Poetry Friday

Poetry Friday: April Books and Bookstore Roundup

May 3, 2024 /
 

24 Bookstores in 2024

 
 
 
April 26 was Indie Bookstore Day. I made a good attempt to support by going to Old Town Books. I wasn’t able to look at a single book—it was so packed. And while I don’t usually have issues with claustrophobia, it was too jam packed for my comfort. Plus I didn’t have an hour to wait in line because I was heading to a poetry event. I will go back to visit again on a less busy day. I came home and ordered the books I wanted from One More Page Books.
 
This week, I also visited my local Barnes and Noble for some books for my library. I didn’t buy anything—just window shopped.
 
So my grand total of bookstores visited for April is ZERO. While I stepped into two, I bought nothing. I’m ahead for the year though with 17/24 bookstores so far.
 

Poetry Event

My county has a poet laureate, Danielle Badra, that has been doing readings and “Poetry in the Parks” events. I have had scheduling conflicts each time. But last week, I was able to go to a reading at one of my favorite local parks. I was blown away by the poets’ work. But I was also impressed by the way the organizers took different accommodations people might need into consideration.
 
 

Poetry Month Project in Review

During Poetry Month, I wrote a draft of a poem every day inspired by something interesting I read, mostly science related.
 
 
I wasn’t able to spent more than half hour each day on this, so I think this produced only drafts. I am excited though because I now have 30 drafts that are revisable.
 
Here’s one from this week:
 
 
 

I Dream in Song

 
My voice dims in sleep
but I never stop
singing—
 
it’s not a full-throated cheer 
to the morning
sun—
 
I hum a a quiet lullaby 
in harmony with 
moon.
 
I dream the melody
of the star
chorus.
My songs never
cease. 
 

Joys of Hanging Out with Librarians

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Spring Fling put on by Prince William County librarians by our Poetry Friday friend, and their fearless leader, Linda! I got to talk a bit about Wait, Rest, Pause, and they got to hear a little bit about my upcoming projects. It was the first place I’ve read poems from my forthcoming novel-in-verse. They asked amazing questions and fed me a great dinner! It’s always a pleasure to be around people who love books. 

Books I’ve Been Reading

 
 
You Are Here edited by Ada Limon
 
A Year of Last Things by Michael Ondaatje
 
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
 
 

Haiku of the Week

 
attentive chorus
tulips sing the song of spring
wind carries their tune
 
Haiku & Photo © 2024 Marcie Flinchum Atkins
 
Photo Taken: April 5, 2024 at Burnside Farms
Haiku Written: April 15, 2024
 
 

Zine

I recently mailed a haiku zine to everyone on my mailing list. If you are not on my poetry mailing list, you can sign up here. I send poetry snail mail a few times a year.
 
I’m making this Zine available for download on my poetry printables page.
 
 
Not sure how to fold a zine? Here’s a great tutorial (tip: you can cut instead of tearing too). 
 

Grow

 
Back in January, I took a class from Julie Falatko called “A Map to Inspiration.” I signed up to take the follow up class, “Unfolding the Map.” My goal over the next 6 weeks is to do frequent creativity walks, what Cal Newport in Deep Work calls “productive meditation.” I did this a lot in the pandemic, where I’d walk with a field notes notebook. But I haven’t been doing this regularly. I’ve set a pretty lofty goal. Stay tuned to see how it goes over the next 6 weeks. I hope to walk myself to creativity until school gets out.
 
My Poetry Month project was a huge stretch for me. There were several days I didn’t think I would be able to write a poem a day. Keeping everything mobile really helped. I’ve been writing on the go for years. I often stuffed my journal into my bag and wrote while waiting this month.

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