National Poetry Month and Me

A new logo!

I both love and hate this month.

I love it because poetry is, once again, a part of our national conversation (or at least more of one than it usually is). I love it because my facebook feed is filled with poets who are talking about their work, encouraging each other, arguing about poetry. I love it because people argue whether or not poetry is dead, when in fact, we all know it's not. I love this month because of NaPoWriMo. I love it because of the public readings. I love it because at the end of the month comes the grand-daddy event of them all, the Valley International Poetry Festival, which I always see as an opportunity to meet poets, learn something new, travel the valley, showcase my year's worth of work, get inspired.

I also hate national poetry month. I always intend to do great things and end up feeling insignificant, not serious enough, stupid, uninspired, the like. Case in point, this year, I fully intended to do NaPoWriMo, but on April 1st, I had not a shred of spare time, let along the mental space for poetry. And so began the month...

Anyway, this month, I DO have big plans, which include finishing up various editing projects (Boundless, Twenty, Interstice), celebrating Poetry Pasta and Vino's two year anniversary on the 19th, and, last but not least, this year I'm a co-organizer for the Valley International Poetry Festival, so I'm going to be more involved than ever. Oh, and of course, I plan to write! Napowrimo? Nah. But write, write I shall.