A General Thought Re: Poetry

Having had the experience of editing a poetry anthology for a publisher I can say that there are an amazing number of very talented people writing poetry. All ages. I loved working with each and every one of them - even the ones who didn't take kindly to my "suggestions" before we went to print. LOL Poetry (and really ALL writing) is personal and being an editor for that anthology was a tough job.

The highlight for me was having the amazing Maya Angelou submit a poem to be included in the anthology. Need I say that I made sure her poem was the first one in the collection????

I have written over 200 poems myself and find that they "come to me" in the most interesting ways.....it's one of the things I like about writing poetry.....very "cleansing".

I too love Maya Angelou - she really has a way of getting things down on paper that I can relate too. How fortunate that you were able to edit such a book! And I hear what you say about people having a hard time being edited -- I had to set my manuscript aside and work on some "letting go of my ego" exercises before I could appreciate what I was being given an opporuntity to learn.
Not sure I could be an editor -- you must have to develop a bit of a thick skin! As an author, though, I am sure glad to have you around!

Well Pam I have to say that I never thought I'd be editing anything - but when the publisher asked me to head up the anthology effort I thought it might be a good "stretching" exercise. It was but I was very happy when it was finished. I won't be volunteering to do that again though! Besides, that publisher has folded their tent and moved on as so many small publishing concerns have. I'm happy to get back to my novels though - a different kind of angst!

You have my respect and admiration, Pam. I doubt that I could take on such a project without pulling all my hair out!

I never thought I'd be involved in a project like that either Zada and was lucky to hang onto what hair I had at the time (was going thru chemo!). It kept me distracted, extremely busy, but also put me WAY behind on my novels. I certainly met a lot of great friends though - and we've maintained our long-distance friendship since the anthology was published. Even with the tough times, some good shines through!

Great friends are true priceless treasures. I would say a lot of good shone through, and the distraction was probably quite welcome at the time.

Distractions were most appreciated - as are my good friends!