It's wonderful to know that there are more opportunities and forums to encourage new poets of all ages to be published and heard. In our super-sonic paced society so few of us take time out to read poetry anymore or even listen to each others words....New words, new thoughts, new ideas...new ways to understand each other. Our ever changing world has changed again, just when we were getting comfortable. We face many uncertainties, war, unemployment,....art, music,poetry can be a tonic for some of this confusion. New books celebrating new poets, afford us the chance to listen to those who may share our thoughts and through the dialoge of poetry help us find our own inner balance in this unbalanced world we all share.

If you're like me, the idea of reading another "how-to-write" book is about as appealing as a stalk of celery for dinner. Clive Matson, however, seems determined the break down the walls of the mundane, beginning with his title and its intrinsic concept: that learning how to work with the "crazy child" that we also call "the muse," "the creative self" and other names is the secret to invigorating writing.

He continues the wall-breaking by doing what so many others do not: providing lively images to fix his concepts in our heads. His early rebuttal to the old saw, "You can't imagine a three-legged dog running" provides an essential understanding about the way the reader's mind applies immediate images to our details. "But as soon as you read that sentence, your nervous system contradicts it," he writes. "You do see that three-legged dog. And it's running. The dog is ridiculous, clumsy, endearing, inspiring, or even oddly graceful."

Another intriguing image comes from the side of the writer, this of how words pour like liquid through a person's body during the process of creating:

"One writer gets taken over by a peculiar sensation of color, and then she finds the words in her belly. Another feels the words slide up his spine, and he thinks it's as ordinary as bread and apples. These are unusual, but your way might be unusual too. Words probably have as many ways of creating themselves in the body as there are people in the world."

This provision of imagery is what sets Matson's book apart from so many others. Rather than simply providing instructions, he applies the poetic side of his talent to provide hundreds of tunnelways into the "crazy child" we are all pursuing. It's a fine read, and one which can't fail but enrich your writing life.

Matson strikes a savvy balance in this well organized writing guidebook. He honors the source of creativity and the adventure that the writer's journey into mind and heart truly is at its best. He blends this with the practical essentials such as voice, story, image and of course revision to make a writing guide for the whole person. Teachers will find new ideas and new approaches, and writers of all types and stripes will find encouragement, permission, and inspiration in these pages. Matson's method seems instinctively correct from his "rules for workshop" to his sense of fun, to his fresh view of issues such as cliches and nitpicking. It is a method that has the stamp of a caring, experienced, and committed master teacher. Any reader should be moved to pick up the pen or keyboard and begin to explore the wealth of the "crazy child" within--without fear and without anxiety. As the author states, "all you need is the urge." (And this book at your side, I'd add!)

In reading "Let The Crazy Child Write", I discovered permission. Permission to write my words down. Permission to give myself permission and to he-double-hockey-sticks with anyone who disagreed with those words I chose to write. Clive Matson has taken many years of writing seminars and "simmered" everything down to this book. Besides the written word, he touches base on plays, essays and poetry, giving you the basic architecture that you can take to the bank (or the typewriter) if you so choose. And I believe you will choose to pick up that pen after reading this book. He explains about the negatives that get in your way, giving them names, identities that you can recognize when the "nasties" hit, he uses words like "gay" and "Goddess" putting you at ease that he isn't one of "them" that says the written word can only appear one way or it doesn't count. He uses humor and an innate intelligence combined with a great love for writing to get his point across. He uses insights that I learned in Philosophy readings. Clive assures you that you and what you write DO count. And then shows you how to write it. Don't let the quarrels between your Crazy Child and your Editor stop your pen. Learn about them and how to work with them at the appropriate times. To quote Ellen, "Buy The Book!" You won't be sorry. And then e-mail him and thank him. He is worth it.