This meeting will be in the Golisano Gateway Center, in the Mid-Level room. If you walk from Parking Lot A (main lot) into the center "quad" of SJF, the Gateway building is to your LEFT as you face the Campus Center. Once you enter the Gateway, there will be signs directing you to our meeting room.

As usual, bring 8 copies of a poem you are working on for our group workshop that will run after the program (from 3:00 to 4:00 pm).

This month, Just Poets member John Roche leads a discussion on the many ways punctuation is used by a variety of poets.

John Roche

“How do I punctuate my poems?” That is an oft-asked question. Should one capitalize each each line, using periods and commas at the ends of lines, use lots of dashes like Emily Dickinson, follow E.E. Cummings in eschewing capitals altogether, or even create one’s own system of notation like some experimental poets? The answer will depend on your own personality and what you are trying to convey (as well as the type of poetry you are writing). To punctuate is literally to “point out” by way of marks. Another meaning is to “occur at intervals throughout,” suggesting a close relationship between punctuation and rhythm. Taken broadly, “punctuation” includes all the “road signs” a given poet chooses to post for the reader. These may include not only punctuation marks and capitalization, but typefaces and font sizes, spacing and line breaks, or even icons, drawings, etc.