WyoPoets is an organization of persons who write poetry for publication and/or as a hobby. Although most of our members are in Wyoming, we have several members located in neighboring states and other areas of the country. Our mission is to provide a base for mutual help and inspiration by encouraging interest in poetry throughout the state of Wyoming. This can be achieved by writing, publishing, studying, and sharing poetry in its many forms. WyoPoets is a 501(c)(3) organization and is the Wyoming branch of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. (NFSPS)

Tayloring Words, January 18, 2012
Abbie Taylor, WyoPoets President 

A blanket of white
covers grass, sidewalk, driveway.
I wish for the spring,
long to walk in the sunshine
without fear of ice or snow.

The above poem is a tanka, a form similar to the Japanese haiku. It includes a certain number of lines with each line containing a certain number of syllables, and the poem is usually about an image. A tanka isn’t hard to write.

First, you pick an image such as the landscape after a snowstorm. Write the first two or three lines about that. Then, think of how the image makes you feel, and write the last two or three lines about that.

A tanka has five lines, and the syllable pattern is 5-7-5-7-7. The third line should be a pivotal line, meaning that it should make sense with the first two lines alone and with the next two lines alone. If you would like more detailed information about writing a tanka, let me know, and I’ll be glad to e-mail you a handout I picked up at our last poets’ group meeting. Try writing a tanka. You could make it an exercise for your next poets’ group meeting.

As some of you already know, my new book of poems, How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver, was released in December. For those of you living in and around Sheridan, I’ll be promoting the book at three events: a signing at Sheridan Stationery Books & Gallery from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 28th,  a reading at the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library on Sunday, February 12th at 2:00 p.m., and a signing in the lobby of the Sheridan Senior Center from 11:00 to 12:30 p.m. If you live close by and would like to make the trip but don’t know where any of these places are, let me know, and I’ll be glad to send you directions.

The book is already available for purchase at Sheridan Stationery Books & Gallery. If you visit my Website at www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com you’ll find a page containing information about the book, a sample poem, and links to where the book can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the publisher  iUniverse. If you use Bookshare, you can download the book from the following link. www.bookshare.org/browse/book/432068 You can also e-mail me at abbie@samobile.net or call (307)674-6109 to order copies in print for $11.00 or rtf format for $4.00.

In closing, I would like to encourage everyone to enter the members only contest. Details are in this newsletter. Christine Valentine and Aaron Holst are in charge. I hope you all have a successful and prosperous 2012 and look forward to seeing you at the workshop in April. Happy writing!