Yes, I have a poetry Substack. And I’m thrilled to share it with you.

Why I love poetry

I’ve been writing poetry since second grade, when I wrote a poem about blueberries tumbling down a hill. We had to use the vocabulary word “myriad” that day. So it was a myriad of blueberries that did the tumbling. And maybe I got a bit hooked on poetry because the teacher read my poem aloud.

But mainly, I’m hooked on poetry because it bypasses the thinking-focused parts of my brain and gives me a full-body experience of bliss, quite often. Yes, both reading and writing poetry.

I feel like I experience the “meaning” of a poem at a visceral level–the poem takes up residence in my body, in my cells, in the light body. Poetry moves me.

Not super complicated poetry, like that which is often published in the New Yorker. I don’t want poetry for my thinking brain, my intellect. I want it for my spirit, my soul.

Why I started a Substack for my poetry

When I write poetry, I feel that life is speaking through me.

The act of writing poetry takes me on an ecstatic journey. And the poems come easily, often in the morning, sometimes one or two, often three or five, occasionally a dozen! The dozen’s often when I’m writing around something, trying to find the best angle in, and often that last poem is shorter than the others–I got it!

I’ve been writing poetry almost all my life. The older I get, the more I write.

So you can imagine how many poems I’ve written!

If you’re in the neighborhood, I’ll be reading some poems at a local event “Poetry Out Loud” at “The Spiral” in North Kingstown on June 1 along with some other poets. Stay tuned for more info on that or email me for details.

Last year, I discovered how much I enjoy reading my poems aloud–at an event at my local Willett Free Library, at a beautiful outdoor celebration of a new public outdoor art space spearheaded by artist Susan Fox. with a friend, at the dinner table. It’s exciting to hear the feedback. At the end of my reading at Willett Library, my friend Linda told me, “I came to  support you, but I received the gift.” I guess, that’s what I’m hoping for with my Substack, that readers will receive the gift.

I’ve heard that Substack attracts poets and people who love to read poetry (often one and the same, but not always!).

So, I’m giving it a try.

Will you join me?

I hope you’ll check out my poems on Substack. I appreciate comments.

Let me know what moves you and let me know what doesn’t work–what’s confusing or trite or explain-y or doesn’t quite land.

I’ll be revising these poems. Some will go in a book one day (within the year, I hope). I appreciate any feedback to make them better.

But mostly, I hope to move you with these poems, the way they’ve moved me.

If you’d like to receive these short poems as I post, subscribe here  (the free/unpaid version is fine).

If you’d like to just browse for now, that’s fine, too.

Fellow Substackers, any advice?

If you’re on Substack and have any advice, please share in the comments below or email me!