I bought poemcrazy at Borders (Remember Borders Books? Sigh.) when my oldest daughter entered Bennington College in 1996. Poetry was one of her areas of study (I think it was her original major), and I thought she would like it. But as I flipped through it, I decided I’d read it first, then send it to her.
I started reading it often, always meaning to try out the exercises, but never getting around to it. Meanwhile, Carly changed majors several times, graduated from Bennington with a degree in German, then got a Masters from NYU in English as a second language, earned a second Masters from Baruch College, and started doctoral work. I’ve never sent her the book.
Finally, last January I began a year-long love affair with poemcrazy: freeing your life with words, by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge, which has resulted in twenty-seven babies (poems) so far.
Poemcrazy is an informal textbook on creating free verse. Wooldridge is a nationally known teacher of poetry workshops to students of all ages. She is more interested in playing with words to release their emotional content than in adhering to strict form or rhyme constraints.
Wooldridge advocates collecting words in a wordpool. She likes writing individual words on tickets, like those used at carnivals. Throughout the book, Wooldridge makes suggestions for additions to the pool.
I write my words on quartered 3×5 cards, color coded: blue for adjectives, yellow for verbs, orange for nouns, green for colors, and pink for feelings. I rubberband each color together and store them in a Ziplock baggie in my desk drawer.
The wordpool can be used to generate poems. For me, one or two cards drawn from each category create weird juxtapositions that ignite bizarre images and bring long-repressed memories back into my consciousness, releasing floodgates of emotion—a perfect breeding ground for poetry.
Using stories from her life and examples from her workshops, Wooldridge nudges the reader toward creativity:
…Erica [a high school student] stared at a perfect, round dandelion gone to seed. When Stacie knocked some seeds, off, Erica went outside for another. She wanted a perfect sphere. I asked her to look closely, name it and then describe what the dandelion looked like, reminding her that close observation is important in poetry.
Then I asked her to think about a quality of the dandelion that could enrich her life. I felt discouraged and I was pushing her. I asked her to begin, What does it look like? What does it look like that it isn’t? When Erica finally wrote about her dandelion, I was reminded of the power of comparison (or simile and metaphor) to expand our sense of possibility in ourselves and in everyday objects.
Wish dome
it looks like someone shot
an arrow in the moon
or even a golf ball on a green tee.
A domed jungle gym
with small people growing out.
An octopus tarred and feathered.
It smells like starbursts…
I can smell the arrow
it flew by so fast.
Bring me the light touch of a bubble
the freedom of air
the firmness and strength of a rock.
Before I read this book, I didn’t think I could write poetry.
Now I know I can.
Poemcrazy was first released in 1996. It is now in its twenty-sixth printing.
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron. Not just for writers, The Artist’s Way is a twelve-week crash course in removing blocks to your creativity. I went through the whole process many years ago, and I still practice many of the concepts I learned, but I feel the need to go through the process again (I’m putting it in my creative goals for 2017). Cameron’s spirituality is Zen-like, but I can adapt her ideas to be appropriate to my Christian worldview.
Bird by Bird: Some Ideas on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. I will always love Lamott for giving me permission to write sh*tty first drafts. I’ve read several of her books and 
The Little, Brown Handbook by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron. Although many writers swear by E.B. White’s Elements of Style or The Chicago Manual of Style, when I have a grammar, punctuation, or formatting question, I grab this book. It’s well-organized and I can find what I need immediately. A detailed table of contents is laid out right inside the front cover, and a glossary of editing symbols lives inside the back cover. The St. Martin’s Handbook (I have that, too) is set up much the same way, as are many other high school and college level grammar books. Use whatever you like, but you need a good grammar reference.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. I like this book not so much for the writing advice (he’s a pantser, I’m an outliner) as for insight into his process and his life. I love his break-out story. I like many of Uncle Stevie’s books, but I can’t force myself to read through some of them. I’m a little concerned about a mind that can conceive so much evil…
poemcrazy: freeing your life with words by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge. Wooldridge conducts poetry workshops, and this book is sort of her textbook. I originally bought it for my daughter when studied poetry in college (she went to Bennington and I think she got to take a class with Mary Oliver; eventually she graduated with a degree in German); but when I flipped through it, I couldn’t bear to part with it. I’ve been working my way through the exercises in it this year, and when I’m done I’ll write a review of it for ARHtistic License.
The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters by Christopher Vogler. Based on the work of mythologist Joseph Campbell. Vogler, while working as a story analyst for the Walt Disney Company, penned a seven-page memo called “A Practical Guide to The Hero with a Thousand Faces” distilling Campbell’s magnus opus. It’s reputed to have served as a plot guide for many of the Disney movies. This book grew out of that memo. I’ve used it to outline my novels. I was lucky enough to have Vogler sign my copy years ago when I met him at a writer’s conference.
ARHtistic License 