Oh, April! So many moods! And, fittingly, it’s National Poetry Month, though I often forget about that; poetry is my everyday. For me, April is more about the semester’s last push: tiredness and anticipation, sweetness and poignancy — for my students and for myself. It’s Thesis Season and so much rain! and everything greening up and spring cleaning, inside and out.
Mixed feelings abound, which means April is indeed good for poetry.
April is also the time when earlier efforts come to fruition, and as a person who enjoys planning, this makes me very happy.
The daffodil pictured above is “Orangery.” So nice to see fritillaria and snowdrops and Solomon’s Seal popping up, too.
The dahlia tubers have been wintering in the basement, and it looks like some of them have made it. More about that in a future Cake & Poetry.
As I work on this newsletter, my students are working on poems inspired by a “poetry hunt.” It’s a beautiful day, so they went out and about to gather poetic material: a bit of overheard dialogue, some found text, an onomatopoetic sound, an image from nature, a visual pattern. They also searched their memories and imaginations for good ideas they had when they were eight, the names of real and imagined Boy and Girl Scout badges, a made-up word of magical phrase, a question that can’t really be answered.
Now, of course, all of these bits and pieces need to make their way into a poem. Seems daunting, but it always works out.
The last part of the assignment: give the poem a title that includes “Self-Portrait.” So, for example, “Self-Portrait as the Squirrel Who Scampered Away.”
Students groan when given assignments like this... and then they write some of their best poems of the semester. So, maybe give it a go yourself and see if you don’t write a surprising, maybe even illuminating, self-portrait. As always, the less you try to analyze/control/predict, the better. Don’t worry about making everything “fit.” It will, and even more so than you could have arranged. In fact, worrying will only get it in the way, as is often the case off the page as well.
Speaking of things that couldn’t have been predicted, I would have thought that weaving on a traditional loom would have been more satisfying to me than using a round loom. I’m not a circle person, I told myself; I like right angles. So I held on to my first round loom for just about a year before working with it. Meanwhile, I wasn't really enjoying either of the traditional looms I had. I mean, I liked weaving on them, but I didn’t like it-like it. Doesn’t mean I won’t return to those at some point, but for now, round weaving feels like that special mix I’ve mentioned before: structured and improvisational. Especially the latter.
Here are my latest weavings: “Little Mood,” “So Much Better Than Before,” and “Last Dance.”
It seems sweep-y details are my thing. Another surprise. To me, they feel whimsical but also poignant. Again, a magical mix.
Another discovery: artist Corita Kent. When I came across her work, it felt like a distant memory come back. Love that feeling! In addition to being a celebrated artist, Kent was also known as a teacher. And she was an Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) nun, which is also the order of the nuns at my high school, Marian, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. A nice connection.
Corita Kent was known for her vibrant pop art and for her “Ten Rules.” All of them are good, but today my favorite is “Rule 9: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.”
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And I think that’s where I’ll end this little post. Thank you, as always, for reading. Next time: more baking, more poems, a garden update, and, probably, something I can’t predict or imagine. Meantime, I hope you enjoy yourself.