Celebrating Poetry #10: Share Your Poems

Now that you've written your poems out, it is time to share them. I know it can be a little scary, but you don't have to start sharing with the world right away. You can start simply by sharing your work with a trusted friend or family member. However, if you want the world to see your work, you can do everything from posting to a blog to printing it on a poster or attending a poetry reading. The sky's the limit when you want to share your work with the world.



Poem of the Day: The Only Threat

Celebrating Poetry #9: Write a Poem

I know it's kind of late in the month, but if you have been celebrating along with everyone else and haven't written a poem yet, what are you waiting for? It doesn't have to be great and you don't have to share it with anyone if you don't want to (though sharing is encouraged around here). Even if you have never written a poem in your life, there's no time like National Poetry Month to get started.

What poem will you be writing today?

Poem of the Day: Mother Nature Cries

Celebrating Poetry #8: Write A Letter to A Poet

Writing a letter to a poet can be a fun activity, particularly for kids and teens. The Academy of American Poets often features letters written by students to poets from across the country. But just because you are an adult doesn't mean you can't write a letter too. Most poets list some type of contact information on their websites, so if you feel inclined, write a letter to favorite poet.


Poem of the Day: Without Answers

Celebrating Poetry #7: See It and Hear It

There's nothing better than going to an event where poetry will be read. Despite what Hollywood portrays poetry readings as, attending a poetry reading can actually be tons of fun. If you write your own poetry, you can even try to find an open mic night and share some of your own words of wisdom with the crowd.


Poem of the Day: Stormy

Celebrating Poetry #6: A Poem in Your Pocket

Tomorrow, April 18, is officially Poem in Your Pocket Day. It is a day-long celebration that happens during every National Poetry Month where you simply choose one of your favorite poems and carry around in your pocket all day long. It's main purpose is to get you and others to share poetry and get a conversation going. There are also a variety of poetry events across the country to coincide with this event.

What poem will you be carrying with you tomorrow? I'll be carrying around “The Thin Edge” by Dorothy Parker.


Poem of the Day: Truth in Color

Celebrating Poetry #5: Get Hi-Tech

Poetry is an ancient form of expression. However, with the Internet and computers, there is so much a person can do with their poetry that they couldn't do before. You can write a poem on your tablet computer, download a poetry app and even listen to poetry being read on your iPod.

What hi-tech options are you using to celebrate poetry this month?

Poem of the Day: To Dark Horse

Poetry Influences: Robert Frost/Carl Sandburg

As I mentioned in a previous post, Carl Sandburg's “Fog” and Robert Frost's “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowing Evening” are poems that are a part of me because of forced memorization. However, these poems did teach me some other lessons. First, Sandburg's poem taught me all I needed to know about imagery. You need to set the mood and give the reader something that is unexpected and familiar at the same time. With Frost, I learned (and am still continually frustrated with) making rhythm and rhyme work well enough to not get labeled hokey or simplistic. So, even though I found that particular class less than stimulating, I still ended up as a writer.

Did you have to memorize poems in class? What's your favorite Frost or Sandburg poems? Let me know!

Poem of the Day: The Long Dark Road

Celebrating Poetry #3: Memorize It

While it may seem like you are back in school, another great way to celebrate poetry this month is to memorize your favorite poem. In middle school, I was forced to recite “Fog” by Carl Sandberg (I couldn't remember a single line of it under pressure) and “Stopping by the Wood on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. The only consolation I had then was that I knew my brother had been forced to do the same when he was in that class. Though of course, when it came down to having the same teachers, they always ended up preferring him. I digress.

The art of memorizing a poem really doesn't work unless you already like the piece. While after seventh grade I swore I would never memorize a poem again, there are now a couple of Emily Dickinson selections that I know by heart, simply because I love them, and not because some wicked old English teacher told me to.

What will you be memorizing this month?

Poem of the Day:  Baby (a diamante poem) - originally published in Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans, 1995 edition

Poetry Influences: Dorothy Parker

I cannot tell you when I first discovered the writing of DorothyParker—I assume that I first found her work in college through one of those multi-book anthologies I had to have for my literature classes. But her work has been such a part of my life for the past decade or so that I feel like I have always known the her work.

What I love about Parker the most is generally what other people enjoy as well—the snarky, in your face attitude that she brings to most of her work, whether it is poetry or short stories. She's an icon of the Algonquin Round Table, women writers and so much more. She's also a huge reason why most of my New York City fantasies put me into 1930s garb, drink in hand and staying out til all hours with the other prolific NYC writers of the day.

My favorite Dorothy Parker poems? “News Item,” “The Thin Edge” and many more. What are yours?

Poem of the Day: War Zone

Celebrating Poetry #1: Read It

There's nothing like picking up a good book of poetry. For anyone who already reads poetry, I don't have to say much else. For those who are not totally into reading poetry, I want to tell you right now that you should really give it a try. It's like simplicity in design—you need to say a lot with a little bit of words. And believe me, there are all types of poems out there, from short haiku to prose poems (which read much more like short scenes from novels). And seriously—a book of haiku takes about ten minutes to read so you are not making a huge time commitment.

If you are looking to celebrate National Poetry Month along with the rest of us, go ahead and pick up a book of poetry and start reading. It's the only way you can find out what type of poetry you enjoy reading.

Poem of the Day: Winter is Here

Welcome to National Poetry Month!

It's finally here: National Poetry Month. We're going to have some fun here at TSW with all things poetry. There are a variety of things in store that are new, and some that are carrying over from last year. First, I will be continuing Poetic Confessions. You can still send your own confessions in (check out that post HERE) and I will be offering up some more of my own confessions as well. I will also be featuring my own work with a poem of the day on all posts in April. And of course, guest bloggers can add to the conversation and submit a post (details HERE) so that I don't feel like I'm talking to myself all month long.

This year, I will also be posting stories about poets that have influenced me, discussions on different poetic forms and of course ideas for ways that you can celebrate too!



Poem of the Day:

LIFE OBSCURED

Everything in the universe

Can be hidden behind my thumb

To be duped is comforting

But cannot be reconciled

Originally published in The Poetry of Yoga, Vol. 1

The Last Visit Before Spring?

I'm buried up to my knees in snow here, but for me that's a good thing--I can't get out until the snow melts, which means I can get more work done instead of finding excuses to leave the house. Sometimes Mother Nature knows how to work in my favor (though I'm sure others in the area probably don't agree). Hopefully it's the last visit, because I have way too many spring/summer clothes I haven't been able to wear yet. Well, without looking slightly ridiculous, anyway...

National Poetry Month is just a week away and you know what that means--calls for contributions. I'll post more on Wednesday, but I'm going to continue the Poetic Confessions series of posts I started last year. Hopefully, I'll get some other contributions so that no one has to see me drone on and on all month long. I would also love to get more guest posts so that I can provide all aspects of poetry and what people write, think, love, hate about it all. That post will probably come on Friday.

See... a little planning goes a long way. April should be a great month here at TSW.

Sense of Accomplishment

Well, after participating for a few years, I finally did it--I won Script Frenzy! Makes me feel accomplished, although I know that the script is merely half the work. There's much more to do, and I'll be sure to worry about that tomorrow, but today I enjoy the feeling.

Since it's the last day of April, here is the last Poem of the Day: Rain

I hope that everyone enjoyed the poetry celebration as much as I did! Of course, poetry is not escaping from my daily work. I am still preparing my poetry manuscript. I'm also putting together two different submissions for chapbook contests. Those deadlines are approaching fast, so I've been sorting through all the poems I've written, looking for hidden gems tucked in the back of old notebooks and written on the back of receipts. Found a few rough ones, but nothing a little poetic polishing can't clear up.

A Little Foggy

--my head is a little foggy, not the weather. I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from allergies right now. I must admit, I do regret going "na-na-na-na-boo-boo" to my brother as a child when he was suffering from them every spring. Since the onset of my 20's, I have been getting them in the fall mostly, but some spring allergies do creep up now and again. I'm lucky I was able to get anything done today between the sneezing, but I did get a few things taken care of. And tomorrow I may not finish my writing to-do list either, but it's because I'm heading out to a cemetery to take pictures of my ancestors' gravestones. This is just the first stop of many this year for my genealogy research--should be fun in a not-creepy-and-totally-respectful way.

Poem of the Day: Forget

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Getting Ahead of Myself

As usual, I'm starting to get a head of myself. I started creating my schedule/to-do list for May, not even knowing exactly all the things I will have to complete yet. I know that I will still have to work on the Personas manuscript... I'm to the point where I may have to consider hiring out the cover art. Although I want to maintain complete and ultimate control over my project, I do recognize my limitations.

I will also need to find a couple of new places to submit my work. I have a few pieces done, but they haven't made the lit journal submission rounds for quite awhile. Essentially I'm doubling my workload that I gave myself in April. Since I'm over halfway done with my Script Frenzy goal, I feel like I'm Superwoman. All this work still won't get me out of my parents' basement just yet, but maybe I'll make more of a dent.

Poem of the Day: "I Am From..."

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Starting Early

This is just a quick update because I really need to get back to my Script Frenzy pages, but I thought that this article was interesting: Jessica Alba, others, mark National Poetry Month. It's also very appropriate for this month!


Poem of the Day: Moving Boxes