The process of writing poetry, especially poetry with a spiritual focus, is far from cut-and-dry, but there are a few particular research elements that have helped me gain my footing in writing spiritually-focused poetry. Firstly, as you will see on the left, reading essays on poetics from the likes of Mary Karr and Don McKay—both of whom approach their own writing as avid readers of other poets—has taught me to give myself the time and space to reflect deeply on the possible ways poetry can reach out and touch experiences, specifically spiritual experiences, that are beyond language. Secondly, as you will see on the right, I have studied form, imagery, technique, and content through reading poetry collections from a wide variety of poets both inside and outside the Christian tradition. Finally, I took what I had gleaned from these poetics essays and poetry collections and applied those insights to my own poetry of spiritual experience. The process of creating that poetry is seen below
