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.
