Emily, Dorothy and Marjorie...

In a post from a few months ago, I asked readers to leave
suggestions/requests/ideas to boot my muse.
One of the requests came from Straight White Guy, Eric
asking which poets/authors have inspired my poetry.
The names came easily, but my lazy ass moves slowly.

The writers I relate to most often are:
Emily Dickinson, Dorothy Parker and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
Another good link for Rawlings is here.

What I admire about their work is their talent for brevity.
Their ability to be succinct and clear in their expression of
humor, sadness, love and wonder is what I strive for in my
own writing. Long, meandering tomes often bore and confuse me
to the point of abandoning the page, unfinished.
These writers knew what they wanted to say, honed their words
beautifully... and stopped. Perfect.

Reading most of their biographies led me to also admire their
attitudes and life styles. All were independent thinkers,
strong-willed and outspoken.

Dickinson was not published much during her lifetime. She became
reclusive during the last third of her life, presumably because of
one or more failed romances. She requested that all her writings
be destroyed after her death, but her sister-in-law ignored her
wishes and began seeking a publisher for the volumes of poetry
found neatly bound in an old trunk. Thank goodness.

Parker and Rawlings enjoyed fame and popularity during their
lifetimes. Differing from the genteel persona of Dickinson, these
two were more often considered bawdy, indelicate women
of the world. Fearless rebel types, at times, yet their writing
beautifully expressed feelings and experiences familiar to many
people. Their words struck common chords using raw descriptions.

To meld the best of these three in my life as well as in my words...
a worthwhile goal.