PPP: Adding articles on poets

by George Dance

Writing an article for Penny's Poetry Pages (PPP) is easy. It's a great way to get your own ideas on a subject out there. If you write poetry, you can even write an article about yourself. (I did.)

To start with a simile: Articles on PPP are like the poems in an anthology: No one expects them all to be the same, and no one would want them to all be the same; if they were, it would get rather boring. What facts you include. and how you say them, are up to the writer: you. If someone else doesn't like the result, they can suggest or make changes; but it's not their job to tell you how to write your article.

At the same time, the poems in an anthology have a standard format, to make it easier for the reader to navigate around; and that's what we try to do here. We confine the standardization to level-2 headlines. (A level 2 headline is like the one below that says, "Introduction.") An article on a poet contains six sections: Introduction, Life, Writing, Recognition, Publications, References, External links. The first three are written in paragraph form, while the last three are lists.

Introduction
That's the easiest thing to do. An introduction can be as short as one sentence giving only (1) name (2) birth (and death) date(s), (3) country of origin, and (4) the information that the subject is a poet. For example:
 * George Dance (born October 28, 1953) is a Canadian poet.

That one sentence, along with (1) a reference and (2) an external link for more information, is an article, of the type that used to be known (on Wikipedia) as a 'classic stub.' So you could stop right there if you wanted. But you don't have to. You can list the person's major accomplishments, the things that would get a reader's interest. If the poet has one or two famous works, then mention it or them in the introduction to. You do not have to say "She is notable for...", but try to confine the introduction to mainly things the poet is notable for.

You do not have to, and you are encouraged to not, give too many details in the introduction; save those for the appropriate section. Also, do not make your introduction too long: two or three paragraphs is enough. The preference here is for short introductions, so that the contents box (with its list of sections) shows on the same screen as the article title.

Life
"Life" is the first standard heading. Not "Biography," but that sounds a bit offputting - "too much like a classroom" is how one contributor put it. You are free to make this section as long or as short as you like, and to add whatever subtitles you like to organize the section. Here is a suggestion; but you can use what divisions you like, or none at all.

Personal life
Two tips:
 * (1) keep the information, for the most part, chronological: that is, start with the poet's birth and end with her death, with everything in between arranged in order from birth to death. (For the most part, since you may want to deal with some aspects of the person's life in a separate section, like "Personal life" in the above list). (2) do not include information that belongs elsewhere:
 * (2) do not include detailed information that belongs in another section. For example, suppose your poet won the Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for her book, Best Poetry Ever. You can mention in the intro that she won the Pulitzer, and in the "Life" section that she won it in 1989; but keep the full details for the "Recognition" section (which is where a reader will be looking for them).

Writing
This section covers evaluation of the poet's work. Once again, you can divide it into whatever subsections you want. Some articles have different sections for each book the poet has produced; some have no subsections at all. Other options for subheadings include:

Influences
All options are fine. As a rule of thumb, a section should not be longer than five paragraphs, so if it gets longer consider breaking it into smaller subsections; but this is not mandatory.

Recognition
This section includes everything that has been done to or for the poet. Things that can be listed (and possible subheadings include:

Awards and honors
Awards won by the poet in her lifetime. 'Honors' are things like honorary degrees from universities.

Legacy
Schools, parks, prizes, or other things named after the poet.

Influence
Acknowledgements by other writers of the poet's influence on their own work.

In popular culture
Modern references or allusions to the poet and/or her work.

Quotes
This is an optional section; use it only if you cannot fit the material into other sections. If you do add this or any other new sections, put them here: after the three written sections, and before the appendices or point-form sections.

Publications
Use this section to list the books the poet published. Do not call this section "Bibliography", since that could mean either of two things: a bibliography of the poet's writing, or a bibliography of the sources you used to write the article. You are again free to use what subheads you want, or none if you prefer. Some sample subheadings include:

Poetry
use this subheading for books of poetry, not individual poems.

Children's books
As you can see, there is duplication in the above list. Use only the titles you need. If the list is short, you can bulk it by including articles as well as books, and also by adding.

Edited
For books the poet edited.

Anthologized
For poems the poet had published in notable anthologies (like the ones with articles on Penny's Poetry Pages).

Poems
For individual poems.

Contrariwise, if the list is too long, you can cut it down, while giving the full list on a new page ("Poet X bibliography" - yes, the word can be used there), which you'd link to this section, with a template.