Missouri Writers' Guild annual conference was last weekend in Chesterfield, well-organized with very good speakers and fantastic attendance including writers from neighboring states as far away as Arizona who came to talk to the editors and agents. I volunteered to "shepherd" speaker Walter Bargen, first poet laureate of Missouri (2008-2010), author of 14 poetry books, and attended both his seminars including the fascinating "Silence in Poetry," a topic I'd never considered in any depth. Here are some of his valuable insights into silence in poetry, each worth a ponder:

• The difference between poetry and prose is silence.
• Every poem is written on a backdrop of silence.
• The poem is packaged in silence.
• Rap is poetry that is afraid of silence.
• Silence is not monolithic; there are different kinds.
• Between every written word there is silence.
• Learning how to break lines is learning how to handle silence.