I did it!

On Sunday, I went to a poetry workshop at Jarrod’s Coffee. This is a huge deal to me because the last time I went was maybe a year ago. It was a good experience - I met some interesting people and got my poem workshopped (that poem is now published!). Since then I’ve been procrastinating bringing in another poem for feedback, although I did go to an open mic and a book exchange. So I finally went back this Sunday and brought in a poem for critique. The poem isn’t very good - as I explained to them, I’ve been a little lost in my poetic craft and have been looking for directions to take this piece. Everyone had wildly different interpretations of the poem, some that I didn’t even think of, so in my revision I will try to focus on the poem on a more specific message. People seemed to like this line a lot:

I can work again without thinking of our hands intertwined.

A nice man also commented on the alliterative qualities of this line:

The discs spin but the story remains static, time marching

Overall, I’m proud of myself for being vulnerable and sharing an incomplete work. I’m feeling poetically inspired!

I also hung out with Phuong Sunday. We went to Bookmans and I (in a fit of poetic impulse) picked up some books on the craft. One is called The Rag-Picker’s Guide to Poetry: Poems, Poets, Process, which I’ve started reading. It’s a compilation of poets talking about the writing process that lead to their poems, which are also featured in the book. I’ve found it interesting. I hope it helps to restore my poetic impulse that I’ve felt has left me for so long.

Since I’ve been talking about my weekend, I might as well note that I went to Linger Longer Lounge on Friday. Maya also joined me! I saw some local bands and also got some fries. The bands were really good, and I shook one of the bassist’s hands, whose name was Mark. I’ll attach a video of some of the performances.

Overall, I had a successful weekend. I did it! Back to the grind 😭