Daily Poetry Writing
This is the only reality there is. If you can get it down on paper, in words, notes, or color, so much the better.
Henry Miller
Last year I did a small art piece for every day and called it Daily Art Cards. That was a way to get into the habit of creating art even when I didn’t have the energy or was in the right mood to create. Doing that taught me that I’m not as lazy as I tell myself. That I can do grand things in a small scale. And that when I do not have energy creativity fuels me. Creativity is energy to me.
This year I am writing daily poetry.
Writing poetry comes natural to me, I do it intuitively. But what comes out on the page sometimes surprises even me. I play with words as they pop into my head, letting any expectations on a good enough result go. Who cares? That it works, the words I chose, together row after row is like magic to me.
I like my own poetry. I’m enchanted by words. I like the sensation of writing it. I like how it comes together. I like the anticipation as I open the notebook and have no idea what I will write.
I take a deep breath and put my ink pen to the creamy blank page and start writing.
I like that I write quick and sometimes don’t get what it means until later. And reading back a few days I notice that I have (sometimes) already forgotten what I wanted to say; because I write metaphorically. So I have to find new interpretations of my own words. I play with well-known metaphors and hide the real meaning in secret messages, but without planning to do so. It comes out almost finished and I rarely go back and change it, though it happens.
I write positive messages to myself. One poem is like the editors letter (but from me to me), telling me that I am a poet and that I should be proud. It makes me smile. Quite a few poems is about how difficult and challenging it is for me to change. Sometimes I invent new words or use sayings or sentences in a deliberate wrong way. I try to trick the reader, demanding the slow reading phase that all poetry reacquires. Poetry should be read out loud, slowly and with love.
I let the words twirl around.
And the book I’m using is half the joy of this adventure. As I have mentioned before I got this beautiful hand bound blankie from my cousin Charlotta. She bought it in Edinburgh from a shop & gallery place called Owl and Lion! My book has this yummy pink screen printed cover and is the perfect size (is 9,5 x 13,5 centimeter small) for writing a short daily poem! As small as it was, it was the best gift I got, because I’ve been using it daily since January 1st and will continue to use it. When it is filled I might need to go to Edinburgh to get another one…
Before this year I have written poetry in a very different way. I vomited out eight or ten poems in one late night when I was sad, to then go back to not writing poetry for another year. Poetry is very emotional and I guess it “came to me” when I was in the Depressed Writer Mood That Can’t Sleep… Now I can evoke a similar mood by opening this special notebook, and it feels like quite an accomplishment to have found a new road to poetry writing. Many of my poems are melancholic, but I try to see an opening towards the light. In poetry, and everywhere in life.
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That is a beautiful little book indeed! I’m also trying to write poetry daily this year, but I’ve not been as diligent as I’d like to be. You’re inspiring as always, sweet Hanna.
Hi Hanna,
what a great booklet for poetry!!! OOOO i can SOO imagine almost taking a trip to dublin to buy such book again. (Sometimes i buy lOTS of things, trying to avoid this LOL). I am sorry i do not read your language to taste your poetry. But you made me think about committing myself to poetry… THANKS for making me think,
Hedwig
Shelly, thanks! I think poetry and diligent to go well together, but it’s fun when it “comes”. Doesn’t poetry seem divine in some way? !:-)
sorry, not dublin but Edinburgh… yikes..STILL love the booklet!
Hedwig
It does seem divine – spiritual indeed. It has a way of telling you when it needs to “come out”.
I love poetry too. It’s funny, I usually only feel fueled to write it when I’m traveling (and I don’t travel very often). Have you ever read the book Poemcrazy? Oh, I do love it. Lots of inspiration there.
Your love of creativity inspires me always, but today especially.
:)
Hedwig, no worries, I want to go to Dublin too… hehe. I’m so glad I made you think about poetry… I had forgotten about writing poetry all together in prior years, but this year I’m such a darn poet it makes me smile! It is such fun to write it, and not at all as much work as say… a novel?! ;-)
Jeannine,
I wrote poetry prose when I was in Asia once, and those are my most favorite poems – actually the only ones I’ve written in my diary because that was the notebook I had with me when I was inspired to write them. Inspiration came from Amos Oz, and his poetry prose book (The Same Sea) that I soooo love.
Anyway, no I haven’t read Poemcrazy but read Foolsgold: Making Something from Nothing and Freeing Your Creative Process that is by the same author last year and was inspired!
I love words too. I started writing a poem a day for the almost a month in January. Things happened. I’m trying to do at least three days a week of writing poems. There is a freeing quality writing poems for your own pleasure. You can write about anything and do any style you want.
I so agree with you about writing poetry. When I am paying attention I can find it everywhere – in ads in the paper, in words on tv…everywhere! What a great idea to do some every day and all in one place (mine tend to be on napkins, scraps of paper, etc…but it’s fun finding scraps of poems years later and finishing them. =])
Hi Hanna
What a wonderful idea! I used to write a lot of poetry – haven’t written any for such a long time! I’m taking a photo a day for the month of February and last year I created a mandala each day for a month. I art journaled everyday in January. Maybe March will be poetry month. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Hanna
I just found this site and thought of you and your poetry writing.
http://readwritepoem.org/
Beautiful journal for your poetry. I’m using whatever is available at the moment. I’ve been writing my daily poem (missed only 2 days so far) and I’m really enjoying it. I find that it’s a great way to end my day. And I know what you mean about the “Depressed Writer Mood That Can?t Sleep” and spilling out a bunch of poems in one night and not writing for months after. It used to be like that for me too. I still have some dark/depressing poems but there’s more light/happy ones now too.
*hugs*
Sophie