National Poetry Month: Spread the Love

During my trip to Pittsburgh for my book tour, I visited my alma mater, California University of Pennsylvania. I had the pleasure of speaking with an Intro to Poetry course taught by poet Dr. Michael Levan. The students had awesome questions for me and I got to discuss my work in K-12 schools. When a student asked me if poetry was still relevant today, I replied, "It is to the students I teach." I then said that I see my work with children as a way of making sure it remains relevant. Teaching poetry in the schools is one of the best ways to support a vibrant poetic culture. Speaking to this class was the highlight of my trip. So you can imagine my delight when, this past week, I received this email from a student in Dr. Levan's class (shared here with permission from the sender):

My name is Anne Sternberger, and I am currently a Junior at California University of Pennsylvania. I had the joy and privilege of hearing you speak to my Intro To Poetry class, with Dr. Levan, in early March. I am contacting you, because my poetry group and I included you in a recent group project, and I wanted to fill you in. Because April is National Poetry Month, Dr. Levan assigned us with the task of creating a project in which you bring poetry awareness to the community. My group and I really wanted to include your program Poetry Out Loud in this assignment, because you felt that there is no better way to keep poetry alive then by teaching it to children. Our group went to a local Wal-Mart the other day with signs and poems, and we explained to people what Poetry Out Loud program is all about, and provided email links to the site. We also asked for donations in exchange for reading a poem! 

She closes by asking me where she should send the donations; I'm working to get them routed back into Pennsylvania so the funds can go toward a POL program for the community that made the donations.

I can't really describe the feeling I got from this email. Overjoyed and humbled are a good start. The fact that my visit made any impression still flabbergasts me at times; sometimes I forget it's been a decade since I went to college so I don't feel that much further along in life than they. Most impressive is the work these students put into their class project; that is no small task to stand outside a Walmart and ask for money. I'm sure they got their share of cold shoulders. But I have no doubt that any grumpiness was quickly forgotten in the wake of their enthusiasm and generosity, not to mention the personal poetry readings.

I'm sharing this story in the hopes that you'll pause to consider your impact (no doubt you've made one) and for whom you are a mentor. Take a moment to feel good about that. Most importantly, I want to thank Cal U students Anne Sternberger, Alyssa Fowler, Emily McMullen, and William Davis. Your project definitely inspired those you met. It is still inspiring me! When people talk of the millennials' lack of interest in anything that's not sent via text message, you proved them wrong with your willingness to be excited about poetry, self-expression, and arts education. Thank you so much.

hello old friend, how about a few lit links?

I haven't been here for a while. Let's just skip the part where I feel bad about that, k?

The Literary Roundup is going to be renamed. Lit Links sounds fun, but I'm not sure yet. It's also going to be more frequent, until I decide it will be less frequent. So, infrequent sometimes and frequent other times. With changing frequency.

You should read this article by Deborah Copaken Kogan for The Nation. Brave and relevant words.

The third issue of Blast Furnace is up and it's a doozy. John Simon, Valerie Loveland, Bob Walicki, Rachel Bunting, and more. So much delicious poetry. Seriously, go marvel at Mr. Walick's line breaks. He enjambed the crap out of that beautiful, stark poem.

oh yeah, I tumblr for you.

Kristopher Collins review Braiding the Storm for Pittsburgh Magazine. I am humbled.

Andrew Ervin confesses that he is part of the problem with regard to VIDA's Count.

Oh yeah, it's National Poetry Month. I didn't forget, it's just my brain and body decided to go on strike this April, which put me in some awkward situations with my writing journal. I'd just sit there avoiding eye contact, whistling, while the blank pages were just out in the open for all to see. With a pen lying on them, no less! I did manage a few translations of a Bashō poem though. You should try writing one. It's fun.

translations of Matsuo Bashō's poem "old pond" by Laura E. Davis 

Adult Classes in Poetry and Drawing at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

My dear friend and amazing writer Sarah Leavens is teaching two classes for Pittsburgh Center for the Arts this spring. Sarah is the Out-of-the-Forge Writer-in-Residence in Braddock who has extensive knowledge in  fine arts, poetry, creative nonfiction, and bookbinding, among other things. Her recent work has appeared in Fourth River, The Diverse Arts Press and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and is forthcoming from Weave and So to Speak. If you are looking for a great writing class or an intermediate drawing class, I highly recommend you sign up hers, both of which begin next week. Here's a synopsis below. More details on the PCA site.

credit to Pittsburgh Center for the Arts wesbite, 2013

Essential Poetry
April 1-May 20, Mondays 6:30-9:30pm
Level: All
Poetry is not a literary secret society. This genre, with its distilled language and imagery, often intimidates writers and non-writers alike, but in this class we will unpack it, uncovering the essentials of reading and writing poetry—and what makes poetry essential to our lives.

Intermediate Drawing 
April 3-May 22, Wednesdays 6:30-9:30pm
Level: Intermediate
Using a variety of drawing materials, students will develop keener observation skills, strengthen their ability to express themselves and be encouraged to further develop a personal style and aesthetic.

New York, New York

I hope all is well in your worlds tonight.

April: National Poetry Month

Spring doesn't mark a big change in San Francisco. I've noticed it was a little chillier the last couple of months, but still bright and sunny with a very occasional drizzle. One downpour. While everyone can't wait for the first really warm day of the year, I seem to forget what time of year it is. Perpetual spring, San Francisco. I'm not complaining at all, by the way.

This is why I'm happy for National Poetry Month. April is here! I can write a poem a day! Except, I'm not going to this year. Why not? Last year I wrote a poem a day in April and again in November. I have lots of poems. I've even edited some of them. And a few of those I submitted to journals. But I'm not in need of more poems, per se. So what's a poet to do? Great question. I'm glad I asked that. Here's a few "a-day" ideas ideas:

• revise a poem
• read a poem
• send a poetry submission
• read a poetry chapbook
• read a poetry journal
• share a poem
• review a poetry chapbook
• review a poetry journal

I'm leaning toward a couple, but they are the more ambitious ones and I'm less likely to succeed. Perhaps I can adjust the "a-day" bar by lowering it to "every-other-day" or "thrice-weekly" instead. I'd really love to write reviews. I've finished three chapbooks this week and I have a few others that I'd like to review in addition. Plus I have a review I owe a very patient reviews editor of a lovely journal. Why are reviews so difficult to write? I always worry I'm going to miss some obvious reference or say something that will make everyone realize I'm not as smart as they thought. Ah, the joy of impostor syndrome. Any tips for approaching review-writing in a way that isn't so intimidating? Feel free to add your two cents about how I should celebrate poetry month.

In Search of Empathy

So everyone is sharing this piece by Roxane Gay today. She makes beautiful points while tying together very troubling current events in a relevant way. And I agree with her... until the end and her remarks regarding empathy, what it is, and where it comes from.

"I try to imagine what would happen, if that someone, sixteen, at a party, were a boy. And then I hate myself, because that’s not empathy, not at all. We can’t use clever word play to empathize our way out of this mess. We cannot wish something terrible onto anyone to try and even the score. I am not sure what empathy is or how we wield it properly but I am certain it’s not that way."

I agree that, in an ideal world, people shouldn't have to imagine their own child as the victim of a terrible crime in order to empathize. But the world isn't perfect and breaking down centuries of social norms, biases, and prejudices that even the emotionally aware often can't recognize will sometimes require a jarring comparison.

Due to the vast and varied amount of human suffering, we label and categorize experiences so we can decide which issues to care about, choosing ones that have affected us the most, that we identify with the most. This is unavoidable in some ways; otherwise we'd never get anything done because we'd all want to kill ourselves. Still, we all have issues that hit close to home - whether we are or know a victim of rape or we are or know someone with stomach cancer, an issue that touches our individual experience becomes a priority. We choose what we can't not choose because those issues awaken raw emotions in our numbed spirits. Can we do better than this? Yes. Can we expect or demand that empathy only come from a sufficiently virtuous place? I don't think we can. Not yet, at least. I'm certain we'll fail to reach that high a bar. I hope we can someday.

Here's what I know about empathy. Empathy is recognizing yourself in another person. It is feeling compassion for another person's suffering despite differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, abilities, and so on. Considering how much value our culture places on individualism and competition, and how little value we assign to recognizing and identifying our own feelings, it's amazing any of us develop empathy at all.

I also know that empathy doesn't come naturally to every person. Empathic ability comes in different forms. Some people feel it right away, some people read verbal or nonverbal cues, some both, some neither. Regardless, empathy is both an intellectual and emotional skill which must be modeled by mentors, politicians, parents, aunts and uncles, neighbors, and teachers. We must nurture and encourage compassion in the next generation. This requires a lot of hard work. The focus of Buddhist meditation asks practitioners to develop compassion. Since one can spend a lifetime meditating, this practice illustrates just how difficult it is to foster a deep sense of compassion. To be able to look at another person and not see differences, not see "the other", but rather see our shared humanity.

Here is what I also know. We've gotten ourselves into one fucking ugly mess. And it's entirely possible that the only way out is to trudge back through that ugly mess. Becoming a more compassionate culture will take decades of tirelessly facing our own ugliness until one day we won't need to imagine acts of violence or misfortune upon our loved ones in order to empathize. Until one day we as a culture can empathize with human suffering regardless of our individual differences.

AWP Bound!

Boston will be cold. I wish I had a pretty coat that was warm and would also fold into a tiny, portable swathe. This year I won't be staying at the conference hotel as I have in years past. Also, this is my first year not tabling at the book fair for Weave Magazine. Just me toting my coat and my chapbook around a giant convention center.

By the way, if you see me please say hello. I really love meeting people I know only online. I apologize if I don't recognize you at first, but to be fair, I'm pretty bad at names and faces. I'll be glad to meet you!

If you want to pick up a signed copy of Braiding the Storm, I will have them in tow. As a special promotion, if you buy BtS I will write you a personalized poem on a Boston postcard. Buy my chapbook, get a postcard poem later! Win-Win.

I'm looking forward to being a rogue agent this year. This is my fourth AWP and I'm taking my past experiences and applying them to this year. Pace myself. Sit near the back. Make time for the book fair. If I get to 2-3 panels in one day I'm happy. It's hard to go go go. They should have time-out rooms at AWP with quiet music, soft lighting, lots of pillows. Except everyone would likely be there most of the time. 

I'm excited to go to the book fair and collect stickers. Decorating my AWP notebook is going to be my new tradition. This year I have a larger, unlined journal and it will be beautiful.