10 More Hot Tips from Poets & Scientists Who Know It: The Space Shuttle Shutdown Edition

1) If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. (Sir Isaac Newton)

2) Don't insult your reader's intelligence. (Elizabeth Bishop)

AKA

3) For all of the history of grief, an empty doorway and a maple leaf (Archibald MacLeish's "Ars Poetica.")

AKA

4) Let the images speak for themselves! (Jorie Graham)

5) No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. (Crusty Frost)

6) If it is a wild ride, it is a poem. (Also Mr. Frostbite)

7) When inspiration strikes, drop everything and get to it (Anne Sexton).

8) Put your ear down close to your soul, and listen hard. (Anne Sexton)

9) Revision is your most important task. (Ted Kooser)

10) So, you want to be a poet? Do you have about 70 years? (Robert Bly)

Bonus Tips Brought to You By My Favorite Barefoot Poet, David Graham:

Bonus Tip #1: Nothing is learned once that does not need learning again. (Donald Hall)

Bonus Tip #2: If Fame belonged to me, I could not escape her ... My barefoot rank is better. (Emily Dickinson)