You may have read about the marketing side and even the historical side of poetry. Now comes the obvious question: how do I as a writer improve in writing poetry? Much in the same way as you improve in any aspect of writing. By practicing, learning and experimenting within your craft. How do you find the right subject for poetry? Try paying extra attention to the things around you. When you go out in public what do you notice the most? Do you study people’s faces or do you focus more on the beauty of a sunny day, deeply taking in all the sensations? Try and notice the most obvious sources of inspiration first: the weather, the environment and the ambiance of the scene. Then focus on the little details that other people usually miss. Ask yourself questions about what you see, hear, taste, smell and feel.

What if you are more of an emphatic writer than a descriptive one? Then try and think about the issues that are personally important to you. Poetry is a very emotionally driven market. It’s less about selling an idea than it is presenting an evocative scene to your readers. Choose a subject that’s close to your heart and research the subject thoroughly. This will provide you with new information and opinion to incorporate into your poetry.

Another idea is try to unclog your poet’s ear and listen carefully to the recurring sounds of life. Listen to the way people talk or write and notice the beauty of their sentences and words. Find musical qualities in everyday conversation as well as in prose or other published poetry. Take notes and try to explain the rhythm you are hearing. Reading more is vital to becoming a better poet.
Don’t underestimate the importance of reading your work aloud. Many writers assume that their words carry from the page to the mouth, though very few actually take the time to speak their poetry out loud. When you do this you may notice some flaws in the sentence that can be refined before submission. Remember that big words don’t necessarily make for fine poetry. Words for words’ sake can sound phony.

Give careful attention to the title of your poem. This is part of the writing and can be considered at once, an opening verse to the poem, and the essence of the entire piece. Amateur writers have been known to hastily create a title and then ramble on, experimenting with words. This practice is very beneficial, but will not necessarily make great poetry. Before submitting a piece, think about what you want the poem to say about yourself and about the world you inhabit.

The best poets have always stated that in order to write good poetry you have to be willing to dig into the darkest and deepest regions of your self—your mind, your heart and your soul. Poetry is about truth and passion. These two qualities can certainly be defined, but they are not so easy to teach. Each person has his or her own truth. Passion is a person’s reason for living. Meditate to get a better understanding of yourself…only then can you write your most beautiful poetry.