My Thoughts On Poetry, And A New Something

Hey guys! Thanks for telling me all your opinions on poetry! So here are mine:

1.) First and foremost: Poetry ought to be inspired by something. I have seriously found that unless the idea for a poem pops up in your mind, it usually isn't worth writing. I mean, sometimes you can come up with something, but the really good poems aren't written, they sort of write themselves. I am like Abigail- usually a couple lines pop into my head, and I write a poem around them! :)

2.) As for styles of poetry....I am a bit narrow-minded in this area. Usually, I go with poems that rhyme. Now, I do agree that it probably takes just as much talent to write a good freestyle poem as it does to write one that rhymes, but unless you are an exceptional writer the cadence of a well-written rhyming poem, is lost in a freestyle one. I KNOW that many people would disagree with me, but these are just my feelings on the subject, and are subject to change. I have read some free-style poems that capture a thought splendidly, and probably better than a poem in rhyme, but I am typically NOT a fan of Carl Sandburg, Dorothy Aldis, and those sorts of poets. Feel free to disagree with me! Those are just my sentiments! :P
I think I'll start a monthly post of interesting facts about famous authors! So the rest of this post will be devoted to the subject: Ladys and Gents, Welcome to the Very First: "Dickens did NOT!" ;) If I think of a better name, I'll change it, but that sounds sort of catchy! ;P

1. Jack London, author of White Fang and The Call of The Wild was once a freight-train hopping hobo, and was arrested for vagracy at Niagra Falls

2. The word "boredom" first appeared in print in Charles Dicken's "Bleak House"

3. William Shakespeare's tombstone reads: "Blest be the man who casts these stones, and cursed be the man who moves my bones." There has been some speculation that several unpublished works were buried with him, but no one has followed the theory with any evidence- possibly because they are afraid of the epithet on his tombstone!

4. Louisa May Alcott as a child, was friends with the famous Henry David Thoreau, and would often take walks with him in the woods and fields of Concord and the surrounding countryside.

Alright! That's all for now, because my computer time is up! :) -Rachel

Help Me If You Can!

Alright everyone! I am very busy at this point in time, so I haven't written anything for a bit, but I decided I'd ask you two questions. Please EVERY PERSON THAT READS THIS, ANSWER THEM! :)
1. What are some tips for poetry writing you use?
2. What are your views on poetry styles? (rhyming, free-style, etc.)

Once ya'll tell me what you think, I'll answer them myself! :) -Rachel

"The Romance of Mr. Puddleby"

Hey guys! Last post I bemoaned the fact that I only had toads to use as models. Well, I used them! Meet Mr. Otis Puddleby! :) The star of "The Romance of Mr. Puddleby". (I put his bowtie in the wrong place, so he looks rather owlish, but that is of little consequence for a 3-year-old's book! :)

The story centers around this young, handsome, and debonair toad, who is convinced by his friend Sir Ringneck to go find himself a bride to cure his loneliness. He takes the advice, and goes to woo and win himself a bride: the fair Geraldine, who is absolutely "all over with warts". (Which in a toad's way of thinking, is pricelessly beautiful :) I have only painted two pictures so far, but have written the whole story! The bad thing is, both Mr. Puddleby, and Geraldine (at least the models) perished in their habitat! I hadn't even gotten a chance to paint Geraldine! Hopefully I can find two similar ones and keep them alive! :) I suppose I ought to make them a proper epithet:

"Here the lie the bodies of ones who waddle

Through life, until they begin to model.

They posed for her, and did their part

And furthered well her dabbling art." ;)

And in case you wanted to see the next illustration of Sir Ringneck convincing Mr. Puddleby, it is below!

This is the better one of the two I think! :) His bowtie seems to be in a likely place, and I like Sir Ringneck's clothes! I am trying to figure out how I ought to paint a "tan-paisley waistcoat" on Mr. Puddleby, which he wears to "go a'courtin'" :) I can't wait to draw the last picture, which will be Otis Puddleby and Geraldine getting married! :) -Rachel