National Poetry Month starts today and many writers are joining NaPoWriMo and writing a poem a day. While I do write poetry on occasion, (more like sometimes I am graced by a poem), I won’t attempt to write a new poem every day. Instead, my commitment is to read a new poem every day for the month of April. Each day a different poet.
I think I’ll just close my eyes and let the Muse choose a book from my bookshelves each morning. I’ll post the titles of both the book and the poem and maybe a line or two on my Facebook page.
I’m starting the month by reading a poem from Roger Aplon’s newest book, Improvisations—Poetic Impressions From Contemporary Music. I’ve read the collection before, but since Roger is coming to San Diego for a publication party (April 22) as well as leading a workshop in Improvisations for Writers (April 24), I thought I’d begin here. My poem for the day: from the series “After ‘As the Leaves Fall,’ Elliott Carter’s Five String Quartets” No. 1. You can find out more about Roger’s book here, and if you’re in San Diego or nearby, I hope you’ll join us for the book party at San Diego Writers, Ink.
Another way I’m honoring National Poetry Month and giving myself and others the joy and beauty of engaging with poetry, is to use a prompt from the Academy of American Poets’ NPM poster at my Thursday Writers Group. (The poster is free; here’s their site). PS sign up for their Poem-a-Day email and start each email day by reading a poem.
Most likely I’ll distribute poems on Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day on April 21; I like to do that. In fact, I like to just carry poems around in my pocket any old day. You can do it too. Poets.org makes it easy with these downloadable pocket-sized poems.
San Diego is fortunate in having many open-mic poetry readings around town, so I’ll put a couple of those on my calendar, too. Maybe I’ll even read a poem or two of my own. Maybe. And there’s the idea of posting a poem or two, or submitting to a publication or poetry journal.
I might even eat some poetry like Mark Strand.
What are your plans for National Poetry Month?
Hi Judy, and everyone else,
I get a poem a day via e-mail from the National Poetry Foundation. Good for you, Linda, for writing Haiku poems. It’s quite a “discipline” to say something meaningful in 17 syllables. I guess the “challenge” didn’t capture your imagination and inspire you….I can see how it would get boring. I read the poems each week that are published in The Reader….some are from contemporary poets and others from old masters. This week’s by Kalpna Singh-Chitnis, an Indo-American poet, are quite good, in my opinion.
Arlene
Thanks Arlene. I wish I didn’t have such a sucky attitude about it. I found that if you just turn any word no matter how long into, well, poetry, you can pronounce it. Somehow I used the same process in writing the Haiku. What you said about capturing imagination and inspiring me makes a lot of sense and thanks for THAT inspiration. I didn’t (believe it or not) realize there is a message in paintings either.
Too much left brain. If I see a red wagon I absolutely must say red wagon, not dragon flower or passionwings. Sigh.
Linda
I get that mailing, too, Arlene and love finding poetry among all the ads and boosts and other stuff that comes into the inbox. It’s like slowing down and breathing for just that long. I haven’t seen this week’s Reader yet, but will. Thanks for the note.
My plans for poetry? One New Years Eve I decided to try haiku, being not a poet but a scribe. So I looked it up in my daughter’s old school book and followed the haiku recipe. Spewed nine of those in a few minutes, bored myself insane, and swore I would never do that to myself again.
Did the same thing with poker et al.
Hopeless case here.
What I’m trying to say is that I can do well the things that put me to sleep but do you think I can do that in my novel? No. I can walk away and ignore it beautifully though. But then today while I was on Ignore I did find a glass bracelet for $1.50….
Maybe that glass bracelet will find its way into the novel. Who knows. We just keep doing it,right? Right.
Keep writing those novels, Linda. Some just don’t do short form.
I know. I talk way too much even on the page. Thing is I started with poetry and have tons of it before I moved to short stories. The novel is something I swore I cannot do.
Gotta practice just keeping my oral cavity closed except to cackle.