Weekend Poetry Date

"At the most important moments, when everyone else is silent, poetry rises to speak."

~ Ralph Fletcher, Poetry Matters

A friend issued a challenge to a group of us to observe National Poetry Month, not necessarily by writing poetry every day (though we're certainly free to do so!), but by bringing it to the forefront for the 30 days of April.

I thought I'd use my blog as a place to explore and share some findings.

I'm not familiar with poetry at all. I know nothing of its technicalities, rules or structures, I've no favourite poem, and a lot of older poetry I just don't get.

But some of the newer stuff I do.

Here's one I received from a dear friend to kick off the month (thank you K.). It made me weep.

The Word by Tony Hoagland

Down near the bottom

of the crossed-out list

of things you have to do today,

between "green thread"

and "broccoli" you find

that you have penciled "sunlight."

Resting on the page, the word

is as beautiful, it touches you

as if you had a friend

and sunlight were a present

he had sent you from some place distant

as this morning —to cheer you up,

and to remind you that,

among your duties, pleasure

is a thing,

that also needs accomplishing

Do you remember?

that time and light are kinds

of love, and love

is no less practical

than a coffee grinder

or a safe spare tire?

Tomorrow you may be utterly

without a clue

but today you get a telegram,

from the heart in exile

proclaiming that the kingdom

still exists,

the king and queen alive,

still speaking to their children,

—to any one among them

who can find the time,

to sit out in the sun and listen.

~~~

I hope to touch on poetry here at least every weekend, maybe more if the mood strikes.

I may share more poems, some of my own writings or maybe some interesting resources I find for the uninitiated, like me.

I hope you'll join me.

~~~

Do you have a favourite poem or poet? I'd love to get some suggested readings!

Squam Art Workshops Day 1: Pitch Perfect

Something shifted in me at S.A.W. this year (S.A.W. does that to you). It's as if my soul saw an opportunity to make itself heard in the silence by the lake, but I just can't put my finger on what it was trying to tell me yet.

apples, lake and the morning sun, Squam Art Workshops 2011

In the meantime I offer you a summary of the workshops I took; I enjoy the process of recapping each one. Here goes with Day 1...

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Workshop: Pitch Perfect

Teacher: Christine Chitnis

What I learned: how to structure a query letter; how to brainstorm and come up with ideas for articles that could be submitted for publication; that magazines have sections for which they want short paragraphs & photos and that it might be less intimidating to pitch those than feature articles; that we all have unique stories to tell, sometimes it's just a different spin on a common subject; that I like structure

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Despite choosing to attend a predominantly right-brain art retreat I loved this class and all the left-brain activity it garnered. As soon as I saw the detailed workshop schedule in our handout packets I knew I was in good hands. And if that wasn't enough, Christine followed through with practical, tangible how-to's mixed with generous sharing of her own experiences and one-on-one support as we worked on our individual query letters. I'd have to say the day was pretty damn perfect.

Up next, Day 2: Painted Icon...