Carolee Bennett –> poet. artist. crankypants.
Now in my 50s, I am (both IRL and in writing life) thinking about comfort over appearance. What would it mean to let go of the idea of pretty or sexy or cute? What would it look like to write what I like — “acceptance” be damned?
If you want to be a writer, absolutely surround yourself with people who admire and support what you’re doing. But understand it starts with you. You have to care. You have to take care. You have to be there for the work and for yourself.
POETRY PROMPTS / Simple, straightforward prompts to use as inspiration for this year’s poem-a-day extravaganza!
I took the summer off, almost entirely, from any of the familiar measures of writing productivity. Here’s what I did instead.
Since my style is associative and imagistic, I’ve typically depended on being able to see the strange places things intersect. Losing that spacial awareness, even metaphorically, has been quite challenging.
2022 is unlikely to be any better as far as the state of the world is concerned, and so my task is to be more selective with what I consume. Less circling the news/social media drain, for example, and focus instead on quiet time and ritual around generating new work.
I have no regrets about what I did/didn’t accomplish in 2021. I rested more than I wrote (2021 was also full of some huge life changes), I showed up for workshops and readings that will inform and inspire me for years to come.