Tomorrow begins the last remaining fifteen days of my yearlong poem-a-day journey. We started on September 15th of last year and will end on that date this month. I say we because it’s been an effort accomplished only with the help of several fellow writers along the way. I’d team up with one or two writers every month or so, all of us encouraging each other to trade a new poem by midnight every day.
Was every poem a masterpiece after its 24-hour birthing? I hope not. Was every poem ready to publish upon entry into this often harsh literary world? No. Did every poem deserve a second look for revision when time allowed, to maybe get cut to pieces in the editing process down the road, to be melded with other poems to find its true self, to be turned, perhaps, into a short story, or just stared at after some months with wonder as to what one was thinking? All of the above and much more.
One of those lovely partners along the way, Melissa Helton – a gifted poet and trusted friend – mused once that we’re all kind of writing the same two or three poems over and over no matter how many poems we write. I agree with her in one respect, but after having to find something to say well over four-hundred-and-fifty times (I’ve written more than one or two a day on occasions, especially when at residency and at generative writing events) over almost a year, I hope I’ve busted out of some of that habit’s pitfalls.
And if I have, it’s only because I’ve managed it through the influence of these other writers I was cross-pollinating with through their writing styles, personalities, energies, reading preferences and influences, voice rhythms. All of it. (I’m pretty sure, however, in the end when reviewing the work as a whole, I’ll find, just as Melissa says, a few themes, over and over)
We give each other energy. We feed off each other in the creative world, whether writing, painting, or making music. I think we’d all agree on that. Moreover, we help one another with the material necessary, the raw material of creativity. Perhaps that’s the same thing as trading energy, but it’s a more tangible consideration, isn’t it? We’re in collaboration with each other even when we’re not “teaming up” to do so. But when we are specifically there to help the other persevere, to create alone side them, to suffer and celebrate along the way, we do a mighty thing.
Fifteen days to go. And yes, I have a partner to help with what might be the most difficult days yet. Here we go.
Was every poem a masterpiece after its 24-hour birthing? I hope not. Was every poem ready to publish upon entry into this often harsh literary world? No. Did every poem deserve a second look for revision when time allowed, to maybe get cut to pieces in the editing process down the road, to be melded with other poems to find its true self, to be turned, perhaps, into a short story, or just stared at after some months with wonder as to what one was thinking? All of the above and much more.
One of those lovely partners along the way, Melissa Helton – a gifted poet and trusted friend – mused once that we’re all kind of writing the same two or three poems over and over no matter how many poems we write. I agree with her in one respect, but after having to find something to say well over four-hundred-and-fifty times (I’ve written more than one or two a day on occasions, especially when at residency and at generative writing events) over almost a year, I hope I’ve busted out of some of that habit’s pitfalls.
And if I have, it’s only because I’ve managed it through the influence of these other writers I was cross-pollinating with through their writing styles, personalities, energies, reading preferences and influences, voice rhythms. All of it. (I’m pretty sure, however, in the end when reviewing the work as a whole, I’ll find, just as Melissa says, a few themes, over and over)
We give each other energy. We feed off each other in the creative world, whether writing, painting, or making music. I think we’d all agree on that. Moreover, we help one another with the material necessary, the raw material of creativity. Perhaps that’s the same thing as trading energy, but it’s a more tangible consideration, isn’t it? We’re in collaboration with each other even when we’re not “teaming up” to do so. But when we are specifically there to help the other persevere, to create alone side them, to suffer and celebrate along the way, we do a mighty thing.
Fifteen days to go. And yes, I have a partner to help with what might be the most difficult days yet. Here we go.