What is National Poetry Writing Month?
Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.
The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:
NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.
Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.
Prompt for today
here’s our prompt for the day – optional, as always. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a surreal prose poem. For inspiration, check out Franz Kafka’s collection of short parables (my favorite is “The Green Dragon”).
Poem for Today
A Coffee Shop in Abilene Texas
3 April 24
I walked into a coffee shop in Abilene Texas
Spent the next few decades trying to find it again
The Purple Pope of Abilene was slinging drinks behind the counter
He was also slinging smack in the back room
Preaching the words of one Andre’ Breton
Who I never heard of in my travels at that time
A painter sat in that coffee shop
He mistook Abilene Texas for Abilene Kansas
And was stuck there for decades for his mistake
He sold me paintings of Nietzsche and Hendrix
And one that was cursed with ants crawling over skulls in a jungle
He was our version of Dali
There were poetry readings spontaneously
Mostly young men gathered around a table
Slipping pieces of paper back and forth to each other
And the one I call Bear
Belting out my feeble scratching’s with the authority of Tzara
Helping me find my voice in the chaos of the day
On the spot spectacles occurred with no frequency
Drag shows, one act plays and pronouncements
Spelling out the flaws of this Texas town
As if Artaud was among us
Sharing his absinthe
As these playwrights downed another spiked smart drink
Oh to be back there
Back in my youth
When life was simpler
When I thought I had made the biggest mistake
I found a home
Where I could be what I dreamed
If only for a few hours a day
And after all these years of searching
For another place to replace the first one
I have found it
But now I am the old man
The painter
The poet
The playwright
And the youth that comes empowers me
There is a new Purple pope that I share conspiracy stories with
There is a new Breton
A new Tzara
A new Artaud
And a new me
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