Poetry and Professional Writing: More in Common Than You Think

Thanks to Amanda Gorman’s beautiful words and stellar performance at the inauguration, poetry is having a moment. Or, perhaps more accurately: more people are aware of its value and power. Poetry is my favorite of the writing mediums and has been part of my creative practice since I was eight. So I’m pumped about this turn of events.

You’d be surprised at how much of what a poet does applies in the business world. Every line of copy I’ve ever written was shaped by writing in form — I’m talking about sonnets, no joke. Every piece of thought leadership I’ve come up with was brought to life thanks to the intense observation and reflection poetry requires. And while this may sound ridiculous, poetry’s reliance on capturing images and stories quickly helped me create the scripts, social media captions, sales emails, and holiday cards I produced in my time at Viacom. You never know what will teach you and inspire you.

To that end, I wanted to share with you a few books currently living on my night stand. Enjoy…I’d love to hear what you think!

“An Incomplete List of Names”, Michael Torres (particularly beloved by my high school students)

“A Fortune for Your Disaster”, Hanif Abdurraqib

“Devotions”, Mary Oliver (a classic)

Louise Gluck, “Poems: 1962–2012. (She won the 2020 Nobel Prize for literature. Her book, “The Wild Iris,” is a favorite of mine and had a huge impact on my writing.)