The Difference Between Solitude and Loneliness

By Terrance Terich

"The Difference Between Solitude and Loneliness" is a book of poems.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543944297

Book preview

eBook ISBN 978-1-54394-429-7

To my mother

Words I string together

Could never

Equal the support

And love

I have been given

Introduction

If you are reading this, chances are that you know me. Hi. How are you? How have you been? Thank you for your interest in this book. Sincerely.

When I wrote my first poem after a hiatus of over fifteen years, (Counterpoint), I never envisioned having written enough poetry to compile a book. Here I am, however, eight years later – two of grad school and six of teaching – writing an introduction to a book, which only came about because I had remembered how much I love poetry.

Rather than give you a history, or explanations of poems (some of those will come later), I would simply like to take this time to thank you for any part you may have played in not only encouraging my poetry, but in supporting poetry in general. Whether you had ever asked for a copy of one of my poems, or attended a poetry slam, better yet competed in one, or listened to a friend read his or her poem, or even secretly wrote your own, never telling anyone, but someday wishing you could, I want to thank you for being a part of a great movement.

Poetry is art.

Poetry is beauty.

Poetry is rebellion.

Poetry is a wallflower at a school dance, watching the world move in unison, and then taking the floor, flailing and gyrating, daring all to join.

Thanks for joining me.

Table of Contents

Prompts

So Long, Lonesome

Anniversary

Remembering My Grandfather at Anaheim Hills

Love Letter – Movie Projector to a Port-a-Potty

Love Letter – Bookmark to a Book

Instructions Not Included

Where I’m From

Character Witness

Snapshot Images

Feminism Now

Blue

Confidence

PantBOOM

The King of Muppets

Bad Haikus

Hazelnut Lattes

Speeches

Counterpoint

Eating Words

Why We Teach

Questionable Character

Senior Power

Ever After

It’s Sunday Night

My Body of Water

#PoeMonday

Typography

Legacy

Ode to a Burrito

The Shortest Poem I Have Ever Written

Believing

Troubled Times

The Death of Honesty

Exhale

How to Live a Life

Speak Your Truth

Overcome

Edges First

Pennants

Fire and Fury (A Movie Pitch)

Slams

I Am Hip-Hop

Impossibilities

I Get Up at 3:45

3-Letter Words

Once

Graduation

A Poem I Never Wanted to Write

An Open Letter to the Men of Hip-Hop

What Did You Learn?

Theseus

Limitless

Oscar

Prompts: A Preface

In many ways I am still a novice poet. Despite my years, I have not practiced my craft enough to call myself a veteran or experienced writer. As such, all novices need structure and guidance. Reading the poetry of others is a huge help. Relying on existing prompts is another.

The first section of this book is populated with poems that fall into three categories: the result of writing to a prompt or strict form, mimicking the work of established poets, or making very early attempts at writing when I didn’t know what I was doing.

Is this the best way to open a book of poetry? Perhaps not, as some would say I should start strong, but this is a different type of book. Rather than present my work as a showcase of literary merit, which I cannot in good conscience claim, I would rather this be a way for other novice writers to see that poetry is always a work in progress and that anyone can access it. Far too often I hear young people saying, I can’t write poetry. Nonsense. Time after time, after providing prompts in the classroom, I see nothing but beauty in return.

I have often said, in the Poetry Club I advise, that poetry should exist on its own merits and should be free of prefacing. Before you call me a hypocrite, there is a reason for this preface that doesn’t so much explain the poetry as it explains the prompts so that you can a) use the prompts on your own and b) see that the huge similarities between my poetry and other, famous poems, are somewhat by design / practice.

So Long, Lonesome is the name of a song by Austin post-rock band Explosions in the Sky. This poem came out of a prompt in which an album is selected and song titles from that album are chosen by members of Poetry Club to use as titles for original poems.

Remembering my Grandfather at Anaheim Hills is the result of using the phrase I remember… as the start of lines or stanzas and then removing the phrase to end up with a new poem filled with imagery.

The two love letter poems and Instructions Not Included are inspired by the great Sarah Kay and her series of love letters from one inanimate object to another, and Point B, which has been the centerpiece of a TED Talk, as well as the impetus for her deservedly viral status as a vital poet of a new generation. The love letter prompt has been great for those who love puns, and the Point B prompt, or as we call it in Poetry Club, If I Should Have a…, has produced some of the most heartfelt poetry I have read from young people, tapping into issues of their own upbringing or into hopes and dreams for the future of humankind.

Character Witness, Snapshot Images, Feminism Now, Blue, and PantBOOM are all from prompts used in the Lake Washington High School Junior English curriculum. While the origins of these prompts may have been lost to time, I owe the existence of these poems to Tena Lasik, my colleague in the English Department, and someone I wish would write more poetry as she is a phenomenal talent. Forms can be a great guide for novice poets, with acrostics (Feminism Now) and pantoums (PantBOOM) being notable examples. The others all have specific guides for structure, though perhaps not widely known.

The King of Muppets was a (somewhat) failed attempt