Calligraphy is such a marvelous art. It’s a skill well beyond me, but one I admire so much. Do you have a link to any of your poetry? I enjoy reading people so much. Do you do calligraphy of your work, as well? And what type of writing? I love the rhythm of words. Sometimes I don’t know all the words of a sentence, but I often know the rhythm of the syllables and put in xx’s until I can replace them with words.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the book. Henry was a wonderful poet, but also a sincerely good man. I never read him but come away with a great sense of joy and peace. I hope you find that joy as well. Let me know if he appeals to you.
My poetry is as yet unpublished. I sometimes use idiosyncratic rhythm and rhyme; the hoity-toities who have perused examples consider it too ordered and abstract. Academia is controlled by secular hedonists who prefer the disordered and concrete.
Kipling and Poe are two of my favorites, so I am old(er) school.
I have one Kindle published, on nutrition, my vocation. I am writing a science-fiction tetralogy; I have about 100,000 words so far, mostly for the first volume. I may incorporate some of my poetry in that.
I have several shorter books on nutrition and theology in the works.
I am self taught in calligraphy. I was actually very good. Sadly, there is little call for it now in the digital graphic era. I used to make cards for others, and include a poem or Bible verse.
Yes, the rhythm of words is vital to good writing, I think, prose as well as poetry. When I write, I start with good grammar, then modify it as appropriate for voice, then substitute words that produce a better rhythm and alliteration. I call it word tasting.
An author who conveys a poetic feel to her prose is Patricia McKillip (The Riddle Master series).
My current avocation is singing and writing choral music. I back-doored into it: I wanted to set my poems to music, and took some classes on theory. I was good at theory, and good at harmony, so I ended up in some very high level choral ensembles, including arena extravaganzas like Star Wars in Concert, and The Lord of the Rings in Concert.
They were exhilarating, but my preference is for a cappella chamber choir music, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic. I toured Europe with two ensembles, and the first one competed in Italy.
I have been privileged to sing for some world-class conductors. I am not really quite at the level of some of my peers, but I am a very low bass; my voice type is always in demand, especially for Russian repertoire.
Your technique for composing is the one recommended by Gene Lees, lyricist (”Waltz for Debby”) and jazz critic, in his Rhyming Dictionary.