Persona & Authority

Who's speaking in your poem? What gives them authority? A child speaking about death has different authority than an old person. A scientist has different authority than a poet.

Build authority through specificity and knowledge. If you're writing from persona, know your character's world. Commit fully. Readers will feel whether you're inhabiting it authentically or just pretending. Authority comes from depth of engagement.

Don't be anyone. Be someone specific. The poem's voice matters. Is it someone with lived experience? Someone outside? Each changes the poem fundamentally.