The Best Poetry Tip Lee Bennett Hopkins Ever Taught Me

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Howdy, Campers, and Happy Poetry Friday! (my poem and the PF link are below)

Perhaps some of you really ARE camping right this very minute! Boy, that sure sounds good now: aromatic pines, refreshing dips in a clear lake, scent of wood smoke and that close-your-eyes crackling as you gather 'round to roast marshmallows and sing...ahhhhh.

This round, TeachingAuthors will each share a favorite piece of  writing advice.

Mine came from Lee Bennett Hopkins, who told me: 

Root out all unnecessary "the"s.

It's such a simple idea, yet it can change a poem profoundly.

Or at least clean it up.

(In the paragraph describing your camp-out above, I deleted four "the"s.)

THE

by April Halprin Wayland

It's a simple word, really,

but wait...do you need it?

Watch deer tug a tree

for a banquet of greens...

he steers clear of each "the,"

but devours those leaves.

poem © 2020 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved

Or, as Laura Shovan just shared so succinctly in the comments below, "every word must earn its place in a poem."

So try Lee's tip...and then report back and tell me about it--I can't wait to hear!

Thank you, Ruth, for hosting a Poetry Friday party at 

There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town

posted with love by April Halprin Wayland and Eli, who is tuckered out after this morning's walk:

you can see Eli in the distance

writing poetry can be exhausting!