A Poetry Career

A look back at my development with some hints and tips for others

• The first writers group that I went to (Nottingham; I've since been to groups in Liverpool and Cambridge) stopped me writing only for myself.
• Later I joined a small group of people who exchanged poems via e-mail. This improved my technique and encouraged close reading.
• I didn't realise that there were poetry magazines until rather late. My magazine interaction continued the trends that joining groups had triggered, adding a hint of marketing. See My dealings with UK literary magazines for details. I began to write articles about poetry.
• I've frequented some public online groups - the rec.arts.poems newsgroup and Eratosphere being 2 examples.
• I've been to 1 residential weekend workshop, whose glow lasted quite a while
• I've entered several competitions but have only won one

• Things are relatively stable - none of the peaks and troughs of a manic-depressive like (say) Schumann
• I've had few big life events in the last decade - my children were born in mid-1992 and mid-1995 which may have influenced my output (having one child is stimulating; 2 children is a drain).
• The 1993 peak was, I think, to do with joining the e-mail group.
• I don't know why my volume of output has a 2-year cycle.
• The number of acceptances roughly follows the number of poems written, suggesting that when I write more, I also write more of the better poems too.

• Give everything a go! There's usually an initial benefit but sometimes the effect wears off quickly
• Find out what works for you. You might find that non-poetry activities stimulate you the most, or you might be a summer writer.