Into The Deep: Writing The Poem That Leaves Us Breathless with Junious 'Jay' Ward (Zoom)

We’ve all had the experience of jumping into the ocean, waves high as our heads, feet flailing wildly beneath us, using every ounce of energy to make it back to the boat just so we can explain to the Captain, once we’ve caught our breath, that we really can swim. Ok, I admit, that was my experience on vacation last year. I thought I could swim, but once I got into truly deep water I panicked. It is likely, though, that all of us have had the experience of reading a poem that makes us lose track of everything we thought was important, leaving us, by the end, breathless and in wonder. How did the poet do that?

Often there are memories or emotions that we struggle to write about, or conversely recurring themes that find their way into our poems whether we want them to or not—perhaps there is…