Here's the list of things I'd like to do for Poetry Month, but probably won't, because -- hello! -- it's also Tax Month and I'm writing a novel. But you never know....
1. Join a Poem-A-Day group and write a poem every day in April. NaPoWriMo has a great portal to a number of prompts and sites with groups doing the challenge). I did this several years running in a small group on The Alsop Review's wonderful Gazebo Workshop. The joy of the 30-day poem challenge in a group is the feeling that you're all stretching and reaching for new strength, failing and succeeding together, and pretty soon, it doesn't matter if it's your poem that's the wowser of the day, we're all rowing together.
2. Go to an open mic reading and present a new poem. This is one I promise myself to do every April, and often wind up having a schedule conflict on the one day of a monthly reading I know I'd like to attend. April is so jam-packed on my yearly calendar that I really wish we could move it to June. In my area, there's a wonderful monthly series (yes, a plug): The Second Sunday Poetry Series at Valona Deli (delicious sandwiches) in historic downtown Crockett, California. It's curated by the fabulous Connie Post, former Poet Laureate of Livermore, California and poetry promoter extraordinaire.
3. Read a poem every day. Okay, this one I can do. I almost always do it anyway, because poetry is heart and soul of what gets me going, keeps me writing and living with awe and optimism and truth. I know I'm gushing, but really. Try these sites: Poem of the Day - Poetry Foundation, Poetry Daily,
Your Daily Poem (listserv).
4. Buy a poetry book. How hard is this? The price of two lattes. Come on. We can all do this. We all have a list. And if you need to add one, you can buy my newest book Gods of Water and Air and even get a little prose mixed into your poetry. It's all good. Available on Amazon, including a Kindle version for only $5.99.
And it's not too late to submit your work for a poem-a-day feature on the marvelous blog by Angélique Jamail, Sappho's Torque. Deadline is March 15! Labels: National Poetry Month, poetry
