A Community of Poets

For the most part, writing is a solitary practice. I wake while it’s still dark, boil water for a french press, light a candle and find my way to my desk. But all these mornings alone have yielded an unexpected joy.

Every month I get to meet with poets to read through a few new poems and notice what’s working. We live in Holland, Scotland, Chicago, and Portland. Four time zones! It’s a gift that keeps me fine tuning because I know I need to have something to share.

I also have become friends with Moira Walsh, a wonderful poet who works as a translator and lives in Germany. It was through Moira that I had the opportunity to submit poems to Olney Magazine and be their Featured Poet this week.

It’s not all sunshine here! The day that Moira’s invitation arrived I got a rejection letter, and the day that the poems went live I got another. I’m still not submitting nearly as often as Renee Emerson, but I’ve already met my yearly goal!

Amy is blogging through November and it is always a delight to glimpse the world through her eyes. She shared an older episode of Creative Pep Talk that I am excited to dig into.

Closer to home my dear friend Tonia sent an essay by Ursula called “The Fisherwoman’s Daughter” that seemed to fit exactly into a conversation I was already having with Andy. She’s kind of amazing that way–both Tonia and Ursula. I’ve got a tiny package to send to Tonia just down Highway 30 full of poems by Tara Shepersky and art by Sister Corita and Caitlin Keegan.