Writing in the Margins
It seems to me that poetry offers an opportunity to explore difficult concepts in non-linear and creative ways. Not only through metaphor, but also through repetition, rhyme, and rambunctious rumbling rambling raucous wordification. Or quiet calm still wordliness. Or chaotic captivating capricious wordsing.
I am, sometimes, like Andrea Gibson, “rusty when I talk / it’s the storm in me.” (From a poem that speaks so deeply to my heart. Here they are performing the poem – http://vimeo.com/31888473) You might be rusty-voiced, too. I think we all are, sometimes.
So, poets. This will be a tough one. Set aside a block of time for it – I would suggest at least an hour. Settle yourself somewhere safe – maybe your office, maybe your kitchen table, maybe a coffee shop. Write alone, if that feels best, or with friends. Make yourself some tea, or hot chocolate, or a lovely tall glass of water. Get yourself a snack. Take some deep, calming breaths.
Your prompt is to dive into the cold dark water of your emotional ocean, off whichever cliff seems both challenging and approachable. (Remember, you will not drown.) I will be writing about my fear of not-enoughness, of rejectability – a raw nerve that was hit pretty hard recently, and an emotional whirlpool that I have trouble expressing or exploring. Pick your own topic, something that’s hard to describe but that begs for words and expression. Start with a poem, or a mind-map, or a word bank. Stretch, drink, eat, breathe, write.
