But what I’ve noticed when people use the word ‘free’ in most contexts is that they use it in a loaded way. You’ll often hear people say of government services – education would be a good example – that it’s ‘free’. Actually, it’s not. But it appears to be free so they think it is. That’s what might be called an optical illusion. It should more accurately be called a mental perception illusion.

The nature of free is such that there contains within it a duality that cannot be escaped. All freedom consists of freedom to and freedom from. It can be likened to Kierkegaard’s Either/Or dichotomy. We’ll call it the To/From dichotomy.

The To aspect of ‘free’ (re: freedom) is an expression of liberty within an individual’s range of choices. Being in a state of ‘free’ gives an individual a right to make decisions regarding X without restriction. In other words, all options are open.

The From aspect of ‘free’ is the expression of restraint upon an external force that has the power or authority to restrict an individual’s range of choices regarding X.

Let’s put these definitions into the context of the political realm. If an individual is free then he or she is said to be free to do something yet free from something else. The X factor in the To aspect of free as it relates to the context of politics is the right to perform actions that do not injure another party who is also free. The X factor in the From aspect of free as it relates to the context of politics refers to a legal restraint on the external force of government to restrict an individual’s choices. That is, From freedom stops government from restricting individuals from exercising their To freedom rights.

How about some examples:

• Religion – To: Choose one; From: Congress has no right to respect one religion over another or prohibit the free exercise of any religious practice.
• Press – To: Write what you will; From: Government cannot stop you from writing.
• Speech – To: Speak your mind; From: Government cannot stop you from speaking your mind.
• Sex – To: Pick a partner; From: Government cannot stop you from choosing a partner, even a partner of the same sex or a partner that someone else has not approved.
• Firearms – To: Maintain a posture of self defense through ownership of guns and weapons for that purpose; From: Government cannot stop you from protecting yourself and your family.
• Employment – To: Choose your occupation; From: Government cannot choose your occupation for you.

I hope I have made these distinctions clear with these illustrations. Now, I’d like to turn them over into the context of poetics.

The To/From Dichotomy In The Free Of Poetics

Whenever poets and literary critics discuss free in the context of poetics, as in ‘free verse’, it is usually in the aspect of From. They are most often making a comment that asserts that free verse is free from meter. And it is. To some extent. Not completely.

In actuality, the From aspect of free verse is not a complete break from meter. That is the common conception, but it denies the To aspect of free. What the From aspect of free verse is, and not just on the surface, is a freedom from the constraints of meter. That’s a far cry different than ‘free from meter’.

Meter, it’s raw character, that is, is a constraint. It restricts the freedom of a poet to do as he pleases. The poet may want to write a sonnet that ignores the metrical pattern of iambic pentameter, but if he does so then he won’t be writing a sonnet. The constraint of the form – the meter – restricts the poet from exercising his freedom to do otherwise.

The To nature of free verse, however, allows a poet a full range of choices. It does not close off the choice to employ meter when and if desired. It simply places a restriction upon the constraint of meter just as the From aspect of political freedom places restrictions upon government to place legal constraints upon citizens.

Seen this way, poets who write free verse can exercise more options.

How ‘To’ Freedom Can Make Poetry Better

I believe poets, particularly free verse poets, who consider the ‘free’ in free verse to be an expression of the From aspect of freedom are limiting themselves and their abilities to create. Of course, a poet who writes only in meter isn’t writing free verse. That’s obvious. But a poet that mixes it up, with a little meter here and there thrown in with free verse lines here and there, is exercising a full range of options.

Poets who see themselves as free from the constraints of meter will likely not pay much attention to the traditional modes of expression that made poetry what it was prior to the 20th century. But poets who see themselves as free to exercise all options do not have such a restriction. They have the latitude to be more creative.

This is the basic building block of Millennial Poetics. The ‘free’ in free verse is an expression of To as much as From. The free verse poet does not have to employ meter and may never do so, but he leaves that option on the table. Not just from poem to poem, but from sequence to sequence and from line to line. Free verse is a To/From proposition.

Consider the following lines, trite though they may be:

I dropped my dolly in the dirt
I asked my dolly if she hurt
And all my dolly would she say
Was, “How the hell would you feel asshole?
It feels pretty crappy!”

Silly as these lines are, you can see the obvious metrical pattern in the first three lines. Each consists of four metered feet consisting of iambs – iambic tetrameter. But the last two lines of this sequence do not fit the pattern. The reader is free to emphasize the words of choice. One reader may emphasize “How”, “hell” and “you” while another may emphasize “Was”, “the” and “feel” in the penultimate line.

This is effectively what Ezra Pound meant when he said, “compose in the sequence of the musical phrase, not in the sequence of the metronome.” The intent was not to break free of meter completely, though that has been the effect in free verse circles.

Poetry is best when it carries a melody. Music. Cadence. Even without the meter. Poetry that has no rhythm is failing to do its job. It’s like candy without sugar.

The poetry of the 21st century needs to move back toward the musical and away from the blandly philosophical. Poets should study meter, not to employ its constraints, but to engage in its possibilities. By re-engaging with the poetry of the past, the poetics of the future can invigorate itself with greater freedom, a higher level of creativity, and an expanded range of choices for the poet. Free will once again be free rather than relegated to the chains of Un.

I asked my poetic friend what was the reason for that decision. He said, “Because there are so many other words you can use.”

True. So true. Who could argue?

While pondering this solid truth I decided to come up with other overused words in poetry. Here’s my list of top 15 overused words in poetry (besides “soul”). Be sure to tell me yours.

Overused Words In Contemporary Poetry

1. I – No. 1 on my list is perhaps the most overused word in the English language. “I” gets used so often that I think the rest of the alphabet is about ready to gang up on it. I hate the word with such a passion that I feel like gouging my eyes out when I see it. I-yi-yi-yi … (eyes roll) … lay off it already.
2. Love – This sweet little four letter word gets used almost as often as the word that precedes it. Its only saving grace is that poets often find other uses for the word “I”. OK, we get it. You love what’s-his-name. Don’t send him your poem. Send him a love letter instead.
3. Fuck – If poets can’t talk tenderly about love they’ll talk crassly about fucking, even when the word isn’t even used to describe intercourse. This is probably the most overused curse word in poetry. Most of the time it isn’t necessary. That’s why many poets vow to never use it. But I wouldn’t go that far.
4. Sex – If there’s one thing the poets love it’s sex. And if they aren’t talking about making love or fucking then they’re conjuring up images of wild sex on a lily pad or something. You’d think poets have nothing better to do than have lots of sex. While that sounds extremely gratiating, how about a little more ingenuity?
5. Moon – We got it. It’s nighttime. Now move on.
6. Night/Nocturne – Speaking of night, why does every poet have to write a nocturne or an ode to the night sky? Can someone answer that, please? Why? Why?
7. Hyacinth (or any flower really) – Why do poets like flowers? Are we really all a bunch of sissies?
8. Heron - We understand you grew up near the sea, but do you really have to have a heron in your poems? Or a loon? Why not a penguin?
9. Aubade – The only type of poem poets write more than nocturnes are aubades. Thanks Philip Larkin! You really fucked us good, man.
10. Persephone, or any Greek god - Can’t you just let sleeping gods lie? I mean, they really have a lot to do these days, keeping up with the competition and all. Let the gods go already. They really don’t like being summoned by you mortals and your silly songs.
11. Pale – We know your lover has pale cheeks. You told us that in the last poem. Unless you’re going to impale those cheeks with a moon-shaped hacksaw, we really don’t care.
12. Heart – Jesus, how many hearts do you have? All you need is one. And you’ve broke it already.
13. Angel – Good thing angels aren’t Greek gods. They’d be used more often. Seriously, your poem about loving Jesus isn’t going to be any better because you put a golden-winged angel in it. And, yes, seraphim are angels. It’s an overused word too.
14. Cicada – I love nature poems. But why do they all have chirruping cicadas that lullaby the poet to sleep? Use a grasshopper or a horned toad. Something besides a frickin’ cicada.
15. Dark – OK, you hate love poems. So you write “dark” poems instead. Why do you use the word dark? It doesn’t make the poem any darker. Put a light in it and the dark will be darker. Better yet, quit writing dark poems. They’re depressing.

Well, now that I’ve pissed off the entire pantheon of U.S. poets proud of their moonlighting accomplishments, we can move on to greater things, like extolling the virtues of flarf. But seriously, if you feel that I’ve missed a few, you can add your own. What other overused words do poets use? Come on now, bare your soul.

By Elizabeth Kirschner

This is what I’ve been up to lately, mentoring poets of all ages and stages through a program called: Wise Eye: Creating Poetry That Soars. In this way I become the student of words that are not my own while seeking to kindle passion in those who bring poems to me. I believe, after writing for some thirty-five years, in Eugene Montale’s dictum, “that genius is one long passion” and that the harvest which comes from cultivating that passion is rich indeed.

As mentor I must teach other lovers of the poem to let it have, as Juan Ramon Jimenez insists, both roots and wings. These roots must have wings and the wings must have roots. A good poem levitates just above the page with lines that delicately delineate its root system thus letting the words fly in. That’s when it sings. A paradox then, the poem is silence that sings.

I also think that poems are embodiments of soul and our souls need to be in motion in order to cause movement, a waltz of words across the page. Roots and wings, song and dance, all done via the scripture of language. This scripture can be taught, must be taught because the illusion of poetry is to make it look effortless and sound like natural speech. This does not come naturally. Thoroughly crafted entities, simple or ornate, all poems are little houses of prayer.

Poets are the givers of attention to the least of things: moths flying into the flame, tiny mirrors reflecting deep, deep waters. I awoke last night thinking about what I deem as the articulate detail, one that speaks within and beyond itself. Details are fireflies alighting on the tip of our tongues. Thing-ness is all-ness and the difference between statement and implication is a crucial one to understand.

This, too, does not come naturally to the poet. Detail enlarged into image enlarged into metaphor takes mega-power. Plath called poems “monuments to the moment.” Those monuments are not abstractions, but intuited by the senses as they are what make the universe tangible.

I know I can help other poets create their own wings without neglecting the need to be rooted. Simone Weil wrote, “to be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the soul.” Yes, yes, indeed. As one little girl stated, “silence reminds me to take my soul with me wherever I go.” Soul-traveling then sets the poem in motion.

The white space surrounding our words is, ultimately, our piece of sky to soar in and may it be heavenly. These words are very near us. They are in our mouths and in the roots of our heartstrings. Let us tug and pluck, sing and flap like fledglings into the proper dwelling each poem mitigates. In essence, we are all writing God’s poem created by roots that fly and wings that take root in the forever fecund field of the pure, white page.

Author Bio: Elizabeth Kirschner has published three books of poetry, Twenty Colors, Postal Routes and Slow Risen Among the Smoke Trees, all by Carnegie-Mellon University Press. In addition, she has a CD released by Albany Records with her own poetry set to Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, now titled The Dichterliebe in Four Seasons. She’s now participating in a WOW Blog Tour with her latest book. My Life as a Doll is a survivor’s tale, a memoir in verse about child abuse, madness and recovery. To learn more about Elizabeth’s work, visit www.elizabethkirschner.com, and for upcoming dates on her blog tour visit www.wow-womenonwriting.com/blog.

Flattered and honored, I can’t help but note the subjectiveness of such lists, which is why I seldom do them. One poet’s top 100 is another poet’s bottom feeder net. But I do say I am in some good company.

Other poetry blogs that made the list include:

• Ted Kooser’s American Life In Poetry at No. 2
• Harriet: The Blog (The Poetry Foundation) at No. 4
• Read Write Poem at No. 9
• DIY Publishing at No. 15
• Poetry Hut at No. 16
• 32 Poems Magazine at No. 20
• Paul Hoover at No. 23
• Silliman at No. 25
• One Poet’s Notes at No. 32
• Very Like A Whale at No. 41
• Mark Doty at No. 50
• Mike Snider at No. 52
• PoemShape at No. 72
• Jack Prelutsky at No. 80

While I’d order these blogs in a much different way, I do agree with most of the selections. There are some irritations with this list, however.

For starters, Harriet is not a blogger. It’s the name of The Poetry Foundation’s blog and is written by a team of contributors. University Reviews Online could have done a little more homework. MetaCafe and WCBN-FM are not poetry blogs. While they include poetry videos and programming as a part of their public offerings, it’s a stretch to call them poetry blogs. While I appreciate the intent in including them on the list I’d much rather see blogs like Robert Lee Brewer’s, a real poetry blog, make the list. And I’m saddened by the absence of The Kenyon Review’s and Ploughshare’s blogs.

Nevertheless, I’m honored to be listed among the 100. Any idea where I fall? Not that it matters, but right behind Poetry Hound at position No. 29.

BTW, many of the blogs on this list can be read through the World Class Poetry Toolbar.

And if you’re interested, there’s a new book review at WCP. Ever wanted to learn how to make a living as a poet?

First, if you aren’t familiar with Facebook, you should get familiar with it. It’s what is called a social networking tool and it allows you to network with other people who have similar interests no matter where they live. There is quite a community of poets already using Facebook and every day I bump into more. The tools available to poets for promoting their books, chapbooks, individual publishing successes, blogs, newsletters and e-zines, poetry journals, etc. are fabulous and expanding every day.

I’d like to highlight a few people who I believe have done very well at using Facebook to promote themselves and other poets. This is not an exhaustive list, but these are observations based on my own use of Facebook and the networking that I’ve been able to do. I’m only sorry that I haven’t done more through Facebook until now or I’d have more to share. You can bet that I’ll be using it more in the future.

Belinda Subraman on Facebook

Belinda Subraman is the host of a podcast that promotes poetry and independent music artists. Her show is called Belinda Subraman Presents / Gypsy Art Show. She frequently sends out calls for interview subjects and poetry MP3s, which she then plays on her show. I responded to one of those calls and Belinda interviewed me. After her weekly show, Belinda then sends out a Facebook notice to all of her fans and friends to let them know the latest podcast is ready for listening. It’s very effective and I’m sure that Belinda Subraman’s weekly poetry podcast is very popular. I know I like it.

You can connect with Belinda Subraman on Facebook here.

Robert Lee Brewer

Robert Lee Brewer is the editor of Writer’s Market. He also writes the daily blog Poetic Asides. Robert is one of the many poets on Facebook who use the feed feature of Facebook to promote their blogs. Robert’s feed is very effective because he writes to his blog every day and every time he updates his blog an automatic notice is sent to all of his friends and fans to let them know they can read the latest update on Poetic Asides. I like this feature of Facebook because it means that I don’t have to subscribe to every RSS feed in the world to read great writing. I can be notified through Facebook that a blog is updated and click a link to read the posts that I want to read.

Connect with Robert Lee Brewer on Facebook here.

Didi Menendez

The real test to how effective you are at networking is how much you can get other people to do your promoting for you. Didi Menendez needs no help in promoting herself, but she has it. As the publisher of Oranges & Sardines and MIPOesias Magazine, Didi is well known in the world of poetics. But that doesn’t stop Grace Cavalieri from promoting O & S through a Facebook page.

I believe Facebook pages are one of the best ways to promote yourself online, and Grace’s page promoting Didi’s journal is a great example of a Facebook page.

Connect with Didi Menendez on Facebook here.

Connect with Grace Cavalieri on Facebook here.

What You Can Do With Facebook Pages

As stated earlier, this is not an exhaustive list of poets on Facebook doing great things. But I like what these people are doing. Facebook pages are powerful promotional tools because they are so flexible and much more accessible than Facebook profiles. A Facebook user can hide their private information so that others can’t see it without permission – even if the profile comes up on a Google search. But the information provided in a Facebook page can be viewed by anyone without permission and the pages can be found through search just like a normal web page. That makes a Facebook page a very accessible marketing tool for any creative person from poet to movie star.

There are many other great things you can do with a Facebook page, however. You can upload photos and videos, aggregate blog RSS feeds, promote events, publications, and upcoming readings and book signings. Virtually anything you can promote through a website can be promoted through a Facebook page – and you don’t have to have a lot of technical skill to be able to use it effectively.

And Facebook pages have the same interactive features that Facebook profiles have – that is, people can become fans, leave comments on your wall, start and enter discussions, and even upload their own photos and videos. That’s one powerful interactive marketing tool.

The World Class Poetry Toolbar Facebook Page

I’m always looking for new ways to promote the things that I believe in. That’s why I decided to write a Facebook page for the World Class Poetry Toolbar. Just one day after adding that page and promoting it to my Facebook friends I had a few more downloads. Of course, I get a few downloads every month, but to receive the number of downloads that I received the day after writing the page is pretty good. I’ll definitely be writing more Facebook pages and improving this one as well.

If you haven’t downloaded the WCP Toolbar, I’d encourage you to do so. You’ll have access to more than 30 poetry blogs,  nearly as many online poetry journals, poetry podcasts and radio shows, including Belinda Subraman Presents / Gypsy Art Show. And that’s just the beginning.

If you are a Facebook user and you haven’t connected with me yet then I invite you to add me as your friend. I’m looking forward to doing more networking through Facebook.

Install Twitter Tools into your blog if you are using WordPress. There may be a Blogger equivalent, but since I have a standalone blog domain name and use WordPress as my software, there is a Twitter plugin. You can tweet right from your blog and you can set the settings of Twitter Tools to post to Twitter every time you write a new blog post. It happens automatically so that you don’t have to manually type your blog post tweet.

But since No. 8 on Tracy’s list is to tweet the links to specific blog posts on your blog, I’ll add one more thing that you can do with Twitter Tools: Set your settings so that at midnight each night your blog posts all of your tweets for the day as an individual blog post. It’s a great way to attract additional followers on Twitter.

The second thing I’ll add to Tracy’s list is a Twitter app for Facebook. Use the Twitter Facebook app and every time you tweet you’ll also be updating your Facebook status. I’ve found that since I’ve been using this app my Facebook status is updated more often and I get more Facebook friends. Two more powerful uses of Twitter.

Do you Twitter? Follow me.

I downloaded this .pdf document from Penguin Group USA that tells poets how to do Internet marketing. Haven’t read it yet. I’ve skimmed it a little and from what I’ve seen there appears to be a basic understanding of the subject, but incomplete. It’s free and I do recommend it. I’ll try to read through it more in depthly and provide some insight into the accuracy of its contents.

Robert Lee Brewer asked whether there is a market for a book on critique groups. He’s asking for feedback. I gave mine along with several others. I encourage you to drop by his blog and leave your comments, or you can leave them here on the World Class Poetry Blog and I’ll pass them along.

A book fair is coming to Decatur, Georgia.

How famous poets came to be discovered.

The Frank O’Hara Renaissance.

Bekki is looking for poets to interview.

Enjoy the Poetry Peepshow.

What to do about content thieves. I agree. I’ve done this too. And Go Daddy – yes, Go Daddy sucks.

Introducing the winner of the “Haiku in Bloom” Poetry Contest.

The first Jack Kerouac Poetry Contest.

What poetry is and isn’t.

Coming Soon: What 21st century epic poetry will look like.

Silliman’s back (unlike AC/DC) in black and white.

Enjoy The Second Coming. It’s been Finnished.

And yet, another Amazon boycott.

The Jewish geniuses a la Andy Warhol.

Meet President Iambic Dimeter with a pyrrhic dangler.

Capitalist poetry. Solicitation anyone?

Time to prepare a submission. Later.

Jim Murdoch writes about poets and art.

I still have not seen The Dark Knight.

Reginald Shepherd has a very interesting take on MFA programs. He says two things in particular that are the reasons why I’ve never pursued that course for myself. No. 1, I’d have to put myself in debt to attend one (which I just hate to do) unless I went to a program in the state of Texas and took advantage of the state’s veteran’s education benefits program, but I haven’t found a program in Texas that I’d like to attend. I figure if it’s a program that I wouldn’t pay for out of my own pocket then why would I put myself through it on someone else’s dime? Secondly, I’m afraid that going through such a program might kill my love of literature. Not necessarily the MFA, but if I pursued an MFA then I’d likely want to keep going and I’m sure any doctorate program I pursued would sour my love of literature. I just know it would. So I stick to working full time and managing a family while continuing to write. It’s difficult, but I consider it a character-building exercise.

Happy Birthday, Diane Wakoski.

Meet the fake Frank O’Hara.

Meet Ron Silliman’s clone (but don’t laugh).

Meet the new declinists.

Meet Kay Ryan’s travel agenda.

What’s going on at the National Mall in September.

The accountability of the artist.

Poetry tagged.

That’s all for now. Goodbye.