October: A Month of Poetry or Ways to Celebrate My Birthday

My true introduction to poetry happened in my 6^th grade English class. We had a poetry section, that I found quite fun. I still have the little book of poems I wrote and bound as part of our final project.

Here is my haiku from back in the day:

Basking

Small, plump chipmunks sleep

in the warm sun, slipping through

the windows of trees.

(yes, I did write this when I was 11. Good, huh?)

Poetry is a form a writing that conveys emotions, world events, even humor, in a way that is lost in a longer narrative. The short space and sometimes the rigid form, in my opinion, is what gives a poem its power. To boil all those ideas and feelings into the essence of what you’re trying to say is an art in and of itself.

I took a poetry class in college and really found my stride. I pushed myself to write about things I’d never experienced, explore the topics I loved, and critique the work of my fellow classmates. I grew as a poet that semester and miss the delving into those lesser known forms on a daily basis.

My intent for October poetry month*, is to rediscover a piece of my writing persona that I have neglected. I hope that you learn something here or are inspired to pen your own poems. Either way, lets have fun! Feel free to participate in the comments, if you’d like.

I’ll be using The Teacher’s & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms edited by Ron Padgett as reference.

*My birthday is this month, so why not celebrate with some writing exercises?