Love Letters to Poetry | How to Write a Verse Biography

How to write a verse biography

Ray Anthony Shepard

When you have a thirst 
to write a biography in verse
remember, it’s the story,
not the verse.

Verse is the golden brick road 
to the story locked in a forbidden castle
guarded by evil ogres of writer's doubts
and “I can't” sabotage.

Story structure, story structure,
and story structure are the beacons
that highlight golden flakes
embedded in each brick of the road. 
Shine it, shine it, and shine it again
‘til you reach the castle door
ready to slay the tyrants
of self-sabotage and “I can’t” doubts.

Resist the temptation of distraction.
Keep your eyes on the life.
Don’t let the narrator take an excursion
to show how much the writer knows.
It’s the story hidden behind the facts
that pushes the arc through 
spring clover and winter slush.

The treasure is in the hero’s acts
as she romps across the page
and pulls sympathetic readers 
through her terrifying crises
each sharply chiseled 
with your scorcher’s art
until she stands with sword 
in hand on the threshold of victory
unable to see Grendel’s mother
on the other side of the door.

Each page reveals the life
whose story you chose to tell.
Each stanza records the sounds 
of your brush scraping the canvas.
Each line’s end is the splash
of an image as it rises
from a swampy pond.
No matter how artful the verse
it’s the story that quenches
the reader’s thirst.