I can’t remember exactly when I started the tradition of honoring National Poetry Month. I know that I got really into it in 2020, creating a full schedule of virtual ways that folks could connect with me and poetry while staying safe at home. Something about an entire month of permission to openly discuss the craft I love most seems to light a fire in me. It’s inspiring to think of different ways to offer up poetic engagement each year, but the truth is that every month is poetry month in my world. Yet, something about the widespread recognition makes it easier to focus, to give myself 30 days of obvious emphasis without having to explain my intentions. Poetry is the reason and spring is the perfect season for this tradition.
This April, as the rain falls here in Detroit, I have my list of offerings and I’m looking forward to it all. As always, I’m making this up as I go, concocting ways to bring poetry into public spaces and into your homes. Please join in whenever possible!
Thursday April 18th - Finding the Muse Writing Workshop (Virtual)
8-9:30am PT / 11am-12:30pm ET - $37
Join me and Laurie Wagner for a class on finding the muse, sourcing everyday beauty and writing poems that help us to heal and connect to our humanity. This is a chance to connect with a community of creatives who are deeply dedicated to expressing imagination. If you can’t make it live, a recording will be available.
***
Tuesday April 16th - Reading with Nadia Colburn (Virtual)
9am PT / 12pm ET - Free
Join me and poet Nadia Colburn for a free reading on Zoom. We’ll both read poems from our collections and then engage in a conversation about the relationship between poetry, environmental activism, and healing—both on a personal level and on larger global levels—and discuss some ways to build more bridges between these fields that are so often talked about separately but are so deeply interconnected.
***
Tuesday April 16th - Reading at Scarab Club hosted by Cave Artist Collective
6pm ET - Free in person in Detroit
I’m looking forward to a night at Scarab Club hosted by Cave Artist Collective. I’ll be performing with two other poets John Freeman and Dustin Pearson. Following the reading we’ll engage in salon style conversation on the topic of “seasonal transitions.” Should be a really interesting and inspiring night!
***
Tuesday April 23rd - Live on Commune’s IG Account
11am ET / 2pm ET - Free
Join me for a live session on Commune’s IG. I’ll be discussing themes from my course and book “Every Day Is a Poem.” Part conversation on craft and creative expression followed by a writing prompt for a short Tuesday practice.
***
Saturday April 27th - Live IG Reading + Q & A
9am PT / 12pm ET - Free
Seems only right for me to close the month out with a live reading on my IG page. Tune in and ask me some questions after listening to me read some of my poems. I love many things about poetry, but reading it aloud is definitely on the top of my list.
***
April is also Earth Month, which is a pretty special and obvious overlap for me. Just as every month is poetry month for me, every month is also earth month, but I’ll gladly ride the wave of shared interest when it comes to caring for the planet.
As I continue my teaching efforts with InsideOut, bringing nature poetry into Detroit classrooms, I’m also planning tree plantings around the country with the Turnaround Arts schools that have been beta testing my Poem Forest curriculum. I’m excited to share that through these efforts, Poem Forest is taking root here in America while the next chapter of this project continues to bloom in Australia.
This year, my ongoing collaboration with The Kennedy Center is featured in the Poem Forest Learning Resource. Please enjoy my commissioned poem “Listening to Trees” and check out all of the impressive offerings from Red Room Poetry.
***
I successfully launched my first essay for my paid subscribers and it felt really good! I unlocked the “free pass” for this piece so you can read it if you’re interested and see if it seems like something you’re into supporting. Personal Poetics is a way for me to explore myself and my identity, writing about my life in a way that a newsletter doesn’t really allow. If you really want to know me, this is where I’ll show my cards. Most of all, it’s a different kind of writing style that I’m excited to try out and share with you. Thank you to everyone who subscribed already! Below is a really supportive message that a new paid subscriber sent to me and Substack turned it into a little quote for us. It really makes my heart feel full and I thought it might encourage you to read and subscribe as well.
The Creative Independent Interview
I’ve admired this spectacular series of artist interviews for quite some time and it’s really thrilling to find myself included in such an amazing collection. Please enjoy my interview for The Creative Independent and then click around the site for a bounty of inspiration.
Finally, I want let you know that I have some spots open next month for editing and creative consultation. This part of my job has been going strong and I love working one on one with you all, helping you shape your books, ideas, poems and proposals. Please reach out if you’d like to book a session. They fill up fast!
I’ll leave you with a favorite poem by Rita Dove. A prayer in spring.
In all of my rage, sadness, and joy, I come to you with thanks and poetry. May it be a month of inspiration and change. May we come together to make something new occur.
With deepest gratitude,
Jacqueline
