact Book Awards in Sustainability and Contemporary Poetry. She also penned Rainforest in Russet and The Light Bearers in the Sand Dollar Graviton. Her poems and reviews can be found in many literary journals including CV2, untethered and The Pitkin Review and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Anthology.
Yes to Earth Medicine!