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RamblingsIt is New Year's Day as I write these words. A time for new beginnings, for resolutions and promises. I don't know what your resolutions are, but in addition to the ones I always have like lose weight, exercise and be more patient, I intend to become a better poet. In a sense this is not one that is easly controllable. It is easy to promise to write more, but to become better is not just a matter of volume but also of quality. I am not entirely sure how to go about the task, but a starting point will be to reread the poetry primers that gather dust on my shelves and go through the exercises again. I will also read more poetry, contemporary and old classics - the reason that Keats, Shelley, Coleridge are remembered today is because they knew how to write. Fashion may have changed, but seeing how masters managed the art must help me grow in my own writing. I will write more, perhaps not every day as life often gets in the way, but I will set time aside frequently to sit in quiet contemplation of my notebook and write. I'll try to widen the group that I regularly share my work with for criticism and try to listen more carefully. I'll observe life more closely. I wish you all a happy, prosperous and creative 2003.
Chesil
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