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 There has been some speculation that several unpublished works were buried with him, but no one has followed the theory with any evidence- possibly because they are afraid of the epithet on his tombstone!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

What Can I Do With a Toad or Two? :)

Little Gracie (3) has been absolutely loving our big old volume of Beatrix Potter's books. In the past, I have written and illustrated a series of books for Abigail, (at least, a few) so I am thinking it is high time I did another one, complete with watercolor illustrations for Gracie. Recently, I've been inspired by Beatrix Potter's books, and have been studying her paintings, to see what exactly makes them so terribly charming! So I'm off on a quest to make a book for Grace that even somewhat resembles the charm found in the Potter tales! But a good artist needs a model, and since I don't want to draw the book about LaMancha goats, a dog, chickens, or a cat, the only capturable thing I have around here are toads. But what is charming about a toad? What sort of inspiration can one find in those warty beasts? I am off to find out. I shall make a tale about a toad-a good tale, and paint him faithfully. That is, unless something more congenial comes along. The only other thing I could paint is a guinea pig of ours. But she leads a very dull life in her cage, and is rather unoteworthy, excepting the fact that she is a very pretty creature indeed! :) Wish me luck in my attempts to make a masterpiece out of a toad or two! :) -Rachel

I've Been Brought Down! ;)

I am ever of the opinion that you can stay very humble as an aspiring author by reading classic books. I just finished watching BBC's version of "Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell (Which I read earlier this spring) and was so inspired. I don't know why though. It is the most irritating kind of inspiration, where it makes me want to write, but at the same time, realize that I am not a "Great author". I told Leah, "Watching one of those movies or reading one of those books leaves me feeling one way: I want to either be brilliant, or have an English accent- it doesn't really matter which!" :) I have no great hopes of ever writing something so great as a classic, but write I must, and write I shall, and no backwards inspiration shall stop my pen! ;)
-Rachel

The First Installment of "Lydia's Journal" (temporary title)

Okay guys! Here is the first installment of my story for the story-club! It is the journal of a young Colonial girl like I stated a few posts ago! :) Hope you like it! If you read it, please tell me what you think! :0)

April 3rd, the year of our Lord 1775

I begin this chronicle under the happiest of auspices- April 3rd is Henry's birthday, I am happy as waiting-maid to the misses Redford, and the early sunlight shows bright and clear upon this page. I am sensible of the fact that to be literate is a great privilege to one of my station. Henry taunts me about the fact that I am a learned young woman. Most girls my age are only taught housewifery, and skills useful for finding a good position in a wealthy family. But Henry and I are different. There was a time when many a head would turn at the name "Lydia Cobb", and Henry possessed good chances of attending the great college of William and Mary. But those days are gone, and have all but faded from memory. Was it only five years ago when Papa was a wealthy merchant? What happy times those were! Papa insisted that I, his only daughter, be taught to read and write, and that Henry learn to speak French like a native, and read Latin as well as any Roman of old spoke it. How merry we all were in those days before the trouble began! The evenings were the most pleasant times. Henry and Papa would play chess on the walnut table in the corner while I read the Bible, or one of Papa's books aloud to Mama. In those times I never dreamed of what I was to become. The trouble I speak of began the August I was thirteen. One of Papas ships was taken by pirates. The crew of another mutinied. Two more sank in dreadful storms crossing the Atlantic. The business was ruined, and Papa grew thin and pale. It seemed that our Lord no longer chose to smile upon us. But Papa's faith remained strong. Often he would bid me to sit on a footstool close beside him and read of Job's trials. I can see yet the firelight dancing upon his thin face, making the hollows in his cheeks appear hollower still, and then the old happy smile light his wan countenance as I read Job's words: "The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away; Blessed be the Name of the Lord."
A week later Mama fell ill, and the accounts at the apothecary grew larger and larger. I waited upon Mama to save the expense of a hired woman, and I grew to love my mother with a deeper affection than I had ever felt for anyone before! But despite all our careful attention and the bitter draughts the doctor gave her to drink, Mama slipped away by Michaelmas to be with the Lord in Heaven. After our grief mellowed, Papa gathered his courage and went to sea as a sailor upon one of the remaining ships he had formerly owned. My good, tender, noble Papa!
One hot day the following summer, Henry came to me. I knew something was amiss by the gentle, halting manner in which he approached me, and placed a trembling hand upon my shoulder. "Lydia, my lass," he said, and looked so like our dear Papa that I was almost frightened of him, "The ship was in the West Indies...Papa caught the yellow fever and....he joined Mama in Heaven-God bless us now!"
Poor Henry had begun bravely, but the last words choked him, and he hugged me tightly with the tears streaming down his cheeks. Those were melancholy days following. Henry found employment as a clerk, and I, only a small girl of fourteen, learnt the art of servitude as well as I possibly could with no mother to teach me. What a blessing it was when good Master Redford, fancying the daughter of his former colleague, employed me as a waiting-maid and companion for his two daughters! I soon learnt to perform all the small and pretty duties the Redford ladies required, and became quite a proficient little hairdresser and milliner. I little understood the great honor conferred therein, as I do now! What I then considered as a matter of course, I now understand to be a blessing from the Almighty. That a prominent businessman in Williamsburg would choose me as a companion for his daughters was a strange happening indeed!
As I read over the words my pen has etched upon these pages thus far, they strike me as being only sorrowful accounts of an orphaned young lady. But I am not melancholy. These events did happen, and the days were dark, but, to quote one of Papa's favorite sayings:

"After the night the mists shall clear,

After the storm, the sun appear;

Spring returns each blessed year,

And the Lord is faithful here."

I am at peace. Henry is a most affectionate brother, and treats me like a fine lady. Master Redford and his daughters are cordial to me. I want for nothing except, perhaps, a bit more amusement, but that I hope, this journal shall give me. Who can tell what events may take place between these two handsome covers? I have saved long to buy such a book at the Stationer's, and I trust there shall be some profit in practicing my writing herein. I do not expect that I shall have many diverting experiences to record, and yet, who can tell? Inside, I am still "Mistress Lydia Cobb", daughter of a wealthy merchant; a genteel young lady every bit as worthy as Georgianna Redford. And, while adventures may not happen to waiting-maids, perhaps they shall not pass by a gentlewoman!"

What do you think? Hope you like it! :) -Rachel

Poetry-Writing Tips

I think I can write poetry pretty well. I don't say that to be boastful or anything like that, but to explain the reason why I feel I can give a list of tips to writing poetry. That being explained, here I go:

Tips for Writing Enjoyable Poetry:

1. Write the entire alphabet (minus vowels a,e,i,o,u) across the top of your page and use as a rhyming dictionary. Example: I want a word the rhyme with "page". So I go through the alphabet: "bage, cage, dage, fage, gauge, hage...etc." Some of the words are real, others of course, you wouldn't use! :) This really helps alot!

2. Pick a subject that would be interesting to read about, and not too abstract. (For instance, I don't really like writing about "feelings" because you end up with a cloudy, sometimes strange, abstract, and...boring poem!)

3. If you wish to write a rhyming poem...make sure that it really rhymes please! I do not consider the words "about" and "down" to rhyme in any way. They may have similiar vowel sounds, but really, don't do that please! :) (Perhaps it is an assonance, but who cares? It makes for a very awkward poem!)

4. Keep the meter (the beat of the poem) pretty steady. Don't skip around. If the first line has 8 syllables, keep it that way or at least, change it in some orderly fashion. If I wrote a couplet like this:
"I love flowers, Pink and blue
I love them too!"
That would be entirely awkward (and terrible poetry! ;) and you would be hard-pressed to find any reader who could read that without it sounding....very juvenile. Nursery rhymes have better rhythm than that! :)

5. Always read your poem aloud or at least read it over to yourself before showing it to anyone.

6. Always copy neatly down on a new sheet of paper the final poem.

There! These are things I always keep in mind when writing poetry! :) -Rachel