I'm Writing Poetry Again

In about two weeks, January 15, I will be reading some recent poems at Cafe Paradiso's Thirsty Word readings, 7:30 P.M. A funny thing happened in October--I started writing poetry again. Poetry was my main creative writing activity from the age of 15 (around 1967-68) until around 2005. Then I published my poetry book Bare Ruined Choirs and wrote prose for the next twenty years. I think after the death of my first wife, Barbara, I wanted to just make stuff up for a while and not so much be a journalist of the soul, a poet.

In October I wrote a poem, and then another, and then another. I'm still riding that wave of momentum and am enjoying the experience of writing at a deep level of creativity but not having a finishing timeline projected out a year or more. The size of a poem is more its depth rather than word count. The idea of fully engaging in creative writing yet not committing to a years-long project takes a weight off my shoulders. Besides, poetry has always been important to me.

I'm also assembling a book of selected poems, 1970-2005. This project began with the realization that I had no clue where (and how) I'd stored my earlier poems. I did remember an old external data drive, about the size of a tissue box, but I wasn't sure where I'd put it. I also knew I had stored a box somewhere . . . but where? Then I found the external drive, but there were no poetry files on it! Panic, and then I accepted that maybe those poems were gone. However, in a folder within a folder within a folder, I found a last folder, "Poems," where I found most of my earlier poems typed. After locating my box of poetry folders, I had located my early poems--or at least enough for satisfaction. 

I have to update some glitches on my online book outlets, a project for the first of the new year; however, I'm writing now on two projects, my selected poems (poems and notes) and all my new poems. I'm feeling a great deal of creativity, and with winter here I have time to sit by the woodstove and write and revise. I hope some local folks get a chance to come to the next Thirsty Word and hear me read some poems. I'll keep you posted.

Here are the titles of some recent poems:

• Paleolithic
• The Northern Lights Danced in Iowa While I Read Poetry
• Mind Maps
• Elder-Love
• Simple

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