A Second Read

After reading over the comments I received from the poet Ted Kooser, rereading some of his works, and the reviews of other critics, I have come to a conclusion: I am not Ted Kooser.  That is to say, my style of writing is not the same as his.  His comments on my work basically say, “Write like me.”  But I don’t want to write like him.  His is a style I see all the time in poetry and while he makes it work and it is enjoyable to read, I have my own style, I have my own voice.

Last night I stayed up for quite awhile trying to figure out a way to describe my style of writing, and I think I have.  I am a painter with a pen.  When I write I want to paint a picture for my readers, fill their heads with different images all driving toward the same point, take them on a journey with multiple stops, but one destination.  Kooser called this “distracting to the readers’ attention”, but I don’t think it is; I think it helps crystallize the message.  By offering multiple, rich images I am trying to increase the methods of delivery of the poem’s message.  As the old saying goes, “there is more than one way to skin a cat”, and in most of my poems I am using multiple ways to try and skin the same cat.

Now I realize that not everyone will enjoy my poetry and that’s fine.  But I’m never going to change my style in hopes of appealing to the widest audience possible.  If I make changes to the way I write it’s going to be because I think it will help the evolution of my work.  Having come to all of this, I’m feeling much better about everything.  It’s already Thursday and I can’t wait for the weekend.