Today is my mom's birthday!
Though I've been writing lots of poems to fulfull your wonderful donation incentive requests, I have not excelled as an occasional poet. I figured I would capitalize on all of this good "incentive" energy and comission myself to write a poem for her.
To be honest, this morning, I had no idea where to start. I feel like so many of my poems are to/about her in some way. She is my first fan.
In Mrs. Whalen's third grade class, we had to write up character profiles for our "Gog Family Tree," a family of monsters we invented. I was terrified of the project. What could I say about them? What if I wrote something terrible? It was my first act of self-censor, and my mom talked me through each member of the family, asking about their habits and hobbies.
I had always loved stories and language, and as soon as I learned to read, I devoured books. I read a Nancy Drew a night.
Now, I had been encouraged to invent my own characters and their lives. Though I did not stick with prose (cue Ms. Gina Alven who gave me some of Sharon Old's poems in eleventh grade), I owe my mom so much for believing in me and helping me to believe in my own ideas and voice.
Yours in poetry,
Emari
Though I've been writing lots of poems to fulfull your wonderful donation incentive requests, I have not excelled as an occasional poet. I figured I would capitalize on all of this good "incentive" energy and comission myself to write a poem for her.
To be honest, this morning, I had no idea where to start. I feel like so many of my poems are to/about her in some way. She is my first fan.
In Mrs. Whalen's third grade class, we had to write up character profiles for our "Gog Family Tree," a family of monsters we invented. I was terrified of the project. What could I say about them? What if I wrote something terrible? It was my first act of self-censor, and my mom talked me through each member of the family, asking about their habits and hobbies.
I had always loved stories and language, and as soon as I learned to read, I devoured books. I read a Nancy Drew a night.
Now, I had been encouraged to invent my own characters and their lives. Though I did not stick with prose (cue Ms. Gina Alven who gave me some of Sharon Old's poems in eleventh grade), I owe my mom so much for believing in me and helping me to believe in my own ideas and voice.
Here is an excerpt of "Out Slink the Striped Cats," which also happens to be a sonnet, a donation request by Gail Dimaggio (read the full poem on Tupelo Press' 30/30 blog):
"My mother’s a tiger tamer, a dame
who cracks the whip. She stalks the cage in tall
white boots, a hand upon her hip. She claims
to speak their language–its solitary squall–,
can coax a golden Bengal to sit, give
"My mother’s a tiger tamer, a dame
who cracks the whip. She stalks the cage in tall
white boots, a hand upon her hip. She claims
to speak their language–its solitary squall–,
can coax a golden Bengal to sit, give
paw..."
Readers, I am so grateful for your support and encouragement.
I have FIVE remaining titles available. If you would like to claim one of these, please see my first posting for incentive amounts and make your way to the Tupelo Press donation page. Be sure to select my name from the scroll down tab titled "Is this donation in honor of a 30/30 poet?"
Of course, once I am out of titles, you can still select five words for a poem, give me a potential theme/topic, offer a formal challenge, or receive a chapbook at the end of this project. And if you're enjoyed reading poetry this month, you might consider a subscription to Tupelo. You'll receive 9 books for $99, which is a steal! You can also *gift* this subscription to someone else (including me!)...I have friends and students who would be delighted to be the recipient.
Of course, once I am out of titles, you can still select five words for a poem, give me a potential theme/topic, offer a formal challenge, or receive a chapbook at the end of this project. And if you're enjoyed reading poetry this month, you might consider a subscription to Tupelo. You'll receive 9 books for $99, which is a steal! You can also *gift* this subscription to someone else (including me!)...I have friends and students who would be delighted to be the recipient.
Yours in poetry,
Emari
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