Hopkins and Clampitt: Part 4 of Lesson 15 of Write it! How to get started

What they did, how they did it, why they matter and a free-write experiment

Photo by Trust "Tru" Katsande on Unsplash

First find➡️ poems Hopkins and Clampitt.

Gerard Manley Hopkins stopped writing for seven years and Amy Clampitt started late. Hopkins became famous after his death. Clampitt lived to see her success, even her induction into the Academy of American Poets.

Hopkins and Clampitt, who saw Hopkins as a major influence—as do many writers of free verse—are worth reading no matter how hard you found these poems. Here’s the trick: Be willing to go with the rhythm and the syntax—sentences that do make some sense—and don’t get hung up on hunting for a single message.

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889): Hopkins was a Jesuit priest. His conflict over writing brought a seven year silence that I’ll explain.

Writers often don’t write not only because of the need to work at other jobs but also because they’re conflicted. Some fear self-revelation or the revelation of others.

Remember this and then read on:

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