National Poetry Month

and a heavy heart

It’s been a very busy National Poetry Month for me! I signed books and did an interview at the Word of South festival in Tallahassee at the My Favorite Books table and then the next weekend I did a signing at the Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia. I also have a new interview available on Speaking of Marvels! I hope you’ll pop on over and give it a read. I talk about not only my collection The Swellest Wife Anyone Ever Had, but also my writing process and poetry in general.

Don’t let my exclamation marks fool you, my heart is very heavy right now. Thursday, we had another shooting at FSU. I don’t have too much to say about it, I feel like others are saying what needs said far better than I might. You can listen to me read an excerpt from my essay about previous shootings called “The Perfect Poem” and also my poem called “Tallahassee Aubade.”

Writing Prompt

Would you like a little time to process in writing? Me too. Let’s go through the Mayhem to Meter writing process (remembering that it doesn’t have to end in meter, it can go wherever your heart tells it to go).

1.) Set a timer for 10 minutes. Freewrite about someone who means a great deal to you. Where do you know them from? How do they make you feel? What’s the funniest/sweetest/bravest thing they’ve ever said? Remember, freewriting isn’t drafting. Your editor voice shouldn’t be on at all and you’re NOT NOT NOT writing in lineated poetry or a well-shaped story. You’re just writing, seeing what comes out of your brain. Nothing is off-topic, so follow your brain wherever it leads. 10 minutes is a long time. 10 minutes is such a very short time.

2.) Set a timer for 10 minutes. Freewrite about an item you cherish. Remember, editor voice is off, so don’t try to write something great or beautiful or clever, just write. Nothing is off topic, so if you’re in the middle of physically describing the item and then all of a sudden you’re writing about some piece of legislation that’s making you feel one way or the other, follow that thread. Just write.

3.) Time to en-rhythm! You’ll set the timer for 10 minutes and either read a single poem or dance to a single song over and over for the FULL TEN MINUTES!!! This is a technique named and popularized by Annie Finch where we’ll either read in a certain meter or dance or clap, anything to get you tuned in to the patterns. I think it’s a process that actually works with fiction and with free verse too, but just with slightly different results (as evidenced by the fact that I had just been listening to an Iris Murdoch audiobook before writing the prompt and I think it comes through when things like “means a great deal” and “cherish” slip into my language). Is meter your goal? Then you’d better use a metrical poem for this part. If it’s not, then pick something you love. I’m going to suggest Elizabeth Barret Browning’s “Love” for all you meterheads out there. And if you want to dance and sway and move instead, how about Klemen’s song “How Much Time Do We Have Left.” He’s a Slovenian comedian who often hosts their national qualifying finals, but decided to enter this year himself. The song is just sort of a standard ballad and I don’t expect it’s going to do super great this year. But he’s a nice guy and it’s a lovely song and it just really seems to fit right now. (I also recommend going to his own YouTube channel later and watching some of his impressions, but not until after you’re done writing. Focus, friends, focus!).

4.) Time to draft. You can let the editor voice come up to about a three or four. Don’t let it scream, but do think about what you’re hoping to accomplish, but don’t worry too much if you’re doing it exactly right. There’ll be plenty of time for that later. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Draft a poem, short story, or essay about whatever is on your mind right now. Nothing popping up? Look back at your freewriting, anything snagging your mind? If you need a little more direction, write a piece about what love means to you.

And there you have it! You’ve drafted a new piece in just under an hour! You can now revise it in the upcoming week, next month, or the 12^th of Never!

Thoughts and prayers are good, they’re even better when paired with action. (And, just for clarification, the writer of the post that I’ve linked to through “Thoughts and prayers are good” very much pairs them with action. If I had known her back when I taught the Seven Cs, I would have used her as an example of congruence. And also, writing is action in my book. Write your love, write your pain, write whatever needs written.)

Thanks for letting me stop by.