Deputy Two

    Veruka Kitan joined the janitorial ranks (admiralty) of Theta Fleet. With 47 sims and a Discord channel, it seemed prudent to spread the work around. Ray has been a big help with the fleet for some time now and he was the logical choice to don the broom and dustpan. (We do keep snacks in the janitorial closet.)

    In real life, Ray is an adjunct professor at two colleges. He teaches English Literature and Communications. (That makes him a good fit with the crazy writer in the group.)  He taught in Japan (briefly), then worked in HR in the hospitality industry. He is also a writer and likes to help bring out the best in others. 

    His favorite books are “Frankenstein” and “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” His favorite short story is “Young Goodman Brown.” (And that explains a lot about Percy Bálor. LOL)

    Ray has been simming since 2002. He came to Theta Fleet with the USS Katana in 2015. He’s been a TFXO in Bravo Fleet, a TFCO in Pegasus Fleet, and a TGCO in Theta Fleet. He is currently the Director of Recruitment in Theta Fleet as well. 

    His Discord name is “StarDuster” and it suits him well. We’ve been doing the Snoopy Happy Dance since he joined the Admiralty.

    There are a number of places that talk about proper manuscript formatting for poetry, but the best is on William Shunn’s website. (https://www.shunn.net/format/poetry/) He has the definitive formatting for fiction. 

    I know that some sites and contests require double-spacing for all submissions, but if the site doesn’t require it, the standard formatting for poetry is not double spacing. That is generally for short stories and novels. Poetry is single-spaced with one space between stanzas. For me, this is logical. You want to see a poem on the page, how the lines flow, the shape of it. That’s much easier to do if it’s single spaced.

    Poetry is condensed fiction. Every word in a poem matters because every word helps shape meaning. Even to whether you put “the” in a line or not. It goes to the overall feel, imagery, and sound of the poem. 

    Some poems are about images, or concepts. Some are about emotions. Some are about ideas. The beauty in a poem is how it evokes something greater that are conveyed in just the words. You feel or think or understand something in a different way with poetry. 

    Reading poetry aloud engages your auditory senses, as does music. Lyrics to songs are often poems. You feel the music as well as hear it. The words can evoke memories and feelings. That’s part of what I love about poetry. It does so much in a few words.

    On the page, seeing the poem compacted into single lines helps you see the shape of it. Sometimes how the words are put on the page is as important to the poem as the words.

    When you write a poem, single space it and look at how it sits on the page. Is it better right justified? Left justified? Centered? Does each stanza, or the entire poem, remind the reader of something that is part of the poem or its meaning?

    My poem, “Summer Sandcastles,” was formatted to look like each stanza was a wave crashing on the beach. For “Pioneering Final Frontiers” I wanted the poem’s shape to reference a rocket. But it wasn’t quite right. So, I added ∆∆∆ at the beginning and ∆∆∆∆∆ at the end to convey the shape of a rocket. I think it worked rather well. 

    Most of my poems are fairly standard. They’re either left justified or centered. But every now and then, it’s fun to play with shapes. Those shapes, to me, look much better if the poem is single spaced. 

    I also think the condensed words of a poem in a condensed format work well together. I think a poem is more powerful if it’s single spaced. 

    Try it yourself. Write a poem and then play with spacing, with line shape and number. See what works best for that poem. Also see if it should rhyme or not. What is the rhyme scheme? What is the meter? Count the beats. Even free verse can benefit from the same number of syllables per line, or the same pattern of syllables per stanza.

    As a note, don’t use special formatting that can’t be easily reproduced. You’re more likely to get the poem rejected if you submit it to a magazine. That’s something you save if you self-publish a book of poems. 

    Want a great book on poetry? Get “The Art and Craft of Poetry” by Michael R. Collings. It’s literally the course on poetry he taught at Pepperdine. The examples are usually by students so you can see what he’s talking about. 

    Most important, READ poetry. Read the great poets like Shakespeare, John Donne, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and dozens of others. Read modern poets. Read a variety. You’ll get to appreciate how great poetry is, and you’ll have a lot of fun. It will also make your poetry better!