I wondered about the possible long-term effects of the 30/30 month, hoped a month of writing every day would spur more writing when the month ended. And it has - October ended with six new poems in the poetry bank. Not as many as September yielded, but more than August had.
But I find that the lasting effects have been ones I hadn't considered: staying in touch with my fellow 30/30-ers, continuing to share writing prompts, inspiration, frustration, and our lives outside of writing. I've been without a writing group for four years now, and to have one again, albeit a virtual one, feels like a gift.
The other effect has been a renewed connection with poetry in general - getting shaken out of my usual choices of poets to read, following links and suggestions with more energy. I've probably bought more poetry books in the past two months than I had in the last several. I'm exploring chapbook publishers, newly curious to see what their books look like in person, feel like.
And last weekend I traveled to the Twin Cities to do a reading at the Schmidt Artist Lofts with a memoirist - a mutual friend put us together for a reading. As strange as it felt to read without having the book in hand (The Dog is still at the printer - another week or two - oh how much I am learning, reluctantly, about patience!), it felt great to read. It felt great to look up and see good friends in the audience. I have another reading scheduled for the end of the month and I can't wait!
And, yes, I've already written a poem this month.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
And then it was October
Yesterday was the last day of September, my last day on the 30/30 Project (although, I should point out, NOT the last day you can donate in my name to Tupelo Press! See previous post for details). The September 30/30 poets wrote a collective bonus poem to welcome in the October poets, and it seems we really achieved some kind of collective poetry mind, because all our contributed parts fit well together and it is a lovely poem.
I applied to be part of the project back in the summer, and looked forward to participating in my chosen month, September. But as September drew nearer I started thinking about things I had forgotten about - like that school started (for the whole family) then, that it was the start also of soccer, choir, chorale, and kid-swap days; that there would be grading, driving, coaching, swimming lessons, homework-overseeing, and generally exhausting schedule-related activities that would all hit around the beginning of September. I started to fret a little that I would not have something to write about each day. But some of this was pro forma fretting - I know that when pushed, my brain can always dig up some little scrap to work up for display. I just don't enjoy pushing it to do that (isn't this always the case?).
But - this was something new, something to shake me out of the non-writing rut I had fallen into, something to use as an example in the Adventures & Experiments class I teach. I thought about how often I urge Cora to try new things and to go into new things thinking positively.
And, of course, once it began I found that I loved it - I loved the accountability of having to produce a new poem each day. I fell into a weekday routine of starting to think about what I would write, taking Cora to school, coming home and sitting down with my notebook, my coffee, and what became my favorite pen (a yellow and green one made from biodegradable "corn plastic" and with the Waste Management company logo - I am pretty sure there is a bucketful of metaphors in there somewhere). And while not every poem was a keeper, several were, and all were worth the effort.
I also found reconnection with other poets, something I still really miss about the Cities. Our group of 30/30 poets has been such a good place to discover. I have loved reading their poems, checking in multiple times each day to see whose poem has gone up, what they wrote about, how they wrote about it, what they are doing with language and form. Thank goodness we have Facebook, because I don't want to stop hearing what they have to say!
Did I make a strong enough habit? Without having to publicly produce work, with people actually waiting on me to do so, will I still write as frequently?
Let me put it this way: I came home this morning from dropping off Cora. I sat down with my coffee and my notebook. And I wrote.
I applied to be part of the project back in the summer, and looked forward to participating in my chosen month, September. But as September drew nearer I started thinking about things I had forgotten about - like that school started (for the whole family) then, that it was the start also of soccer, choir, chorale, and kid-swap days; that there would be grading, driving, coaching, swimming lessons, homework-overseeing, and generally exhausting schedule-related activities that would all hit around the beginning of September. I started to fret a little that I would not have something to write about each day. But some of this was pro forma fretting - I know that when pushed, my brain can always dig up some little scrap to work up for display. I just don't enjoy pushing it to do that (isn't this always the case?).
But - this was something new, something to shake me out of the non-writing rut I had fallen into, something to use as an example in the Adventures & Experiments class I teach. I thought about how often I urge Cora to try new things and to go into new things thinking positively.
And, of course, once it began I found that I loved it - I loved the accountability of having to produce a new poem each day. I fell into a weekday routine of starting to think about what I would write, taking Cora to school, coming home and sitting down with my notebook, my coffee, and what became my favorite pen (a yellow and green one made from biodegradable "corn plastic" and with the Waste Management company logo - I am pretty sure there is a bucketful of metaphors in there somewhere). And while not every poem was a keeper, several were, and all were worth the effort.
I also found reconnection with other poets, something I still really miss about the Cities. Our group of 30/30 poets has been such a good place to discover. I have loved reading their poems, checking in multiple times each day to see whose poem has gone up, what they wrote about, how they wrote about it, what they are doing with language and form. Thank goodness we have Facebook, because I don't want to stop hearing what they have to say!
Did I make a strong enough habit? Without having to publicly produce work, with people actually waiting on me to do so, will I still write as frequently?
Let me put it this way: I came home this morning from dropping off Cora. I sat down with my coffee and my notebook. And I wrote.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Sitting down every morning to write
 |
| My poem, Cora's drawing: a great postcard! |
Recently I've been prompted to write by a construction site, a colossal squid, and a longing to spend more time sleeping.
When I look back over the poems I've written this month, I am delighted at the variety of subjects and ideas and even forms that I see. And when I look back over the poems my 30/30 colleagues have written I am even more delighted. What an amazing portrait of poetry right now we have created!
Isn't it wonderful? Isn't it wonderful that people like me and Heather Bourbeau, Harmony Button, Sam Cha, Lisa Ludden, David Rawson, Leslie Contreras Schwartz, Emily Van Kley, and Jessica L. Walsh have a space like the Tupelo Press site, where we can share our (fresh!) poems with, well, everyone?
Yes. Yes it is wonderful. That Tupelo Press is able to do this, as a non-profit literary press, is thanks in part to the donations they receive, sponsorships for those of us sitting down every morning to write - excited, nervous, confident, fearful, bursting with words or squeezing them out bit by bit. And so, yes, I am here now to ask you to donate, to sponsor me, if you've enjoyed a poem or two (or twenty-four, or...wait, what's 9x24?). Here's how, and here's what's in it for you:
How to Donate:
There are three ways to donate - with each it is very important that you include my name as the poet you are sponsoring so that I know what kind of treats to send your way! Here’s how you can sponsor me:
- Subscribe to Tupelo Press (9 books for $99). Visit http://www.tupelopress.org/books_subscribe.phpand fill out the form; be sure to put my name in the “comments” field!
- Complete the Tupelo Press Donation Form at https://www.tupelopress.org/donate.php and be sure to put my name in the “honor” field. (You can also print out the form and send it in with a check.)
- Donate using PayPal at https://www.tupelopress.org/donate.php - click on the orange “Quick Donation via PayPal” button - be sure to put my name in the “message” field!
What's in it for YOU:
$5 => set of 4 haiku-by-Merie stickers (the stickers are business card-sized)
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Day 21 / Poem 21
It's hard to believe that here I am in the last 10 days of the 30/30 Project!
One of my favorite parts has been getting words from people - I love knowing they've supported me by donating to Tupelo, helping to keep poetry in the world, I love the challenge of working with five words I didn't choose and finding their way of fitting together, and I love being able to post and tell people that their words have made an appearance.
Today's poem has two points of genesis. One is that in browsing the Academy of American Poets' web site I found a link meant to help you find poetry events in your state. North Dakota is not even on the menu. Sigh.
And the other point was the words my mom sent me: tether, corduroy, plummet, ephemeral, illuminate.
One of my favorite parts has been getting words from people - I love knowing they've supported me by donating to Tupelo, helping to keep poetry in the world, I love the challenge of working with five words I didn't choose and finding their way of fitting together, and I love being able to post and tell people that their words have made an appearance.
Today's poem has two points of genesis. One is that in browsing the Academy of American Poets' web site I found a link meant to help you find poetry events in your state. North Dakota is not even on the menu. Sigh.
And the other point was the words my mom sent me: tether, corduroy, plummet, ephemeral, illuminate.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Day 18 / Poem 18
Thursday being writing prompt day, we 30/30 poets spent some time this week talking about what our prompt would be. It is interesting to me where we all come from in our approach to writing prompts, from the very prescriptive to the very vague. I am in the very vague camp, as a rule. I will do prescriptive prompts if it's called for, but mostly I want to be pointed in a direction and then left alone.
This might be why I am so happy teaching college. Autonomy is high on my list of career priorities.
So we went with the idea of a response - to whatever we each felt moved to respond to. At home we are in the midst of dealing with a mouse (we've only seen one, but I know, I know), and so I felt called to respond to that. But earlier in the week I had asked my cohort, "But what about Scotland?" Mainly a joke, but it seems to have stuck in my head. Plus, NPR has covered the lead-up to the independence vote pretty heavily this week.
But, if you put together a mouse and poetry, there is a more than fair chance you are going to trigger a memory of Robbie Burns's wee beastie. And so today's poem began.
This might be why I am so happy teaching college. Autonomy is high on my list of career priorities.
So we went with the idea of a response - to whatever we each felt moved to respond to. At home we are in the midst of dealing with a mouse (we've only seen one, but I know, I know), and so I felt called to respond to that. But earlier in the week I had asked my cohort, "But what about Scotland?" Mainly a joke, but it seems to have stuck in my head. Plus, NPR has covered the lead-up to the independence vote pretty heavily this week.
But, if you put together a mouse and poetry, there is a more than fair chance you are going to trigger a memory of Robbie Burns's wee beastie. And so today's poem began.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Day 17 / Poem 17
.JPG) |
| Common Duckweed |
My self-imposed writing assignment this morning was to use the five words provided by my friend Casey, who sponsored me in this writing-intensive month.
Before I reveal the words Casey gave me, I wanted to say how grateful I am to those who have already sponsored me this month by donating to Tupelo Press, and to say that if you have liked the writing you've seen so far this month, if you think it is amazing that Tupelo offers up its web site to poets every month and gives us a way to reach more readers than we otherwise might, if you think it is crazy or brave or weird or wonderful that I am actually sitting down every morning of September with the intention of producing a poem and displaying it to the world, I hope you will consider sponsoring me by donating to Tupelo Press. Plus, you know, I have ways of thanking you! (See the end of this post for details.)
Casey's words are: surprising, unassuming, searching, kindness, and verdant
Now, even though I think thee are terrific words, and I love the way they play off each other, I really had no idea what to do with them. I spent a while trying out different combinations, ideas, but specific, cohesive images were eluding me. So, I backed up, turned to a fresh new page in the old writing journal, and thought about the three words I most wanted to bring together: surprising, unassuming, and verdant. The last two are probably the ones that made me start thinking about small flowers and wondering what the smallest flower is.
So, I looked it up and was (thank goodness) *surprised* to discover that the smallest flower is considered to be the flower of the duckweed plant. Duckweed! Who knew? And then I felt that rush of seeing how the poem would come together, where I needed to pull from to create it, and how the other words would fit in.
Over the past 17 mornings I have come to crave that feeling.
* * *
How to Donate:
$5 => set of 4 haiku-by-Merie stickers (the stickers are business card-sized)
- Subscribe to Tupelo Press (9 books for $99). Visit http://www.tupelopress.org/books_subscribe.php and fill out the form; be sure to put my name in the “comments” field!
- Complete the Tupelo Press Donation Form at https://www.tupelopress.org/donate.php and be sure to put my name in the “honor” field. (You can also print out the form and send it in with a check.)
- Donate using PayPal at https://www.tupelopress.org/donate.php - click on the orange “Quick Donation via PayPal” button - be sure to put my name in the “message” field!
Let me know when you donate, and I can make sure your donation has been matched up with my name - and then I can start preheating the oven for your cookies, put Cora to work drawing, or pull out my dictionary to look up the wacky words you are sending me.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Just past the halfway mark!
Day 15's poem was a surprise and a delight - it felt like it just showed up waiting for me to write it down. I mean - I revised and edited and changed and shaped, but it wasn't a struggle.
Today's poem was trickier. Today I tackled another set of words from kind sponsors. I'd actually been holding on to these words for a couple days, waiting to see how they would fall together in my mind. I had to google one of them to find out what it was. Then later I googled another just to see what other information I could find in addition to what I already knew. When I did that, I did indeed discover something new about a familiar word, and that piece proved to be part of unlocking the relationships among the words.
The words my friends gave me? Arabidopsis, Schenectady, prosaic, buttery, indigo. And here is Arabidopsis thaliana, the title plant of today's poem:
Today's poem was trickier. Today I tackled another set of words from kind sponsors. I'd actually been holding on to these words for a couple days, waiting to see how they would fall together in my mind. I had to google one of them to find out what it was. Then later I googled another just to see what other information I could find in addition to what I already knew. When I did that, I did indeed discover something new about a familiar word, and that piece proved to be part of unlocking the relationships among the words.
The words my friends gave me? Arabidopsis, Schenectady, prosaic, buttery, indigo. And here is Arabidopsis thaliana, the title plant of today's poem:
 |
| link to credits |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)