Award-winning poet says poetry is “the closest you can get to saying the unsayable.”

During National Poetry Month, Lewis University Professor of English, Dr. Simone Muench offers beginners advice on writing poetry.

Top 5 Tips for Novice Poets:

  • Take risks and become best friends with the process of revision.
  • Ignore negativity. Your writing, and its ability to communicate, express and connect matters.
  • Read widely and deeply.
  • Writing is about the three P’s: process, practice, and persistence.
  • Don’t forget to have fun!

Dr. Simone Muench is the author of six full-length poetry collections. The poetry expert has received numerous awards including The Meier Charitable Foundation for the Arts Achievement Award. Currently, she serves as chief faculty advisor for Jet Fuel Review, a senior poetry editor for Tupelo Quarterly, and a poetry editor for JackLeg Press.

Lewis University has a variety of educational opportunities for aspiring poets including Jet Fuel Review, a student-run, faculty-advised national literary journal that publishes poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and artwork. The College Media Association consecutively honored the Jet Fuel Review as “Four-Year Literary Magazine of the Year” from 2019-2022.