Well, there is just two more days until the end of July, and I’m winding down the Ridgeline poetry month challenge. While I start the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project on Friday, in no way have I stopped working on the former in order to gear up for the latter. Rather a point of stress that I’m writing for one and working on the other. Still, it’s a really positive experience.
The rule I put in for myself was to follow the little intro note for Jack Kerouac’s Book of Blues, modified slightly. The point of that was I wanted to get looser, freer, in my composition thoughts. I have a tendency to over-edit in the drafting stage, and I want to break that. For this, I would start to riff in my head and then, when I felt like I was slipping into a groove, to run with it. I’m not a big jazz guy like JK was, but it would be more like a guitar solo or like an aikido randori. I had to feel natural, not forced. I did allow myself a couple of false starts during the month, and sometimes Starbucks was the wrong locale (with the music playing overhead). Sometimes it helped. but towards the end of the month it didn’t. The little benches by the UPS store near my home bus stop was another good place and I’ll probably spend time there.
Anyway, for the Ridgeline, I had to submit at least 10 poems. I have already submitted 11 and will probably submit 3 or 4 more tomorrow. But since I’m going to have less screen time tomorrow and I wanted to list the titles, I’ll do so today:
- At the Lexington Carnival
- The Second Pillar of Aikido (for Dick Stroud)
- Bumming
- The Minstrel of Belmont
- Name Game
- Calling
- Marry Shout!
- You Are Always Home
- Habitualized
- A Family of Artists
- Growing Like a Weed
- Yogore*
- NYC*
- The Miscarriage*
- Tether*
The last four have asterisks because I’m working on them. If they’re done, I’ll submit them tomorrow. If not, I won’t, but won’t used them in the 30/30 Project poems either.
Maya's and Sam's Dad 