April is, of course, National Poetry Month. And April 1st is the beginning of the A to Z Blogging Challenge, which I completed with a poem a day – in the spirit of NaPoWriMo / GloPoWriMo – in 2023. The Writers Digest Poem-a-Day (PAD) Challenge, which I did last November, begins anew today. And of course I’m in my second year of doing The Stafford Challenge, which is to write a poem a day for a whole year. Today is Day 75. This year? I’m doing them all. Plus entering 30 poetry contests, judging two, enjoying fun time with family, traveling to the last two of fifty states I haven’t yet visited, and attending Poetry at Roundtop. Yay!
Today’s poem was…
Originally titled, “Art Class.” After sharing it among a small group of poets who suggested a better title, I’m calling it “Origami Wings.”
I hate that writing, once it has “lost its virginity” by being published in any form, is devalued – never mind that there are, perhaps, 30 readers who will ever see it here on this blog. In 2023, Timothy Green proposed a new term of art that has gained some traction among publishers: “Uncurated.”
Imagine how literature would thrive if we could share our art with our friends in the medium of the era. How much more fun would online open mics be if everyone knew they were free to share the poem they were most proud of—the one they just wrote yesterday? Rattle’s weekly podcast includes a supportive and enriching open lines segment, but most poets are hesitant to share and “spoil” their newest work. The joy of sharing what we create is one of the main things that sustains us as artists. We shouldn’t have to wait years wading through rejection letters to feel it.
Read Green’s whole proposal at “Uncurated: The Case for a New Term of Art.” Unfortunately, this won’t work well for contests where anonymity is important to fairness. I was going to hold back, but a small voice in my head reminded me that words are meant to be read. Ideas are meant to be shared. Communication is an act requiring two or more.
Today’s Poem is…
Origami Wings
She made the most exquisite corpse folded over on itself half a dozen times. The best of times when flowers graced her curves, her ample breasts; the worst of times, when they cast cross-hatch shade concentric circles, levers, steampunk gears between her hip-bones, thighs, as if to mar her nakedness and make of her a twisted mess of cobbled parts laid bare beneath florescent glare for little boys to snicker at, while girls decided then and there to bind their chests, lean in to art and ugliness, express revulsion, silent rage - while bleeding ink through every knife-edged paper crease, until one artist's fingers deft with mercy turned her corpse to origami folded arms to angels wings and let her fly
Here it is the very next day after I requested it and I’m *still* waiting on a book of Holly poetry as thick as my forearm…🤣
ROFL! [throws forearm dramatically across her brow] That’s all this is good for, now!
“This year? I’m doing them all.” – No pressure then… When I am in my writing group, we share (if we choose to) straight away, and when I subsequently type, or more usually dictate, the piece, I rarely make many significant changes, maybe line breaks, the odd word here and there so I am a great believer in immediate sharing and I have done some of my best work in that group – I think the pressure of wr+iting in just 15 or 20 minutes forces a concentration which you don’t get by yourself, unprompted.
Loved the poem and am now off to read Green’s essay…
Thank you!
Well, there’s a difference (in terms of work being “previously published”) between sharing in a private writing group and posting on a blog or social media platform.
Like you, I rarely make significant changes, but this is longstanding habit on my part (probably laziness, too). All through school, I wrote my first drafts, thoughtfully, in pen. I hated revising, so the only times I did it at all were when the teacher INSISTED on seeing rough, 2nd, 3rd drafts. Even then, I took my first draft, rewrote it in pencil, making deliberate mistakes. Turned those in. Fixed them gradually. Got straight As, so really never had any reason to change this habit until I started using word processing and working as a technical writer. That, and law school, taught me the value of good editing and great editors. I need another pair or three of eyes in fiction to make sure I haven’t got some weird inaccuracy (in my short story, “Meet Me Halfway,” I’d originally placed my immigration agents on the wrong sides of the border and a Canadian reader caught that for me!) and to ensure I haven’t changed a character’s eye color halfway through. But I still write what I mean to write, the way I mean to write it, 98% of the time, the first time.
I used to share all my poems, but now I keep the best ones to myself until I can publish them in my books. It is so tempting to share everything, but I am learning. So some poems are written to be shared and some to be hidden till published.
If you self-publish, then it doesn’t matter if you’ve shared before. It only matters to (some) other publishers and, more reasonably (for the sake of anonymity) in contests.
I totally get your point, Holly!
Really tempted by the idea of writing and sharing in a private writing group… sounds very exciting!! Sadly, it’s not happened yet.
I’m still publishing my poetry on the blog and later, hopefully, intend to self-publish, once I have a decent collection worth publishing. Still got a long way to go, as I’m still struggling to “show” my poetry to the world because I feel they’re not good enough.
My post for Day 3: https://mysoultalks.com/c-chakras-the-wheels-of-life-atozchallenge2025/
The Garden is private. 🙂
It doesn’t have to be just for sharing of links. But if you’d like to explore other options on other platforms, let me know!
As for “good enough,” I really think we’re not the best judges. Just do your best (there will be opportunities to do even better tomorrow) and let it fly .
I am not a poet. Somehow have never been able to write poems. But I love to read poetry.
Poets love readers. (ALL writers love readers!) I’ll bet you’re being a bit too hard on yourself, though – I’d bet you do have a poem in you, if you have the urge to write one. If you don’t, that’s okay, too.
I’m currently reading (and loving) The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within, by Stephen Fry. https://amzn.to/4oDIH6H It might help. 😉