Believe it or not, I started writing by writing poetry. In high school, I was part of the Poetry Club and helped edit and printed out our annual poetry magazine. I must admit, though, I am a terrible poet. My rhymes were more nonsensical than practical or what most would seem acceptable prose. Though I haven’t written any since then, I still have an appreciation for it.

Recently, I’ve done some “book review exchanges” with some wonderful poets and it has reignited my passion for poetry. It is exciting to find a passion inside me that I thought was long gone.

NOTE: It is a great option for independent authors to do “book review exchanges” to not only expand their library but get additional reviews from their peers.

I want to first give a shout out to the poets that have inspired me to write this blog. Universal Colloquies Inside of Me by Veronica Thornton is a wonderful book of poetry that will expand your mind through poems about the world today as well as poems that take a new view on the universe. Whispers of Death by Ronald Kihali was a diverse book of poems, that made me laugh and made me cry. Finally, I just started reading Her Crowning Frenzy by Robin Chappell. So far, this book reminds me of a walk through someone’s life, with chapters entitled “Love”, “Heartache”, and “Life” to show you the way.

These three books have really begun to inspire me, opening my mind to new possibilities. Poet Dylan Thomas said, “Poetry is what in a poem makes you laugh, cry, prickle, be silent, makes your toe nails twinkle, makes you want to do this or that or nothing, makes you know that you are alone in the unknown world, that your bliss and suffering is forever shared and forever all your own.”

For the most part, we associate poetry with the well-known names… Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, Emily Dickenson, etc. But you need to look further. There are some many wonderful poets, just starting out. They are brilliant in their own respects and inspire us as both humans and, for me, as a writer. As Vanna Bonta said, “The true poem rests between the words.”

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon. The Dark Tides is available for purchase as a book/ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse publishing. The Outlander War, Book Three of the Forever Avalon series is coming soon.