Writing Poetry in the Dark

Book excerpt: Writing Poetry in the Dark brings together some of the most successful genre poets currently writing and publishing to discuss topics related to creating dark poetry. While there are countless books available for the aspiring poet there are not very many resources specifically for horror poetry. But the dark poetry scene is thriving, or maybe more accurately writhing, with many dark poets publishing collections and being included in anthologies each year. Publishers who previously did not put out poetry are adding it to their catalogs the markets for it are increasing. Given these factors it seemed like the perfect time to put together a resource for dark poets that addresses some of the unique challenges that face horror poets. Included here are recommendations on how to bring fear to the page, write from the wound, let violence loose, channel the weird and tackle the dark side of daily life. There are also practical suggestions for exploring different poetic forms and topics from haiku to historical there is something for every speculative poet or anyone who is interested in writing poetry with a genre twist.