What is National Poetry Writing Month?
Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.
The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:
NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.
Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.
Prompt for today
Today’s (optional) prompt asks you to write a poem of at least ten lines in which each line begins with the same word (e.g., “Because,” “Forget,” “Not,” “If”). This technique of beginning multiple lines with the same word or phrase is called anaphora, and has long been used to give poems a driving rhythm and/or a sense of puzzlebox mystery. To give you more context, here’s an essay by Rebecca Hazelton on her students’ “adventures in anaphora,” and a contemporary poem that uses anaphora to great effect: Layli Long Soldier’s “Whereas.”
Poem for Today
Listless Is How
14 April 24
Listless is how I wake
Looking at my goals of the day
What I need to accomplish
Needless chores each and every day
Actions that won’t be remembered in perpetuity
Listless is how I feel
As the motions that are meaningless begin to take shape
Looking at all the things I want to fill this hole in my soul
Watching the dust pile up
I can’t even keep up with cataloging the objects that I once thought I desired
Listless is how I live my life
Without interest in the outcome
Without passion that used to drive me on
Without the interest in learning new things
Without challenging the status quo
Listless is how I move through the day
Pushing through the fog that is comprised of mental strain
Pushing through the obstacles I place in front of me
Pushing through the mud that becomes paintings
Pushing through the words on the page
Listless is how I sleep
Never getting the rest that I find is required
Never inspired by what I see in dreams
Never recharging myself and taking naps that pushes me farther behind
Never catching up and going ahead of where I want to be
Listless is how I never wanted to be
Avoiding the trap of thinking none of this matters
Avoiding the fatigue that others fail to understand
Avoiding looking in the mirror and seeing the hopelessness
Avoiding the reflection that others cannot see
Listless is how laziness is taking over
But I don’t have the luxury of being content
But I don’t have the inclination to let things be
But I don’t want this anymore
But I don’t want to change
Listless is how I define myself
And I am not happy with the weeds growing in my yard
And I am not planning on staying in this mood
And I am not going to let you catch up
And I am not going to ever stop
Listless is how I define this small part of my life
It is an enemy within
It is not how the story ends
It is not the final chapter
It is not forever unlike me
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