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Suzette Richards
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Mission statement: I don’t use AI to generate or even tweak my poetry, because I am a better poet than it.

 

Poetry has been my passion since my retirement from an accountancy based career a dozen years ago. I currently live in South Africa and this rainbow nation has inspired many of my poems. I also have British nationality and embrace their grammar and spelling, but I read widely and am not fazed by strict grammar rules: A pavement/sidewalk; glasses/eyeglasses; judgement/judgment, et cetera; they are one and the same to me when I read poetry. To date, I have self-published a number of books, including the poetry anthology by international poets, © Time, 2014 ISBN 978-0-620-60578-6, and have been cited in many international publications, both poetry journals, as well as in scholarly handbooks. Some of my short stories have been published in international electronic publications, and one of my novellas had been short-listed for an Afrikaans SA publication.

I serve on the Board of Advisers, of Taleemi Baithak.

I have a number (14 to date) poetic forms to my credit, notably, Suzette Prime, 2012 (listed here on PoetrySoup under Types of Poems), as well as The Tesla 3-6-9, 2017, and Suzcrostic, 2021 (listed under New Poetic Forms here on PoetrySoup), Suzette sonnet (Suznet), 2023 - introduced via an article here at PoetrySoup, as well as the brand new Suzette Swan Arc, 3  April 2025. These all resist AI imitation.

My most recent books which include examples of my poetry as well as notes regarding poetry - available directly from me:

  1. © The Eutony of Words, 2018 ISBN 978-0-6399382-0-2
  2. © Docendo discimus, 2021 (Revised 2023) ISBN 978-0-620-95432-7
  3. © Flight of Thoughts, 2023 ISBN 978-0-6397-8880-7
  4. © Downtown - Poetic Devices, 2023 ISBN 978-0-7961-1968-1
  5.  © Rocking Poetry, 2033 ISBN 978-0-7961-2824-9
  6. NEW: moonwake - Suzette Prime poetry, ISBN 978-1-0370-1836-7(PDF). It is a collection of 61 Suzette Prime poetry spanning from 2012 (when I designed the poetic form), up till now.

A Timely Intervention

Blog Posted by Suzette Richards: 3/2/2025 12:42:00 PM

Years ago I said that I would try to use the terminology associated with poetry – a type of shorthand, instead of long, complicated sentences that effectively says the same thing.

Poetry is like making something desirable: One need to be able to read the recipe ingredients and understand the method. I wrote some articles to expand the lexicon on here, eg juxtaposition, twist, etc.

One can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs. But I think I scrambled more brains than those I enlightened. It was a learning process for me as well and I was excited to share titbits with fellow poets.

I think that I got ahead of myself and in the process created an unnatural environment where poets felt lost amongst the jargon. Or like the kids used to say: ‘Too much information …’

Someone once said on here that writing poetry is an addiction. I agree and as such, the dirty dishes can wait.

Due to the kind intervention of a fellow poet, I will turn over a new leaf (you know who you are).

 Friendships mean more than being right all the time.

[Edit 6/3/2025]

FEEDBACK: I have now hit upon a very simple solution: I will in future gauge the level of difficulty of my contests by using Microsoft Copilot to evaluate it. This will be appended at the top of each of my future contests and will hopefully be of interest to the contestants. It uses tried and tested formulae that check for number of words and the vocabulary used, etc.

 Often contests (here and elsewhere) stipulate the age group that it is aimed at. How are we to judge a hodgepodge of entries for a particular contest with age groups all over the show? It’s like comparing a debate between Greta Thunberg and … Oh, never mind.



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Date: 3/4/2025 8:54:00 AM
I’d say continue the good work. There is this story … Buddha came to give a discourse but refused to begin, stating that he was waiting for that one specific person who would profit from his words. It was a beggar, an outcast … much to the chagrin of the village elders! Who knows who will benefit? Be the rose that spreads its fragrance without evaluating the outcome.
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Suzette Richards
Date: 3/4/2025 10:18:00 AM
Thank you, Seeker. You touched my heart.
Date: 3/3/2025 6:53:00 AM
Thanks Suzette. It have always appreciated your blogs, even though I lost the path a few times. I fostered research on many occasions. :)
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Suzette Richards
Date: 3/4/2025 10:45:00 PM
I have now found a way around the 'language barrier' where AI now reword my contest descriptions to a more accessible (re literacy) piece. Thank you for your support, Linda.
Date: 3/2/2025 1:29:00 PM
Sweet blog, Suzette. I enjoyed the brevity and the cute pictures you included.
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Suzette Richards
Date: 3/2/2025 8:44:00 PM
Thank you:)

Previous Blogs

 
Go Fish - A Book Prize
Date Posted: 7/30/2025 1:37:00 AM
Mathematics, Poetry, and Trust Issues
Date Posted: 7/26/2025 2:10:00 AM
A Fascinating Cultural Tension
Date Posted: 7/20/2025 1:20:00 AM
Blasphemy
Date Posted: 7/14/2025 8:12:00 PM
A Gentle Nudge is not a Critique
Date Posted: 7/13/2025 3:17:00 AM
Tonal Slippage – The Ins and Outs
Date Posted: 6/30/2025 4:45:00 AM
THE AI-BRAIN SYNDROME SYMPTOMS
Date Posted: 6/26/2025 3:09:00 AM
JUDGING GUIDE FOR SPONSORS
Date Posted: 6/20/2025 1:10:00 AM
Suzette Swan Arc - Contest Finale
Date Posted: 6/14/2025 12:12:00 AM
Suzette Swan Arc and AI with Examples
Date Posted: 5/25/2025 6:00:00 AM
Lost in Translation
Date Posted: 5/21/2025 3:17:00 AM
Elements of Nature - Suzette Swan Arc Poetry
Date Posted: 5/14/2025 11:20:00 PM
Klein’s Vase Verse - A New Poetic Form Freer than Free Verse
Date Posted: 5/7/2025 12:54:00 PM
Free Verse – How Free is It?
Date Posted: 4/26/2025 11:37:00 PM
Gender Influences on Contests
Date Posted: 4/20/2025 2:54:00 AM
Memento on the Moon
Date Posted: 4/9/2025 12:26:00 AM
Tariffs on Penguins Limerick
Date Posted: 4/4/2025 7:02:00 AM
Light or Shadows
Date Posted: 3/25/2025 1:55:00 PM
Blood Moon Eclipse - Light or Shadows
Date Posted: 3/11/2025 12:46:00 AM
A Timely Intervention
Date Posted: 3/2/2025 12:42:00 PM
On a more serious note
Date Posted: 2/23/2025 5:40:00 AM
Weekend Wacky Limericks
Date Posted: 2/22/2025 3:34:00 AM
Saints and poets maybe – The Bride Trilogy challenge
Date Posted: 2/14/2025 12:37:00 AM
Saints and poets maybe
Date Posted: 2/9/2025 4:24:00 AM
According to the poem’s meter is stressed
Date Posted: 1/25/2025 9:53:00 PM

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Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry