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Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "poems are like icebergs: you see its bigness on the surface but once you get to know how it looks beneath the surface, you’ll realize how big of a monument nature’s work actually is."  - dimitrireyespoet.com In poetry, the little things are the most important because as poets we have the poetic freedom to make rules and break them all the time. With doing so, I sometimes see students focus so greatly on several aspects that some of them get left behind— one of them being the use of capitalization. There are several ways one can use capitalization to their advantage in a poem and I’d like to share with you WHEN and HOW to Use Capitalization in Your Poetry. 1. Capitalization with Titles When considering…

Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Words have the power to change moods instantly, and because of this, we should respect their importance."  - dimitrireyespoet.comThe starving artist is such a thing of the past and I sometimes think this is still perpetuated so there aren’t so many large fish in a small pond. As a writer it’s a good idea to track your finances with your career to see how much money you are investing into your passions. Many immediately say that this is a business in which you are at a constant deficit because of submission fees, book-buying, AWP attendings, etc, but this chart is proof that this isn’t the case. Even if I haven’t won any large poetry competitions like the Ruth Lilly or the Whitman Award— although, you should come…

Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "... until then I am comfortable with understanding that many of these answers about who we are are discovered through the process of writing."  - dimitrireyespoet.comFYI, when I began my writing career, I had SO many questions. I was consistently looking for formulaic expressions that’ll lead me to my next completed poem. Or at least the next prolific thought that would help me know more about myself. I’m still looking for that perfection and until then I am comfortable with understanding that many of these answers about who we are are discovered through the process of writing. That’s the work.One of my YouTube subscribers once asked me what my poetry writing routine was and I soon made a video for that. I remember sitting down to write…

Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Your favorite poets will have you wanting to write your best pieces."  - dimitrireyespoet.com Why Have a Poetry Library? When I think of writers, book lovers, or book lovers who are also writers I think of wall to wall, ceiling to floor bookcases, books in bathrooms, books on tables, books in offices, books in cupboards, books in boxes inside closets, books, books, and more books. Many can tell a person by their book collection the way some can assume things about an individual from their shoes. Personally, I feel like there’s so much beyond the shoes, or the book collection and that’s why my library is pretty small by choice. Recently in my pursuit of my first full collection, there are times where I am missing…

Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "I lacked the terminology or vocabulary to discuss any material in an engaging way. I was a student among students among highly respected writers."  - dimitrireyespoet.comI love the questions that my YouTube community and Patreon poets asks me because I often times get lost in my own internet persona as Dimitri Reyes Poet and fail to ask myself the simple questions because I’m so busy trying to demystify harder concepts. My audience keeps me grounded and puts things into perspectives in ways I barre myself. But I wasn’t always like this. As with every writer, before the books, before the poems, before the articulation, there was a beginning; a birth of the “why.”To tell you Why I Am a Poet, I need to explain how I…

Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Having a good balance is the best way to maximize your productivity in the writing process."  - dimitrireyespoet.com Where do you find yourself writing most often? In a laptop or a notebook? Personally, these days I’m on both ends of the spectrum and either pen a poem on paper or type it up on the laptop depending on how I am feeling (or if the poem is calling for it!) In my experience, I've seen that you can’t really have one over the other because both are helpful. Poetry isn’t like math where there are 3 or 4 ways to get to a solution. The ways in which one can create a poem are infinite, and you’ll find out that you’ll have certain preferences on your…

Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "Paying venues are often seeking writers with resumes that are already developed."  - dimitrireyespoet.com Different Ways Poets Make Money For years I avoided wanting to be a writer because I only felt that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else but teach. Little did I know that I would grow to love teaching and would consider educating a passion and a skill. I also felt like if I were to try and pursue writing that I’d simply be a starving artist the rest of my life and judging by the fullness of my face, I am not starving, nor deprived, but in fact I’ve actually found a way to thrive as an artist. So you came to this blog either wondering or seeking how poets…

Instagram Facebook Youtube Pinterest "When you are nervous, if you walk around a little bit or become gesticulate or change the timbre in your voice, you can manipulate that anxious energy."  - dimitrireyespoet.comSo you got your ideas together and you penned your poem! You’ve looked it over, it looks good. Even good enough to share. Now it’s printed or downloaded on your phone as you get down to an open mic and sign up before you realize… “I’ve never done this before.” Next thing you know, you’re getting your name called and people are cheering. You’re walking up to the mic and you might be getting butterflies in your stomach or you’re feeling a bit hazy. You get on the mic and say your first “um” and your throat is…