Master the Art of Poetry

There is beauty in poetry with its healing and artistic benefits, which should be made known to the public, according to Winnetka Author and Poet Charlotte Digregorio. "Poetry should also be recognized for promoting peace, just as the visual arts and music are," she says.

Digregorio, author of Wondrous Instruction and Advice from Global Poets: (Subtitle): How to Write and Publish Moving Poems and Books and Publicize Like a Pro, has worked to bring poetry into the mainstream for decades, alongside the visual arts.

Her new book promotes healing, wellness, literacy, and wisdom through poetry for all to enjoy, and it gives concrete ideas on partnering with visual artists and other creatives to elevate the art of poetry. She believes that poetry also has the potential to dissolve racial barriers, as for example, the music of Motown, decades ago, united people of all races through its art.

Digregorio's book is based on the premise that anyone who has a desire, can learn to not only write and publish poetry in journals, but publish a marketable poetry book, the latter, given the author’s many creative ideas in partnering with businesses and associations. "I stress that poets shouldn’t be content to sell just a few copies of their books irregularly, but they should strive to sell multiple copies through publicity and exposure by associations and businesses."

The author gives many examples about reaching specific types of social service organizations that may be willing to recommend books about healing poetry through their newsletters or journals and use them as fundraisers for their organizations. “For example, someone who has written poetry about dealing with grief, might partner with an association that works to assist grief-stricken people,” Digregorio says.

In her book, she stresses the need for poets to “verse” themselves in skills beyond actual poetry writing to include marketing the books they write, and seeking media publicity for them. She gives instruction on writing press releases and how to devise a press kit, just as professional publicists do. She instructs on the basics of journalism style to attract the media’s attention, instead of having their press releases set aside. Press releases will lead to feature articles written about the poet by journalists, she says.

She gives specific advice on how to contact book reviewers and interviewers, rather than alienate them, as some authors do. Digregorio is amply qualified to instruct poets on media and publicity practices, as she was an award-winning daily newspaper and magazine editor and a public relations director before becoming an academic in languages and writing. She reveals how a poet can learn to publicize and sell books to the public through not only traditional media, but through gaining expertise at social media, particularly blogging.

"Most poets don’t share their work by marketing it as well as visual artists do,” Digregorio says. Poets who love to write about nature can, for example, contact gardening associations or clubs about reading their poetry at a meeting and holding a fundraiser, giving part of the proceeds from book sales to the organization, she says.

As for partnering with businesses, Digregorio says that poets should be active in giving workshops at cafes and tea houses and having businesses keep a stack of their books at their counter, giving the business 50 percent of the sale proceeds. She gives the how-to’s of leading effective workshops.

Digregorio has written her comprehensive, coffee table-size, reference book of 27 essays with illustrative poems by hundreds of global poets. It is for beginning and experienced poets, authors, and professors and teachers. It is instructive about popular poetic forms, such as free verse and various Japanese short forms such as haiku, revered by poets worldwide. The author includes an entire section on the Japanese-style forms, even popular with non-poets for their wisdom.

Her book gives the nuts and bolts of finding ideas to write about, and how to write effective, moving, and healing poetry that appeals to readers’ emotions. She gives ideas on how to get poetry published in journals with specific recommendations on which ones to contact.

Among information provided, different from many other reference books, are comprehensive options on how to produce a publishable poetry collection or reference. It gives step by step instruction on book production for those wanting to self-publish, and common sense approaches for those seeking a small publisher. It also instructs on how to compose an appropriate, thoughtful, and attention-getting title and a book cover.

Digregorio also gives the how-to’s for poets of combining poems with art pieces in exhibits – the latter either produced by themselves or by other artists, such as painters – to gain a broader audience. She specifies what kinds of venues can be cultivated, many of which aren’t usually thought of, beyond those such as galleries. Many venues will hold book signings for the poet in conjunction with the exhibit.

The author writes with entertaining quotes and anecdotes provided by global poets, along with analysis of their poems. She includes poems of timely topics such as borders, in addition to popular themes, such as love. Further, in the Appendices, she includes her latest poetry collection, Blue Lines.

The book provides motivational essays for all poets who experience writer’s block, and advice on how they can set achievable goals.

The author is a retired professor, educated at The University of Chicago. In years past, she was honored by the Governor of Illinois for her lifetime literary achievements and accomplishments as an educator.

She has published eight other titles. Some of her previous “how-to-write” titles were Writer’s Digest Book Club Featured Selections. Many have been adopted as supplemental texts by professors globally. She has won 81 poetry awards, and was nominated for four Pushcart Prizes.

She has mentored thousands of poets who've become authors through her online and in-person workshops. She served as a regional coordinator of the International Women’s Writing Guild and on the executive board of the Northwest Association of Book Publishers. Most recently, she was Vice President of the Haiku Society of America, and an Associate of The Haiku Foundation. Further, she has spent years as a poetry advocate, and hosted a radio poetry program, and wrote a poetry column for a lifestyle magazine.

For more information, contact Digregorio at artfulcommunicators@icloud.com.