Let’s write a poem today.
I’ve been thinking about repetition and obsession and all the ways that plays out in writing. Obsession shows up in content, of course (I’ve had to make a rule for myself that I’m not writing any more poems about saints or mass, we’ll see how long that holds up), but I’m always particularly interested in how obsession shows up in the form of our writing. I really love books of poetry that make use of a series, and I think writing in a series can be a great way of giving your writing practice momentum. (I wrote about the series as a unifying device when I wrote for Poets & Writers about shaping and revising a poetry collection.)
Repetition can take many forms in poetry: received forms, like the villanelle or sestina or pantoum; a series of poems that all use the same or similar titles; an image that shows up in multiple spots across a book, or a career.
Today we’ll work with anaphora, which is repetition of a phrase at the beginning of a sentence or a clause. (Think “I have a dream.”) My friend Rebecca Hazelton’s great essay for the Poetry Foundation, Adventures in Anaphora, is full of examples of the device at work and why it’s so helpful in a writing practice. Anaphora’s a helpful device when you’re working with scraps and fragments, as we are with these writing exercises.
poem #4: repetition and obsession
Scan your writing from the last several days. You’re looking in particular for a strong image and/or an appealing brief phrase. You’re looking for an obsession to return to, and a phrase that will anchor that obsession grammatically. The exercises since our last poem are here:
Once you’ve got that opening phrase and repeated image(s) in mind, write as many sentences as you can with that same opening. So if you’re starting with the April 17 exercise connected to the Cecily Parks line “so this is spring,” your phrase might be “so this is April” and you’d write as many sentences as you can using that opening. Try for a page! Maybe two!
a little note of welcome
If you’re just joining us, welcome! I’m so glad you’re here.
A little note about this year’s not-a-poem-a-day practice: what we’re doing is just writing snippets, rather than producing a poem a day. Don’t worry about what you’re writing or if it’s a poem yet or if it fits into the bigger book you’re dreaming of. We’re just getting started. (The fuller rationale for this practice is in this post.)
And an invitation: if it helps you to share, you’re welcome to post a sentence below, or email me, or put your work on twitter or instagram. I’d love to know what you’re up to, and sometimes that little bit of accountability can help you keep going. And if you have a friend you think would benefit from a little more writing in their life, I’d love it if you would share the newsletter with them. It’s been such a joy writing with you all these first couple days, and I’ve loved the work people have reached out to share.
three upcoming events
This Saturday (tomorrow!), I’ll be reading at the Avalon Free Public Library at 2PM. If you happen to be in the area, I’d love for you to join me for some poems, then hopefully some restorative staring at the ocean.
Then, on Sunday, April 24th, at 7PM eastern, we’ve got a great reading for the Long Devotion at the Mercy Street Readings series via zoom. Contributors Sun Yung Shin, Raina J. León, Chelsea Dingman, and Hope Wabuke will read. You can sign up at bit.ly/mercystreetreadings
Next Saturday, April 30 from 1-4pm eastern, Emily Pérez and I will be leading a workshop at Rutgers-Camden’s Writers House titled Writing through the Confetti Time of Caregiving. (The workshop draws on poems and essays from The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood—and attendees will get a special discount code for the book!) You can attend the workshop in-person or via zoom. Whether you’re parenting little kids or caring for family members or just trying to figure out how to sustain a writing practice in the middle of a busy life, I think you’ll find the workshop really practical and encouraging. You can read more and register here.
I’d love to hear from you. You can always reply to this email, comment below, or find me on twitter (@nancy_reddy) and instagram (@nancy.o.reddy).