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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.

Mathematics, Poetry, and Trust Issues

Blog Posted by Suzette Richards: 7/26/2025 2:10:00 AM

Mathematics and poetry—seemingly distant disciplines—actually share an affinity for structure and prescribed terms. Yet their divergence is telling. Mathematics thrives within standardised formulas; it can be replicated algorithmically with precision. Poetry, in contrast, resists replication. It breathes nuance, emotional resonance, and the kind of complexity machines still struggle to capture.

Take this example:

8 + (3 × 2)² ÷ 6

Following the order of operations:

  1. Brackets: (3 × 2) = 6
  2. Exponents: 6² = 36
  3. Division: 36 ÷ 6 = 6
  4. Addition: 8 + 6 = 14

Final result: 14

Two global acronyms guide this process:

 PEMDAS (U.S. usage)

  • P: Parentheses
  • E: Exponents
  • MD: Multiplication and Division (left to right)
  • AS: Addition and Subtraction (left to right)

BODMAS (elsewhere)

  • B: Brackets
  • O: Orders (exponents, roots)
  • DM: Division and Multiplication (left to right)
  • AS: Addition and Subtraction (left to right)

Despite linguistic differences, the logic remains universal. You’ll get the same answer—whether via app, algorithm, or your own intuitive reasoning.

Trusting someone else to Pack your Parachute, by Suzette Richards – image generated.

Trust as a Negotiated Space

Trust isn’t binary. It’s a negotiated territory—fluid, personal, and often fragile. Whether you trust your instincts, your intellect, or a machine to guide your decisions, one truth persists: trust breeds trust, but once fractured, it rarely returns unscathed.

Unlike machines, humans must live with the aftermath of broken trust. That emotional residue—regret, resilience, remembrance—is what makes us human.

I’ve spent most of my life challenging conventions and questioning authority. In spaces that should foster vulnerability—like poetry communities—I’ve seen how perceived status, language, race, or even the tone of one’s ‘expertise’ can build barriers. Who gets to declare truth? Who gets heard? And who is gently dismissed?

Even among poets—truth-tellers by trade—those dynamics still shape the dialogue.

So: lend your ears wisely. Whether you're the one speaking or listening, the act itself is a choice. And sometimes, silence speaks volumes.

Have a great weekend

Happy quills

Su

My notes refined by Microsoft Copilot for clarity and readability.

 



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Date: 7/27/2025 10:40:00 AM
Enjoyed this blog! Mathematics is regimented, whereas poetry is born in the individual life, changing perspectives, imagination, etc..
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Suzette Richards
Date: 7/27/2025 10:52:00 AM
You got it, Kim. Thanks for reading:)
Date: 7/26/2025 2:55:00 PM
I am really bad at math and understanding even how to do that problem you presented. I agree though that everyone has such differing perspectives and we have been influenced by many different aspects of our lives. An example is in how we perceive the AI checkers . Now that I have tested my own poem with it, I have changed my way of thinking. I am not going to hold it against people if their poems check out as AI when they have written their poetry themselves. In a way, if an "honest" poem is seen as AI, there must be somthing pretty good about it. So bring it on, cheaters. Let's just compete with the AI cheaters if we have to, but with poems that have more soul.
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Andrea Dietrich
Date: 7/27/2025 8:56:00 AM
So true. We just keep doing our best and to hell with the AI competitors (just came back and saw I made a ridiculous typo)
Richards Avatar
Suzette Richards
Date: 7/27/2025 12:54:00 AM
I agree, Andrea. Sometimes AI can produce quite nice poems, but personally I find it bland. Many moons ago I said in one of my articles that if we want to beat AI, we need to up our game and write better poetry as a whole.
Date: 7/26/2025 6:35:00 AM
Thanks for sharing, dear. Math doesn't compute in my brain. Thanks to Howard Gardner, it doesn't have to. That's an intelligence I don't possess. Trust, on the other hand, is something I do understand. Once it's broken, repair is almost impossible, except by grace. When it comes to linguistic intelligence, I do have my share. What struck home is your sentence about poets being the truth tellers. How sad when that isn't the case. It's the poets and authors who shed light on the abuse of truth and power by any government or social system or community. May that always be the case.... elsewhere and especially here.
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Andrea Dietrich
Date: 7/26/2025 3:03:00 PM
Well said, Eileen.
Richards Avatar
Suzette Richards
Date: 7/26/2025 9:28:00 AM
It is through the legacy left by poets - some shouting, others whispering - that we can grasp the truth. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Eileen

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