On April 1, I announced the beginning of National Poetry Month and shared my enthusiasm for celebrating in all sorts of ways. Since we are halfway through the month now, I wanted to check in with a brief update.
Events
First, I am jazzed to say that I got to attend a live poetry reading! In spite of my intentions to find local shows to attend in the midst of my travels, it rarely actually occurs, so this was an absolute pleasure.
It was hosted by The Philly Pigeon and was an extra-special installment of their Late(ish) Poetry Show held at the Philadelphia Art Museum (PMA). Since it was my first visit to the PMA, I took advantage of the opportunity to arrive early and stroll through several galleries before reporting to the Great Stair Hall for the show. The poets presenting were Kai Davis, Jacob Winterstein, Mateo Souada, Gabriel Ramirez, and Ursula Rucker, all of whom I highly recommend checking out!
I also attended a virtual event that offered a variety of timed writing prompts. At first, it felt like I wasn’t coming up with anything substantive, but the second prompt to write something using the word “puzzle” led to several seeds being planted. A particular line that stood out was, “A new approach to a familiar task will refresh it in your mind.”
This was part of the Blue Stoop’s “Thursdays on the Stoop” event series, of which I’ve become a huge fan. They invite experienced writers from all genres to present tips, samples, and exercises. These are free to attend, though donations are welcome. You can learn more here, and perhaps I’ll see you at one sometime!
Reading
Another way I’ve been observing National Poetry Month is by making a point to read more poetry. Below are some links to a few sites that I’ve especially enjoyed perusing lately:
Writing
Finally, I have been working diligently on my own poetry, of course! Before this month, I never tried writing poetry based on prompts, so it’s been fabulous to discover the NaPoWriMo website. Founded by Maureen Thorson, the site shares a new prompt each day as inspiration for folks to write 30 poems in 30 days for National Poetry Month. I’ve really enjoyed the challenge these prompts provide. I confess, though, that it’s a bit nerve-wracking to turn around pieces and share them publicly so quickly!
My usual process for poems is to draft them, then wait at least a few days before adding them to a massive running Word document. Then, I begin editing, which usually involves reading them aloud to see where awkward spots arise in the oration or if the rhythm feels off. Sometimes, I’m also just struck with a new idea to incorporate or a better phrasing to insert. Once I’ve played around for a while, I take a break from it again.
It’s not until I’ve returned to it a third, or possibly even fourth, time that I finally begin considering whether it is “done.” Even a few “done” pieces have received further edits once I’ve shared them at a reading and discovered more areas where something felt off or I received feedback pointing me in another direction.
While the abbreviated, same-day process with NaPoWriMo prompts doesn’t lend itself to presenting polished poems, it’s been an excellent motivator for focusing wholly on a single piece and really digging in. It also helps me avoid getting caught up in perfectionistic tendencies because there simply isn’t enough time to do so. Although I’ve been pretty pleased with the quality of what I’ve been able to concoct in so little time, I know a few lines stand out to me as needing to be tweaked before I’d be willing to add some of these to my official “Writing” page here on the site.
For example, the line in this platonic love letter involving being a “muse” and “cause” for my friend, the talented Pittsburgh painter Sonja Sweterlitsch, is really not on point. Her portraits did inspire me to work on myself and dream bigger. But I never felt like her cause—that just sounds codependent and unhealthy! It flowed nicely, so I went with it at the time, but some more playing is needed there.
Right after posting, I realized in one that I used the word “store” twice too closely together. And in another, it made me batty hours later to realize I called it “chai tea” because chai is the Hindi word for tea, so it’s basically the same thing as saying “tea tea.” D’oh!
But part of the fun of a daily challenge is to not overthink things and not pressure yourself to have everything you do be your best work ever. It was also great practice to work within forms I’m not used to. I feel like I’ve already learned so much this month, and there are still two weeks left to go!
Another thing I really enjoy is the surprise and spontaneity of working with prompts—you truly can’t predict what will bubble up for you that day before reading the prompt and deliberating a bit. For instance, I never would have foreseen myself writing a poem about my car and the prompt to seek inspiration in a collection of postal stamps seemed unlikely to lend itself to anything too significant but actually elicited my longest poem to date.
If you want to keep up with the new works I’m crafting this National Poetry Month, be sure to give me a follow on Facebook or Instagram. And if you’re interested in taking a stab at some prompts yourself, cruise by the NaPoWriMo site!
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