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About 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.

Jack and Jill

Blog Posted by Suzette Richards: 11/22/2024 9:52:00 PM

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water …
[That is their story and they should stick to it. I find it rather incongruous that siblings would share in a task ...]

It has been said by a few that this is an amateur site. Where better than to cut our teeth before venturing out into the big bad world of ‘real poets’ and contests held by the likes of the American Society of Poets, etc.  There is a feeling expressed by some that one should be judged by those more knowledgeable than oneself, but when that happens, the sponsor is slammed for being too strict, showing off, and all sorts of disagreeable epithets.

Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt. ~William Shakespeare

I don’t get the reluctance of trying new ideas or even new poetic forms surrounded by the support of old friends. Maybe PS should relax the ‘only say nice things’ when commenting on people’s poems. For example, if someone is writing for a contest and goes to a lot of effort with the composition of a poem, then friends should feel secure enough to point out a slight error, for example, its and not it’s; borne and not born, their and not there, etc. But then there are perhaps some sponsors who would overlook these as minor errors. However, when the very contest is based upon a certain criteria, for example, a specific rhyme scheme, then any deviation from it would (and should) result in the rejection of the entry. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.*

Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.

The landscape of poetry changes all the time, and it has picked up speed with the readily available information at our fingertips. If we wish to compete on the international stage, we need to up our game and arm ourselves with knowledge.

Kick back and relax; enjoy what the weekend has in store for you, and try your hand at one or more of the 19 contests and challenges on offer (whether you enter your poem in a contest or not). Who knows? You might surprise yourself.

Happy quills!

Suzette

__________________________________________________________________________

What is the origin of the phrase "heavy is the head that wears the crown"?

Technically, "heavy is the head that wears the crown" finds its origins from William Shakespeare, but the phrase is actually a misquote. The real phrase reads, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," and it is spoken by King Henry in Henry IV: Part II, Act III, Scene I.



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Date: 11/23/2024 12:47:00 PM
I really love where you discuss helping each other by mentioning misspelled words, typos, and other small mistakes. Recently I have been seeing poets using wrong titles and I let them know this. I sure would appreciate more people doing the same for ME because sometimes I just get forgetful and mess up!
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/23/2024 8:24:00 PM
We are human and with each contest comes different challenges. I often write a draft and go back to it. That is when I forget a small point such as titles ... People often read the poems of a particular contest while it is ongoing and it would be helpful if we could cast an eye over the entries of our fellow contestants -- after all, we are not writing for the American Society of Poets :)
Date: 11/23/2024 12:42:00 PM
I know Constance feels the same as I do. We like to think of the contests as challenges. Those who rise to the challenge and use great poetry skills and other things I describe as my own criteria, will score the best. I have been a bit more selective now on my total number of winners, but I don't want to discourage those like Kim describes below, so I use a point system that will allow at least 2/3 of my entries to have a win . Sometimes nearly everyone gets to be on my list and be read. It just depends on the topic and level of difficulty of the form. Also, I really enjoy reading winner lists of poems that don't use too many lines. That's why I often sponsor only contests of short forms.
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/26/2024 10:05:00 PM
Without the participation of the reader, poetry is nothing. Some readers may prefer to be tantalised with just a mere hint of the subject matter, whereas others might prefer a well-padded text.
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Andrea Dietrich
Date: 11/25/2024 3:17:00 PM
We like what we like, Charlotte. And we write how we like as well. I would buy a book filled with hilarious limericks or a small book filled with haiku and actually read all those poems. But not so with a book filled with long poems. It's all good, my friend. And you are awesome at free verse.
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Charlotte Puddifoot
Date: 11/25/2024 8:25:00 AM
i didn't see you responded to my comment, andrea..if i write short forms i feel like i'm writing in a straitjacket, but it makes sense cos i hate restriction in any area of my life, not just poetry! our approach to poetry is opposite, but we're on the same page where other things are concerned (you know what they are) ;)
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Andrea Dietrich
Date: 11/24/2024 8:36:00 PM
Suzette. I didn't see what you wrote about a blog on commas. I actually blogged about it years ago and there was no interest. It is here somewhere at Soup under articles submitted to Soup. I had written a few on grammar, etc.
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Andrea Dietrich
Date: 11/24/2024 11:20:00 AM
So funny how different we are, Charlotte. i guess I am not the poetry buff you are. The only things I like to last long are good movies and meals! (and sleep) Adding to this, it stands to reason that you prefer long poems because this is what free verse poets are likely to be more drawn to. I do not often write well in free verse, and I feel if I write prose, my poems do not get read here. I love forms because having restrictions placed on me actually can help me write in a more focused way sometimes!
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Charlotte Puddifoot
Date: 11/24/2024 3:29:00 AM
i'm the total opposite, andrea, i don't like short forms, it's just not proper poetry to me and i can't understand what people see in it, it makes me feel short changed as a reader, i have a saying "10 minutes to write and 10 seconds to read" lol
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/24/2024 12:37:00 AM
Oh, the Oxford comma :). I think that I would do a blog (maybe in the new year), where we can collaborate on a blog regarding punctuation. There are differences between American and British punctuation, but we have a lot in common.
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Andrea Dietrich
Date: 11/23/2024 11:26:00 PM
I enjoy that you ask mainly for short poetry forms. Forget forms. I would love if some people knew what commas were for. Also, I wish that kind of thing didn't bother me so much. I can't really let people know that is one of the things that makes me score low. I know some people don't care about it though and I don't think it is something one can comment about under a person's poem because it would take too much space to explain the rules of it. That's why I have started telling folks I will accept unpunctuated poetry with good line breaks.
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/23/2024 8:37:00 PM
I also like short forms and have introduced some aspect or other of poetic devices during my contests. I have found that people don't often warm to the idea of learning new things, or even established things, and this makes it difficult to select multiple contest winners -- if it is wrong, then there is nothing that can salvage it -- it makes for a short winners list. A pity.
Date: 11/23/2024 11:03:00 AM
Who is the writer and who is the judge. I expect certain things depending on who they are. Some of us enjoy the competition. Some writers have many errors because of a disabilty,age, different language, perhaps. I love the discussion of this topic. It is worthwhile. More later…
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/25/2024 10:34:00 AM
I checked out Than Bauk. I've heard of it before, but never tried it. Mmmm loved the example poem: Lighten Up. Good point which I should take to heart (my personal opinion). :)
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Kim Rodrigues
Date: 11/24/2024 5:15:00 PM
The great poets were not always legalistic with their writing. Making someone do just straight out perfect rhymes can be annoying (though the sponsor has a right to it) that is why I enjoyed writing Than Bauk form using beginning sounds instead of rhymes. Some words are harder to rhyme and others have none. Just some thoughts :)
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/23/2024 9:30:00 PM
Personally I prefer writing for contests that are specific in their requirements. For example, merely stating 'rhymed verse ' makes me wonder if the sponsor is aware of the myriad of rhymes available to the poet. If not, playing it safe and sticking to end of line single perfect rhymes become boring ...
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/23/2024 8:47:00 PM
I agree with the points you make, Kim. There is a fine balance between encouraging poets and not being too lenient -- sometimes I have to remind myself of the fact that without the support of fellow poets, I would not be where I am today. Your opening sentence reminded me of my Suzette Prime contest I held last year, where I learned to relax the 'no punctuation' rule. It is certainly a two-way street for me. :)

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