My starting off poems

[Cryptic]

Thanks Neville will see if can find those books to take a gander at next week.
No doubt footy players probably do watch the games but I preferred playing cricket myself but I never really watched it as to be honest it can be boring as batshit sometimes haha.

Got a good bookstore down the road from me if you can climb over the mountains within to reach what your looking for so will possibly take an expedition on Monday. If you don't hear from me for a week or 2 Im either reading or have suffered a book related accident.

[Neville Briggs]

Cryptic. As I always warn people, if you are at all squeamish about really crude and rude stuff, you'll have to watch out for Stephen Fry's section on limericks and other impolite verse.
Otherwise it's a very good book. Stephen Fry starts with the assumption that the reader knows nothing except how to read and speak English. Stephen Fry was a school teacher and his didactic approach I think, is very suitable for carefully teaching the basics of rhyme and metre.

Manfred. Yes Steal is the word. The great artists and poets stole from those who went before. But they didn't pass it off as theirs, they didn't plagiarise, they made it anew.

Manet and Picasso stole from Velasquez, Ezra Pound stole from the Anglo/Saxon bards, Walt Whitman stole from the Bible, Benjamin Britten stole from Henry Purcell. John Lennon stole from Buddy Holly. Elvis Presley stole from the church choirs and George Poulton.
Beethoven stole from Mozart, Brahms stole from Beethoven.
To do my crummy poems , I have stolen from M.R.James, the Bible, folk songs, Banjo Paterson, John O'Brien and William Blake ( Sadly it didn't make me great )


I am convinced that Henry Lawson, C.C.Dennis, Banjo Paterson et al, did not wake up one morning with this great idea to write bush poetry, and then just sit down and think think think until they came up with an idea out of their own heads. I firmly believe that they were acquainted with Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Keats and so on .
If one had a mind to look carefully, you could probably find the evidence.
But they made it new. They made it into Australian experience.

[Terry]

Hi Crytic

For what it’s worth I think having a good story is a must, you need to be able with your poems to capture peoples interest and hold it, be it with humour, touching or exciting stories written with good rhythm (metre). Your poems can be further enhanced with use of descriptive words and phrases.
Don’t worry too much for a start as you will acquire these skills over time, the most important thing is to enjoy writing your poems. Don’t try to be like anybody else, just be yourself, but of course you can learn a lot by reading the poetry of others (as has been mentioned). I haven’t read all the post here so much of this has probably already been mentioned.

Anyway welcome to the forum.

Cheers Terry

[Cryptic]

Cryptic. As I always warn people, if you are at all squeamish about really crude and rude stuff, you'll have to watch out for Stephen Fry's section on limericks and other impolite verse.
Otherwise it's a very good book. Stephen Fry starts with the assumption that the reader knows nothing except how to read and speak English. Stephen Fry was a school teacher and his didactic approach I think, is very suitable for carefully teaching the basics of rhyme and metre.

Not a chance of being Squeamish with background grown up in and lifes lessons seen and learned over time the more colourful then I would probably understand it better hehe.
The fact I even started writing threw a few friends as they never expected it of me.
Having strong background with family association to Tamworth and artists of both music and poetry growing up I was influenced long ago just never partook till now. So it wasn't just a spur of the moment thing of me starting to write just to clarify if that confused you on my joining here.
Listening to Bush breakfast show for past few years on radio as I hate being stuck in the city was sort of an escape and now writing is a bit of an escape as well. Not worried too much about perfecting it to showcase it or enter comps mainly just write based on ideas in my head and share with friends on facebook who like reading some of it.
Thought I would join here chat and share a few bits of my poems. If its mainly for competition grade quality poetry then I will just merely read and converse in future.

Either way I enjoy it as I go

[Neville Briggs]

Thought I would join here chat and share a few bits of my poems.

That's the idea !!

Not competition grade but enjoyment grade will do us. Me anyway.

[Terry]

Hi Cryptic,
That's what it's all about, enjoying what you're doing and what you have shown us here looks pretty promising.

Look forward to seeing more of your work when you get the urge again.

Cheers Terry

[Cryptic]

Have a few but they are off the bush poetry track and a couple are seasonal like Christmas and new years but might throw one or 2 up.

[alongtimegone]

Hi Cryptic ... I'm also fairly new at this poetry game and have been helped by several ABPA members. I enjoyed reading your pieces.
Wazza