I went to school for journalism and now work in a field where writing is the most important component of what I do. I think it’s fair to call myself a working writer.
I’ve taken a few creative writing courses over the years with consistent attempts at poetry and less than consistent attempts at fiction.
I’m finishing up a creative writing course this week and something clicked for me during the last four months. To call it finding my voice would be pretentious, so I’ll describe it as finding an approach that works for me.
I’ve had instructors in the past explain how something I wrote wasn’t right. This time around I had an instructor who focused more on what worked well, and explained why it was working.
If you’re in a position of giving feedback to someone, maybe consider your approach. I appreciated being able to see what was not working, but felt empowered when I could see why something was working.
I started to feel confident enough when the call for poems for the school’s annual poetry contest came around, I thought I would give it a shot.
And I won first prize.
One of the judges approached me after the event and complimented how I was able to create “something meaningful within the mundane.”
I’m thinking that’s my bag. The meaningful in the mundane.
I will say the second I sent in my submission, I had more edits I wanted to make. I’m sure that’s how it goes for everyone. I took a moment to record a reading of the poem, if you are so inclined to hear it.
I promise to start bringing you more episodes of Tell Me a Story soon. It’s been a wild few weeks as we prepare for our baby to graduate high school in May.
Our 18-year-old moving to New York City baby. He was only graduating pre-school a few months ago in a backyard ceremony with handmade grad caps. At least that’s what it feels like.
And since it’s still National Poetry Month, and you’ve still stuck around this far into the newsletter, here is a reading by Gwendolyn Brooks - author, poet and educator. She was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize, the first African American woman inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a former U.S. Poet Laureate. She also started the poetry competition I was able to participate in.
Your words have always had a wonderful clarity to them. You deserve the recognition that you've earned. And congratulations to Ziggy!