073021f

Previously posted to sfpanet the Spec. poetry community is a small group, somewhat isolated, and therefore easy to impress. I have been impressed with the poetry of John Gray, I'm pretty sure that is his name. I picked up an old used book of his poetry and the poems were all mainstream and so well crafted, I had the same thought: I wish I could write like that but with speculative poems. But hey, we do what we can right and there is always the challenge to improve. Every time I start a poem I think this one is going to be better. And not at all to toot my own horn, because I really don't like to do that, but everyone who has read my books thinks the latest is the best. So I think I have been improving. When I started writing poetry in 1982, before our first child was born, I switched from fiction to poetry because I figured I wouldn't have as much time. Surprise, surprise, that was right. But my first poems were all bad horror poetry, and when I started to improve no less than Bruce Boston, who is not known for being shy about saying what he thinks, said he had always thought I would get better and he was impressed. Whether you like his poems or not, he is a serious poet with a lot of experience and that made a difference to me. All I'm saying is I may never be good enough to get in poetry magazine, but as long as I feel that I am improving, I am content. I realize that sounds stupid but, as weird Al yankovic said, dare to be stupid (watch the music video if you like humor).