Today, I’d like to spend a few moments speaking about “Voice” in poetry. I’m sure most of us have had the experience of reading a poem and recognizing the poet without seeing the byline or credit. When Luke Prater and his team had his critique site, they held several contests for participants. Entries were, of course, submitted anonymously. But I remember reading one of Claudia’s poems and having not the least doubt to whom it could be attributed. Claudia—and numerous other poets who participate in dVerse offerings—write work that just screams Here I am; it’s me! Poets of times present and past are recognizable in this manner: Gerard Manley Hopkins, William Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, Wallace Stevens, e.e. Cummings and (my own personal favorite) Mary Oliver to mention but a few.

As I understand it, voice or tone is what reveals the poets personal attitude about his or her subject. Extrapolate…