Diane Arbus was formally trained as a commercial photographer. Her photographs were meticulously planned with props and special lighting. Her subjects were exhaustively selected from modelling agencies to represent a specific type of businessman or typical client that her sponsor was trying to reach. At some point in her career, Arbus made the astounding discovery that the more specific she made her subjects, the more general or generic they would be perceived. The paradox seemed to work the opposite way as well. Photographs that were taken of ordinary people, in their actual rooms or homes, without consideration for lighting and props, were immediately seized upon by art critics who could interpret her work with amazing diversity of meaning and intent.

The new poetry of today's writers is much like the visual work of Arbus in that it contains highly random and commonplace verbiage, a collection of words and phrases, that do not rhyme and do not have a typical rhythmic tempo but rather affect the reader in highly personal ways.

Poetry is a very personal thing. It effects everyone in a different way, depending on our experiences with life, love and sorrow. Writing poetry can be a way of sharing our deepest thoughts and, perhaps, helping another person who is coping with this delicate and mysterious thing we call life.

We have been asked many times to publish poems and prose, written by very talented readers of viewzone. Here is a collection of poems that we have received so far. We invite you to join this collection and share your talent with other poetry writers and readers.

Send your material to viewzone in the body of an email. Be sure to give it a title and include your name. We'll post it and let readers respond. [send material to [email protected] -- be sure to include POETRY in the subject]. Welcome all New Poets!