I have been writing poems half my life, at least, but for some reason, with the exception of the two collections I had to put together for my degrees in writing, I have never been able to pull them together into a real collection. I have resolved to do this, and I'll start with a 25 page chapbook for qarrtsiluni's contest. Though I have no illusions about winning it, at least it will motivate me to put something together!
With the workshop this semester, I have been writing so many new poems, and of course I have a backload of poems that haven't been published (and some that have), so I should, theoretically, be able to put something together. The problem is that it just seems so forced, and all the cliches of sections of a book don't seem to fit, for some reason. Then there's a title. But I'll have to give it a try. Starting with a chapbook should get me into the mood for doing the work of organization.
I don't want to sew the poems into pillows, as Dickinson did. After all, I can't even sew! So this seems like something I must do at some point. It might as well be now.
2 comments:
"Poems Into Pillows" would make a nice book title. You might try browsing the titles of volumes of poems to let yourself think about the many ways they suggest what is inside.
That would be an interesting discussion for workshop too, wouldn't it?
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