Articles written by Neal Whitman

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About me - Neal Whitman

Neal Whitman spent 37 years teaching medical school faculty how to be better teachers. Thus, as s a Doctor of Education, his students were Doctors of Medicine. In hit last ten years as a medical school professor, Dr. Whitman gave special attention to demonstrating

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Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Never give up: 11 of 143

Never Give Up You are not am not a bottom feeder when writing for common readers: readers who don't need footnotes to know if a poem emotes academics let's call obscurist write for whom they consider purest: purest readers who make matters worse don't know their elbow from bad verse You spare no words to rhyme or reason. But...
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Does poetry matter in the 21st century?: 2 of 11

Circling the Drain Poetry could matter in the 21st century, but too many poets today hold the Common Reader (I hold myself to be one) in well, le't's put it this way. Look up the English department in a college catalogue and you will see a listed course abbreviated as Contemp. Poetry." But, if the Registrar followed the Trut...
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Sandcastles: 2 of 8

"Retiremental" Ever since I was a boy down 'til now I have been a builder. On the shore, fortressed sand castles with sugar cone turrets. Atop my paperweighted desk appointment booked hurdles holding back the tide. Doing this and that. The Boy and the Man always busy building. LIke the tide, susbstance passes in a moment. Bu...
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Does society need poets?: 10 of 39

My Profession Society needs poets? Society high, middle, low is a division of labor. We work. We need to work to make a living. But, poets help us answer the question, "How do I make a life?" Poets, along with the Dreamers and the Saints, are essential to Society we need to know why we work. What is the purpose of it all? An...
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Can 'bad' poetry have value?: 21 of 67

"It's Good to Be Bad" Yes, we have no bananas. And, yes, it is good to be bad for one good reason: CONNOISSEURSHIP. You can be a connoisseur of about anything - wine, even beer. So, why not of poetry? What makes a connoisseur a connoisseur is (a) knowledge, (b) experience, and (c) enthusiasm. So, for example, wine and beer c...
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Predictions on how modern American poetry will evolve in the 21st Century: 1 of 3

"Circling the Drain" I predict that 21st century poetry will circle the drain and be flushed down the Wait, a sec. Block that metaphor. Let's be more poetic. Okay, 21 century poetry will take the first commercial space shuttle to Neptune where its only readers will be residing. Back to the "circling" metaphor for a moment. L...
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Is it better to write a poem based on experience or based on opinion?: 9 of 26

Too Much Information After reciting a poem about growing up on a farm in Watsonville, California, an audience member asked me about this farm town. He was surprised that the closest I had come to rural life was as a little boy riding the swan boats in Boston's Public Gardens. I am a Poetry Professor no, not a college teacher...
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Does the best poetry come from the heart or from the mind?: 41 of 103

Move a Mountain, but Not a Molehill It's odd what poetry can do for us, and doesn't do. It can save lives individually, but not collectively. [Charles Wright. from his Introduction to The Best American Poetry, 2008. Scribner Poetry, 2008.] I am not an English professor, but a writer and reader holding deep beliefs about poet...
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Book reviews: The Haiku Anthology, by Cor van den Heuvel: 1 of 2

Put That Book Down and Walk Back Slowly If you do not write haiku or do not want to learn how to write haiku, put that book down. Cor van der Heuvel's "The Haiku Anthology," is not for you. There is only one reason to read "Over 800 of the Best English Language Haiku and Related Works.. : TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE IT. There is n...
Arts & Humanities > Poets & Poetry Book reviews: The Haiku Handbook, by William J. Higginson with Penny Harter: 1 of 2

"William Higginson: Western World's Basho" William Higginson's The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku is the best book on the writing of haiku for Westerners. Right off the bat, a key question: can the writing of haiku, or for that matter, any kind of poetry, be taught? Well, let me back up. In grade school...