Suzette Richards Biography

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.

Traditions - Happy Halloween

Blog Posted by Suzette Richards: 10/31/2025 2:52:00 AM

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Date: 11/2/2025 7:23:00 AM
i like to write outside the box not in it
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/3/2025 12:56:00 AM
I can think of nothing worse than being labeled or boxed in by stagnant forms, Charlotte. You certainly have a unique voice - maybe reminiscent of the original Emily Dickinson eschewing "rules". Love it!
Woody Avatar
Tom Woody
Date: 11/2/2025 10:30:00 AM
You're like Plath. What box?
Date: 11/1/2025 6:55:00 PM
Thoughtful blog. Happy Halloween!! Even if it is November 1st, lol
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/1/2025 10:13:00 PM
:)
Date: 11/1/2025 8:34:00 AM
Nice blog and photos. What kind of poet am I? Hmmm... I've never studied poetry (except form research), don't read the Greats much, never went to university. Said this many times but at heart I just like to tell stories, especially fiction. I try to fit my stories into poetic structures for the sake of this site but I much prefer to write straight prose. Occasionally I'll try a new form but currently haibuns are my go to
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Tom Woody
Date: 11/2/2025 10:29:00 AM
We try, we try
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Charlotte Puddifoot
Date: 11/2/2025 7:26:00 AM
i see you as more of a prose writer too, but you write a decent sonnet :)
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/1/2025 10:13:00 PM
You have in the past also referred to them as "haibun" but they lean more towards versiprose, Tom. There is nothing wrong with being experimental ... Glad you liked the blog. Have a nice weekend. ;)
Date: 10/31/2025 8:42:00 PM
A Friday made for moonlight. Happy Halloween Pea Soupers!
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/1/2025 1:56:00 AM
:)
Date: 10/31/2025 7:28:00 AM
- Happy Halloween :) -
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/1/2025 1:56:00 AM
:)
Date: 10/31/2025 4:15:00 AM
Freedom of speech is indeed a fundamental right whether it hurts the recipient or not. The recipients’ s feelings are irrelevant. It’s a digression I know but an important distinction. Thanks for a blog that doesn’t bore me senseless. You are to be congratulated.
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Tom Woody
Date: 11/1/2025 8:29:00 AM
@Cwaigy you must gift us with a photo of you wearing an apron that says Daddy's Kitchen whilst holding a rainbow colored spatula. @keefer freedom of speech, like all freedoms, is and will always be relative. For example, provable slander is a civil crime and comes with penalties. That having been said, many were offended by Jesus' words in his day. It's gonna happen at times.
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Suzette Richards
Date: 11/1/2025 1:57:00 AM
:)
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Keith D Trestrail
Date: 10/31/2025 3:12:00 PM
I too cook a lot in the House of Trestrail especially between the vernal equinox and winter solstice. If not the wife serves up stew of roadkill, bats blood, a lock of goat hair and frog tongues.
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Craig Cornish
Date: 10/31/2025 9:20:00 AM
Agreed to above and below - except - the assumption that wives do all the cooking - in my/our household we split duties I cook, she cleans up, she cooks, I clean up--cooking is perhaps my favorite hobby!
Richards Avatar
Suzette Richards
Date: 10/31/2025 6:56:00 AM
Thank you, Keith - I needed that. Oh, I hope your wife doesn't follow your comments. One never know what she is serving for supper tonight ;)
Trestrail Avatar
Keith D Trestrail
Date: 10/31/2025 4:19:00 AM
By the way, I don’t celebrate Halloween. Every day is Halloween in my house. Enough with the witches and broomsticks - I’m married!

Previous Blogs

Recap of Contest Etiquette
Date Posted: 11/12/2025 6:01:00 AM
Honouring 11 November: A Shared Legacy of Courage
Date Posted: 11/11/2025 3:33:00 AM
You give me AI and I raise you Dylan Thomas
Date Posted: 11/7/2025 4:50:00 AM
Traditions - Happy Halloween
Date Posted: 10/31/2025 2:52:00 AM
Metaphor Treasure Hunt
Date Posted: 10/21/2025 6:12:00 AM
The Different Styles of Writing Poetry
Date Posted: 10/16/2025 12:25:00 AM
Free Verse - an oft Misunderstood Term
Date Posted: 10/8/2025 1:46:00 AM
Metamodern Imagism
Date Posted: 9/28/2025 5:46:00 AM
I’ve a new toy: SPOKEN WORD
Date Posted: 9/20/2025 1:10:00 PM
Rhyme and WHY AI gets it Wrong - The Pirouette
Date Posted: 9/17/2025 1:43:00 AM
Reinventing the Wheel? Have your say
Date Posted: 9/8/2025 7:02:00 AM
Go Fish winners
Date Posted: 8/30/2025 1:56:00 AM
‘nough said
Date Posted: 8/24/2025 1:24:00 AM
To Quote or Not to Quote - That Is the Question
Date Posted: 8/15/2025 8:04:00 AM
GO FISH FOR CONTEST DETAILS
Date Posted: 8/14/2025 6:33:00 AM
Haibun - Subtle and Respectful
Date Posted: 8/9/2025 12:35:00 PM
Haiku - A Lesson in Humility
Date Posted: 8/8/2025 2:08:00 AM
Prose Poetry versus ‘Regular’ Poetry - A Vignette’s Whisper
Date Posted: 8/7/2025 1:12:00 AM
Poets as Truth Tellers
Date Posted: 8/2/2025 11:26:00 PM
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

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Book: Reflection on the Important Things