The Academy of American Poets began National Poetry Month in 1996. Last April, I wrote on the blog about how I “accidentally” became a poet. Though it wasn’t originally on my list of writing aspirations, it is the writing practice I’ve maintained with the most regularity since I began scribbling stanzas a few years back.
Since last April, I’ve kept up with my daily ritual of writing an average of two poems every morning. Yes, that means I wrote over 700 poems last year!
With such regular practice, any skill is bound to improve, and I’m gaining confidence in my talents as a poetess. This year, I even signed up as an official NaPoWriMo participant. NaPoWriMo is a website begun in 2003 by Maureen Thorsen. Like Inktober for visual artists, NaPoWriMo offers optional daily prompts that challenge poets to incorporate certain themes or forms into a piece.
Last year, I did most of the prompts, but I didn’t register with the NaPoWriMo site. Instead, I opted to stay low-key and share select works on social media. Mainly, this was because I felt uncomfortable sharing rough sketches of poems.
Usually, when I write a poem, it’s a stream-of-consciousness draft about whatever comes to mind that morning. With the massive volume of drafts I am creating, only a small portion of these pieces get revisited for editing. Among those, it gets whittled down even further to the very few that become polished to a shine and ready for sharing, which may mean reading it to my monthly poetry circle (Philly Poetic Resistance), publishing it here on my website, or occasionally submitting something for consideration by a publication or in a contest.
Besides being one more year experienced than last April, and having more confidence, I’ve also shifted my thinking about poems. I am learning to see them as never really being “done.” There are many pieces I’ve published here on the site that I went on to update further. I also have some that I thought I felt settled upon until sharing them with my writing buddy, who offered new insights and perspectives that inspired me to revise them again.
“A poem is never finished, only abandoned.”
paul valery
With this change in perspective, it feels easier to prematurely release works into the wild before they’re “done.” That said, it still takes some courage to share pieces that have only existed for a single day, which offers limited time for tweaking them or reviewing them again with fresh eyes. But I expect most readers of my work to be kind-hearted, encouraging folks who aren’t going to talk shit if they notice a typo or dislike something they read. (If that’s not you, just don’t read my poetry!)
So, with all this said, I’m inviting anyone interested to keep an eye on my very official, new NaPoWriMo 2025 page of the website, where I will be releasing new work throughout the month. Occasionally, there will also be older works that I’ve edited appearing, along with poems from folks whose work I admire. Whatever the case, I’ll celebrate poetry each day this month somehow, and I hope you will join me!
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