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The Healing Power of Poetry

Published on October 23, 2024 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

By Virginia Watts

Poetry is an old art form dating back to ancient Greece. Why has it been with mankind so long? For one thing, writing and reading poetry is good for us. It allows us to manage our emotions which in today’s complicated and divided world can be an overwhelming task. During the recent pandemic many literary journals called for submissions about their experiences during the pandemic. Many poets answered the call, and no doubt felt better for it.

During the months of lockdown, people all over the world lost many things. We were suffering. Some of us lost loved ones, some of us were very ill ourselves. We all lost our normal sense of community, isolated as we were. Humans aren’t meant for isolation. Many people were lonely. Things we enjoyed such as travel, comradery in an office or school setting, had to be put on hold. Writing poetry and sharing poems created a bond among people when it was sorely needed.

As it turns out, poetry can be a powerful healer. Rhythmic language is soothing. Think of a lullaby. Poetry also helps us contemplate and reflect our lives back to us. Through poetry, we learn about different cultures and histories which helps us to stop focusing on ourselves and leads to a better understanding among peoples.

Through poetry we can stop to appreciate and experience what is beautiful in our world or share a poet’s experience with something we are also struggling with. This improves our mood. Poetry is often read to hospitalized children to reduce their fears and worries. Additionally, reading poetry out loud has been shown to slow breathing and help a person relax.

So, three cheers for all the healthy things poetry does for the human body and spirit. During the pandemic I remember reading this famous poem by Maggie Smith. It has stayed with me.

Good Bones

By Maggie Smith

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.

Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine

in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,

a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways

I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least

fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative

estimate, though I keep this from my children.

For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.

For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,

sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world

is at least half terrible, and for every kind

stranger, there is one who would break you,

though I keep this from my children. I am trying

to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,

walking you through a real shithole, chirps on

about good bones: This place could be beautiful,

right? You could make this place beautiful.

Copyright Credit:
Maggie Smith, “Good Bones” from Waxwing. Copyright © 2016 by Maggie Smith. Reprinted by permission of Waxwing magazine

Source: Waxwing magazine (Issue IX, Summer 2016) (2016)

To learn more about the writer/poet Virginia Watts, check out her short story collection https://www.amazon.com/Echoes-Hocker-House-Virginia-Watts/dp/1957224177/

Some Odes to Autumn

Published on October 19, 2024October 20, 2024 by rdfauthorLeave a comment

By R. David Fulcher

Autumn has always held a special magic for me, a season in which the poet John Keats aptly described as “a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.”

Indeed, if there is an hour for magic, it strikes in the crisp dawn of an early Fall day. And further, if magic has a language, surely its language is poetry.

So I find this an appropriate time to post some of my own verse (hopefully imbued with magic itself) for your reading pleasure.

The first poem is “Ode to the Night”, and it hints at the darker aspects of this time of year, a time when pumpkins cast you crooked smiles and ghosts and goblins are generally free to roam:

Ode to the Night

To the Night, the Night, the dark delight,

The children sleep soundly in gentle white,

Breathing in time with the Raven’s flight.

To the Night, the Night, the waxen moon,

Audience of one to the witches’ croon,

Driving the tides for the sailors’ doom.

To the Night, the Night, its starlit fires,

Which guide the ghosts from funeral pyres,

Which soften the Harpy to play the lyre.

I hope you enjoyed “Ode to the Night”, and at a minimum it puts you into the Halloween spirit!

My second poem is “Melinda”, a story of lost love, and although not directly a tribute to the season was nonetheless designed to evoke a haunted mood:

Melinda

Sometimes in the lonely hours

I would walk the hill

Leaving the clamor and din behind

For headstones gray and still,

As I neared the place where the dead did lie

I knelt and bowed my head

A fool is he who visits the graves

Without homage to the dead,

‘Melinda’ read the stone I sought

Melinda, my betrothed,

Only a thief as clever as Death

Could steal the health of Melinda, my love

Often I hear Melinda’s voice

Soft upon the breeze

I answer her call of eternal love

And grow hoarse among the trees.

I hope you enjoyed “Melinda”! Last but not least is an ode to a much maligned creature, a symbol of the undead, but in reality a beautiful animal that sustains our ecosystem. This last poem is called “The Bat”:

Photo by Photo By: Kaboompics.com on Pexels.com

The Bat

Taking inverted Sabbath in the caverns of Carlsbad

I measure time in locust-breath and calcite drip,

My bird-chest rising and falling with the gentle tides

Of this black carpet of brotherhood.

Footsteps fill my dreams,

Sun-bleached tourists groping into the cavern’s belly

To enter the sublime,

Their voices like a million valves releasing pressure.

For an instant they will recognize the face of God in this hard darkness,

The stalactite points of his beard,

The cascading rock formations of his brow,

And that fraction of animal intellect will rush forth,

Freed from concept and equation,

To join our ranks as we veer through this Jerusalem darkness

Toward dusk and sustenance,

Toward the amphitheater where they wait for their own departure.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed these odes to the season and wish all of you a sublime Autumn.

-R. David Fulcher, Founding Member of Old Scratch Press

Play a Game With Us and Win a Prize!

Published on October 7, 2024 by dianneP2 Comments

It’s the spooky season! Let’s play Exquisite Corpse!

“What,” you may ask, “is Exquisite Corpse, and how do I engage in such an outlandishly named game?”

Before we all get the vapors…

Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative poetry game that traces its roots to the Parisian Surrealist Movement. Exquisite Corpse is played by several people, each of whom writes a word on a sheet of paper, folds the paper to conceal it, and passes it on to the next player for his or her contribution.
In order to write a poem, participants should agree on a sentence structure beforehand. For example, each sentence in the poem could be structured “Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Noun.” Articles and verb tenses may be added later or adjusted after the poem has been written. The game was also adapted to drawing, where one participant would draw thehead of a figure, the next the torso, etc. The name “Exquisite Corpse” comes from a line of poetry created using the technique: “The exquisite corpse will drink the young wine.”
https://poets.org/text/play-exquisite-corpse

While we cannot share a piece of paper, we can, all the same, play the game. Please join us!

The rules for this game are as follows”

SUBMIT: one line of “poetry”

FORM: The line must be arranged to have these elements in THIS ORDER ONLY as the main elements:

Adjective, Noun, Verb, Verb, Adjective or Adverb (one only), Adjective, Noun

Punctuate (or not) as you see fit.

YES! You can add conjunctions, articles, etc., as needed, but the main words must be Adjective, Noun, Verb, Verb, Adjective or Adverb (one only), Adjective, Noun

So, this would work:

Happy frogs jumped and swam quickly, green sparks

Happy(adjective) frogs(noun) jumped(verb) and swam(verb) quickly(adverb), green(adjective) sparks(noun).

And this would not:

Frogs jumped happily and swam quickly making green sparks

Got it?

You do!

Send it to dianne@currentwords.com between now and October 29th at midnight PT, for publication on Halloween!

Make the email subject: Exquisite Corpse.

ONE entry per person!

PRIZES:

SUBMIT and you will be given a free digital copy of the OSP book of your choice!

Three lucky people, chosen at random by Robert Fleming and his random number generator, will be given a print (paperback) copy of the OSP book of his/her/their choice!

One Lucky Person (not publishing with CWP) will win a free 5-page edit from me!

OSP members and other people CWP publishes are welcome to join in, and can claim a free Kindle of their choice from OSP, but are not going to get one of the three free print books or the edit (so sorry! Let’s give those to our guests!).

YES, everyone who enters will be subscribed to OSP news through Current Words newsletter, which is sent out to email addresses one time almost every month. At the bottom of your first newsletter (and all the rest of them) is an unsubscribe button, and if you really don’t want to stay on the list, that will get you right off (Mailchimp don’t play.).Honestly, we’re not trying to bother you; we’re out to have fun!

So, let’s have fun!

Ooooo, you can already start dreaming of the OSP book you’re going to choose for your prize! Take a look at your options:

Catalog

Happy Fall, y’all, and Happy Halloween!

I cannot wait to read your exquisite corpse!

🙂 Dianne

Happy Birthday, Sylvia Plath

Published on October 3, 2024October 20, 2024 by gilliampoet1 Comment

Alamy/BBC

The month of October (October 27) marks the birthday of Sylvia Plath, one of the most famous poets of the 20th century. Sylvia Plath is known for writing about deep feelings like sadness, frustration, and the search for who we really are. Her poems are powerful and still connect with readers today.

Who Was Sylvia Plath?

Even from a young age, Sylvia Plath loved to write. She was born in Boston, MA in 1932 and published her first poem when she was only eight years old. Major themes that appear in her poetry are how hard it can be to figure out who you are, mental illness, and what it’s like to be a woman in society.

She studied at Smith College and, later, Cambridge University in England. While at Cambridge, she met and married the poet Ted Hughes. Sylvia Plath faced many struggles in her personal life, and took her own life when she was only 30 years old. However, her writing has lived on, and she remains one of the most important poets of her time.

You can hear a brief interview with Sylvia Plath about her early influences here:

Sylvia Plath’s Powerful Poetry

I first read a poem by Sylvia Plath in high school for a Dual Enrollment English course. I’m fairly certain we read “Lady Lazarus” because I can recall discussing the pronunciation of the German words in the poem. I remember being amazed by her work and remember that it was the first time I really paid attention to the language in a poem. Her word choices were striking and she was the first poet whose work I sought to read outside of class.

Plath’s poems often show strong emotions. She writes in a way that can feel personal and sometimes painful, but also very honest. She nearly lost her life multiple times before her death and discusses those experiences in one of her most famous poems, called “Lady Lazarus.” In this poem, Plath writes about feeling reborn, even after going through something difficult. Here’s a part of it:

“Out of the ash
I rise with my red hair
And I eat men like air.”

While most of the poem recounts her previous experiences with death, these lines show how strong and fierce she feels after going through those difficult times. She compares herself to a phoenix, a mythical bird that rises from the ashes.

Another well-known poem by Sylvia Plath is “Daddy.” In this poem, she talks about her feelings toward her father, who died when she was young. It’s full of anger and sadness. Here’s a line from that poem:

“You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
Any less the black man who

Bit my pretty red heart in two.
I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.”

Plath uses intense language to talk about how hard it was to live in the shadow of her father, but also the complicated feelings she has about him now that he’s dead.

These lines are just a small sample of Sylvia Plath’s ability to use words to explore complex feelings like despair, identity, and the search for meaning. Each one is a powerful reminder of her unique voice in literature.

Sylvia Plath also wrote a novel called “The Bell Jar” and her prose is just as lyrical as her poetry. In “The Bell Jar,” she writes:

“I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am.”

This quote is famous for capturing the feeling of simply being alive, despite the struggles that come with it. It’s a powerful reminder of existence itself, and, paired with her poem “Lady Lazarus,” shows you how much she needed to remind herself that she was still alive.

Why We Remember Sylvia Plath

On Sylvia Plath’s birthday, we honor her for the way she used her writing to express feelings that many people go through. She wasn’t afraid to write about things like sadness, anger, and the search for identity. Her work gives readers a window into the struggles of life, but also shows the beauty of using words to express those feelings. Her poetry continues to inspire people of all ages. Even though her life was short, her words continue to resonate with readers.

What do you think about Sylvia Plath’s poetry? Does it make you feel something special? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Bettmann / Getty Images

Would Love To Hear From You

Published on July 30, 2024July 30, 2024 by diannePLeave a comment

It’s the “dog days of summer.” Where I live we’ve had only brief periods of respite from the extra hot days, and these sweaty days force me inside, where they, ostensibly, give me more time to write.
And so I am thinking about all of that. And I’m wondering, those of you who write, have you ever considered taking classes, or have you taken classes, in writing? It occurs to me that while my daughter can play a few songs on the piano through trial and error, she is much better when she is actively taking lessons. She doesn’t take lessons because she wishes to be the next piano great, or even play professionally. She takes lessons because she enjoys playing the piano, and would like to be able to play it better. I pay for the lessons gladly, without a thought about it.
Do we do that as writers, with writing?

When I went back to school to get my MA it was because I wanted to get better at writing. Yes, I had the hope of publishing, but mostly I just wanted to be better at writing my stories and poems. I signed on for my MFA primarily because the teachers in my MA program, who were not affiliated with the MFA schools, suggested that I had a spark, and could get it even sparkier with more training. And so I did it, the MFA, for me.

When we had our book marketing webinar a week or so ago speaker Jared Kuritz suggested that if someone wants to be a published author that author must go from hobbyist to professional, and that would involve a dedication of time, and some allocation of funds.

I am curious and would love to hear what you think about this. Have you ever done any “professional” training for writing? Something like lessons? Have you spent money on your development? Do you hope to move from hobbyist to pro? Or, perhaps, consider and reply to this by telling me about lessons that you have taken in something else, or paid for in order that a child or someone else in your life is able to take lessons. I would be very curious to hear what you think makes something a skill that you might need training in versus something you come fully equipped for, without training.

I’m laughing to myself now, sitting here, thinking about “the dog days of summer,” and how I once paid for dog training for my prior delightful pup, an out-of-control terrier who I’d adopted when he was still a puppy. I had named him Chad,

and he came after I lost the dog who preceded him, a very fancy little terrier named BeBe who walked beside me like a queen, and never needed a leash or a single command, from the moment I brought her home. Chad, on the other hand, chewed everything: my toes as I crossed the room, my ears as I sat on the sofa or lay in bed, my boyfriend’s brand new Nikes, huge holes in his blanket, and he pooped blue wool for a week after, half a wooden magazine rack while I was at work one day, scads of toilet paper rolls. He peed everywhere. There was a moment where I listened to him cry from behind the baby gate in the kitchen thinking, “One of us is not going to make it out of this relationship.” I found a dog trainer all right. I could not wait for her to get to my house! And I remember her like it was yesterday, though it was more likely 2001, when she arrived, and I let the beast loose on her, and she said to me, “Okay. I can see he has a lot of energy. Let’s start training you to be a better owner.”
By the end of the session, several hours later, I admit, for I was a slow learner, I was fully trained, and Chad and I lived harmoniously from that moment on, for sixteen and a half years.

And just now, as I prepared to publish this post, I thought to myself, Maybe throw this post in Word and check the spelling, even though I know my writing does not need it! But I did, and I found four spelling errors, due to poor typing skills, which tells me that it seems that I am still, to this day, a stubborn and slow learner. 😉

So what about you? Do you train at writing at all? Are there other things you will use training for? Do you think of writing as something a person can improve at with training? I am curious to see if it is only me.

Meet Poet Morgan Golladay at Causey Mansion | Milford Delaware Event

Published on June 18, 2024July 1, 2024 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

Causey Mansion where Morgan Golladay reading/ booksigning will be held.

Causey Mansion in Milford Delaware is a beautiful spot to meet and greet poet/artist Morgan Golladay, author of the Song of North Mountain. Learn more about the historic mansion here. The event will be held in the gardens from 1-3 p.m.. Purchase your copies in advance online or purchase one at the event. Either way, Morgan will be there to autograph! The location is 2 Causey Avenue, Milford Delaware 19463

Editorial praise is just beginning. Here are a few samples:

“Sometimes stark, but always beautiful, these free verse celebrations of North Mountain introduce a seasonal sense of environmental transitions to the observer and reader’s eye, with time’s passage changing everything and nothing…Aside from a personal visit to North Mountain, there is no better way of appreciating its beauty, impact, and presence over the eons than through The Song of North Mountain.”
MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

Ellis Elliott

5.0 out of 5 stars Mountain Mary OliverReviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024

Verified Purchase

This book is a praise-song of poetry and art for Golladay’s beloved mountains. With an eye for detail and ease of language, her poems revere and embrace the elements and seasons of nature. Accompanying her poetry, her art further conjures the scenes we are taken to. From Vincents Wood to the Devils Throne, the writer takes us along, like all good poetry, until we feel as if we, too, have been there. I think I’d do well to heed what the writer says:
Look too soon
and you miss the mystery

Alan Bern

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful poetic love song to where she grew up, “the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.”Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2024

Morgan Golladay’s The Song of North Mountain is a wonderful love song to where she grew up, “to the hills, rivers, and ridges of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.” And Golladay is the perfect guide for this voyage, perceptive, kind, and empathic. I urge you to purchase her fine book that also contains her own fine original artwork: sit back in a comfortable chair and travel with her to this most beautiful part of our country. As Golladay invites the reader to accompany her and writes in “Back in the Woods” (p. 69),

I experienced the magic and awe of
a creation larger than I could imagine.

“Rest with us,” whispered the granite.
“Breathe with us,” crooned the breeze.
“Stay with us,” encouraged the trees.

Learn more about Morgan and her poetry here. And don’t forget to follow Old Scratch Press on Facebook. Thank you for reading.

LIVE READING EVENT via ZOOM

Published on June 13, 2024 by diannePLeave a comment

🌟 Get ready for an unforgettable evening! 🌟

Join us for an electrifying book reading event as the talented Gabby Gilliam unveils her latest masterpiece, No Ocean Spit Me Out!

But that’s not all! Friends and fellow literary stars Robert Fleming and Alan Bern will also be captivating us with their powerful readings. 🌟✨

Don’t miss this extraordinary event—it’s FREE and open to everyone! 🎉📚Register here for the ZOOM link.

1718492400

days

hours minutes seconds

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“NO OCEAN SPIT ME OUT” IS LIVE!

PICK UP AN OLD SCRATCH PRESS BOOK TODAY!

New Poetry Collection by Gabby Gilliam; An Interview with the Author

Published on June 10, 2024June 9, 2025 by Nadja MarilLeave a comment

No Ocean Spit Me Out. Gabby Gilliam’s first chapbook of poems, published by Old Scratch Press, is now available for purchase. Shipments will begin on September 15^th. Recently I had the opportunity to ask Gabby a few questions about her work and her newest book.

The poems in Gabby Gilliam’s new book, No Ocean Spit Me Out, explore the dynamics and evolution of family relationships.

A live reading zoom event is coming up, JUNE 15^tthand you can register to hear Gabby read from her new book as well as hear poets Alan Bern and Robert Fleming read from their work as well. To register click here.

What do you like best about writing poetry?

I love that you can use poetry to describe things in new ways––to make the familiar fresh and universal at the same time. It’s one of the things I like best about reading poetry as well.

Which is your favorite poem in this collection and why?

I think my favorite poem might be the one that gives the book its title, No Ocean Spit Me Out. It’s a tribute to my dad. In this poem, I compare my dad to the god Zeus, and Zeus fails to measure up. Since my dad passed away, most of my poems about him are darker and focus more on my grief. I like this poem because it focuses on some of the things that made me love him so much.

What would you like readers to know about you in connection to your work?

Many of my poems focus on aspects of family connection. From dealing with addiction to witnessing my dad’s complicated relationship with his faith (which had an influence on my own struggle with religion and faith), the poems in this collection are a collage of my childhood and gradual self-acceptance. I hope readers can connect with my personal experiences by reflecting on the nuances of their own familial relationships and the impact they have on shaping our identities. I think the power of shared experiences is what make poetry so resonant, and I hope readers find that within the pages of this collection.

More about Gabby

Fellow collective member Gabby Gilliam is a writer, an aspiring teacher, and a mom. Gabby’s poetry has appeared in One Art, Anti-Heroin Chic, Plant-Human Quarterly, The Ekphrastic Review, Vermillion, Deep Overstock, and Spank the Carp.

Not only is she a poet, but Gabby pens the Drumming for the Cure series of novels. Two thus far, Trouble in Tomsk and Chasing the Cure have been published by Black Hare Press. She lives in the DC metro area with her husband and son.

To purchase your own copy of No Ocean Spit Me Out, click here. Please remember to leave a review if you like it because customer rankings count. And please follow Old Scratch Press on Facebook.