Last Day of National Poetry Month! (April!)
At The End of National Poetry Month
I am linking this old post to With Real Toads, where Kerry promises that the Real Toads crew will do thirty prompts in thirty days for National Poetry Month. I’ve written a poem a day in April for the last few years – and since the Toads prompt today is about what April means to a poet, I thought of linking this. The poem at least is short – apologies for the discursive beginning.
Today is the last day of this year’s National Poetry Month. As in the last couple of years, I’ve tried to write a new draft poem every day of the month. I hope that even the not-so-good ones have provided some fun for readers, even if that fun was at my expense!
One of the great things about an exercise like this (to my mind) is that it helps debunk the notion of the muse.
People/poets/writers/artists can get very attached to the idea of a muse–this shadowy presence that comes and goes and makes them feel special.
To me, a rather plodding sort of person, the muse is mainly a combination of attention and determination.
Attention to what is going on outside; attention, too, to all the little pokes and prods inside.
Then there’s the determination to take notes of what you’ve paid attention to, and, once you’ve taken the notes, to reshape them in the sometimes harsh (sometimes way too indiscriminate) light of your computer screen.
The advantage of an exercise like writing a poem a day is that you just can’t wait for the muse to come your way. You simply have to get down to attending and determining!
As my final homage to National Poetry Month 2012, I am re-posting my April 30 poem from 2011:
End of National Poetry Month Haiku
Some say that April is the
cruelest month. They must
be people who write poems.
Thanks so much for checking in!
Explore posts in the same categories: elephants, poetryTags: April is the cruelest month, Attention/Determination replacing the muse, Elephant resting (in comfy bed), End of National Poetry MOnth, End of the Muse, manicddaily
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ManicDDaily 
April 30, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Congratulations for ending. I agree with your comments on the “muse” — writing is inspiration, intuition and discipline
April 30, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Wonderful! Congratulations!
May 1, 2012 at 9:48 am
Thanks, Anna. I really enjoyed your Anna Mozart poem. k.
May 1, 2012 at 12:02 am
Love the haiku and love the pic, K. That is going to be me in about thirty seconds. I do agree completely that the best thing this exercise does is get one to stop sitting around brooding and waiting for inspiration to strike, assuming one can’t write a decent word without it. It’s amazing what you do find to write about when you’re determined to do so, and where it can take you. That said, there *are* thoughts and moments that are plainly more intense than others, where one actually does get words or phrases out of the blue (at least I do) or a dream, and that can feel rather muse-like but it’s no guarantee it will be any better than something you grind out because you want to talk about it.
Congratulations on surviving!
May 1, 2012 at 9:48 am
Hi Hedge, Yes, there certainly are moments of spark and inspiration and intensity. Though I think that has a lot to do with paying attention. I guess part of my point is that the inspiration is really almost always there if one just attends to it. Sometimes, of course, it’s a lot easier to pay attention as it is grabbing you by the throat! But it’s amazing how much there is to write about if one is attentive and energetic. That said, I am NOT typically that attentive and energetic, and also even then, some sparks are more profound than others.
Though I guess for me the real engagement actually comes in the working more than the sparking sometimes. k.
May 1, 2012 at 1:04 am
I agree with your post, K. This month long challenge is a way to break blocks, that it is possible to find something to write about.
Love the final haiku. 🙂 Cheers to you!
May 1, 2012 at 9:46 am
Thanks much. k.
May 1, 2012 at 5:17 am
I agree completely about the debunking of the muse. I tend to side with Jim – it’s good ideas. I have to say as well, that I have thoroughly enjoyed your contributions – and no, there never was anything plodding about your writes. There I must part company from your thinking.
May 1, 2012 at 9:45 am
You are always so very kind, David. K.
May 1, 2012 at 5:41 am
haha…love the haiku…and so true….crossing that line is like a gasp for breath…i feel much the same too in regards to writers block…i def think it is a myth as much as muse…great job crossing the finish line k….
May 1, 2012 at 9:45 am
Thanks, Bri. Hard to associate you with the words “writer’s block.” Ha. K.
May 1, 2012 at 6:22 am
Congratulations, it is a wonderful feeling to reach the last day. This is the first year J have attempted NaPoWriMo, but it wpn’t be my last. Loved the pic & haiku. Carolina x
May 1, 2012 at 9:45 am
Thanks, Carolina! I will take a look at your poems! K.
May 1, 2012 at 11:17 am
haha…there are some exhausted poets around blogosphere today..smiles…and i def. agree with what you say about the muse..and love the haiku
May 1, 2012 at 4:16 pm
I wouldn’t know cos I didn’t enter it… sounds like masochism… hehe.. nice haku Ms Daily
May 1, 2012 at 4:24 pm
I didn’t enter anything either. I just like to make little commitments to myself to make myself do things. K.
May 1, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Well done. I didn’t enter either. If I think I >have< to do something, I don't want to do it so much anymore…LOL
WTG for you seeing it through though, it's good to have goals to aim for.
May 1, 2012 at 6:12 pm
Thanks much. I didn’t link to anything (other than my normal stuff.) I’ve done Nanowrimo but I find the name of this one so off-putting – napowrimo- that I couldn’t do it! Kind of silly. I just like, as you say, to set goals for myself in order to get myself to have faith in the stretchability of time. k.
March 30, 2013 at 12:20 pm
Thank you for linking this post, Karin. It is both encouraging and daunting, and a valuable first hand account of what it takes to make the commitment to the challenge, and to see it through.
March 30, 2013 at 12:44 pm
You are most welcome, Kerry. Good luck! You have very high standards for your work, which will make it a little hard, but I’m sure you’ll have fun and be an inspiration for others too. K.
March 30, 2013 at 1:39 pm
I love this wry haiku – am still smiling.
March 30, 2013 at 2:43 pm
Ha. Thanks. (Hope you are still smiling by end of the month.) K.
March 30, 2013 at 5:55 pm
It’s a challenge to keep up but I do like the process notes of observing and shaping them like spring blooms ~
March 31, 2013 at 12:01 am
Love the haiku. This will be my first attempt at a poem a day. 🙂
March 31, 2013 at 7:22 am
Good luck. k.
March 31, 2013 at 9:05 am
I’m usually inspired by my surroundings which evoke emotions in me. You’re brave for making it through the challenge. I hope April is kind and gentle 🙂
March 31, 2013 at 9:10 am
Ha. Thanks. I am actually spending most of this April in India, visiting my daughter who has been working there, so we’ll see! k.
March 31, 2013 at 12:34 pm
A challenge like this, I think, makes us pay more attention to detail and our moods. The relief of ending the challenge is bin sharp contrast to the feeling of spring rejuvenation. 🙂
March 31, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Oh, I love your haiku, and have, indeed, been wondering if this April will be the cruelest month! LOL
K
April 1, 2013 at 12:03 pm
brilliant, I hope it’s not cruel to us poets this month
April 1, 2013 at 12:09 pm
I’m sure it won’t be!
k.