Winter Sports and Queer Joy
Falling in Love with Beowulf: A Meter Cute Interview with Holly M. Wendt
Are you looking for a book of queer joy right now? Look no further than Holly M. Wendt’s Heading North. On this episode of the Meter Cute Interviews, I chatted with Holly about confidence, Old English poetry, and, of course, their novel. Heading North is a hockey story that non-hockey fans will still easily understand and fall in love with. I hope you’ll check out the interview!
In my own writing world, my poems about actor Chance Perdomo will be coming out soon in the Lost at 27 anthology from Cicada Song Press. Find out more about the anthology on Cicada Song Press’s website.
You can also check out my Meter Cute with one of the anthology’s editors, Mona Mehas!
Are you ready to write? Me too!
1) Set the timer for 10 minutes. In the interview, Holly mentions a prompt about writing a formal self-boast poem that they use with their students. Our prompts today will build on that concept. In this first step, freewrite about why you’re awesome. I know, I know, for some of you this is going to be a tough task. But it should be easier with that Editor Voice turned completely off. If you start to feel weird, that’s Editor Voice getting rowdy. Tell it to pipe down! If you have a tough time getting started, try beginning with “People have told me they like…” and write about things others have said they like about you and then let it blossom from there. Yes, write for the full 10 minutes. Nothing is off-topic or wrong, follow that beautiful brain!
2) Set the timer for 10 minutes. Now freewrite about why what you do is awesome. “What you do” can be your writing or something else creative you do, or maybe it’s just about why people should watch your current favorite TV show (seriously though, have you watched Agatha All Along or the new season of What We Do in the Shadows???). Remember, Editor Voice isn’t even thinking about being on yet, and that includes any voice that might judge what it is that you love. Let yourself feel excited as you write this. Does it feel like you’re about to float away out of your chair? Good! Follow that feeling. Let your freewrite be filled with all the awesomeness and joy.
3) Ready to en-rhythm!? This step will help get some rhythms into your heart and soul, then we’ll see how they come out into your writing. Set the timer for 10 minutes. Pick a poem or song to repeat for the entire 10 minutes. If it’s a poem, read it out loud over and over. If it’s a song, dance and move around. The big thing is, make sure it’s the same song or poem over and over. Keep in touch with that same vibe. A poem that might work well is John Donne’s “Break of Day” for strict metrical en-rhythming. I also think Chen Chen’s “i love you to the moon &” might be great for this as well.
Or if you’d like to dance around a bit instead, maybe try Corook’s “Blankets” or Mariette’s song “Pillow,” two songs that capture both the queer joy and winter vibes of the opening to Holly’s novel. I like to imagine that these songs are similar speakers a few years apart. The first one is all “let’s stay in bed and be flirty” and the second one is more “let’s stay in bed and hide from the kids for a few more minutes” (I think Mariette and her wife only had one child when the song came out, but now they have three. Her Instagram is an adorable ruckus.)
4) Set the timer for 10 minutes. Now, let’s draft! Draft a poem, short story, or essay about whatever’s on your mind right now. If nothing comes to you, try writing a self-boast poem. Let the world know why you’re so frickin’ great! Editor Voice is allowed to come up to about a 3 now. Let it help you shape the piece and make some intentional craft decisions, but don’t let it bully you. Don’t let it pick each sentence or phrase apart. Let the words and love flow.
There you have it, a draft of something to revise this weekend, next month, or the 12th of Never. And it only took 40 minutes!
May your work be seen by all who feel seen by your work!
Thanks for letting me stop by!