If you read my last reblogged post, then you already know that life is more difficult to manage these days. I still deal with heath problems, family difficulties, problems with attaining my education…Life doesn’t stand still even when we wish that it would. Life keeps going for me. The only thing that’s different is that the person that I need the most to help me get through them can’t be here. Losing someone, anyone, is a struggle. I’ve lost people before, but it’s different somehow when that person is your best friend, when they’re young and it seems like their life was still forming and heading somewhere. It’s hard for me to accept all of the could haves, would haves and interrupted plans that have to stay unfinished. That’s why I’ve been pushing myself into work, into self-education and into school. If I’m busy, then it gets easier to push everything else into the back of my mind.
Even when I was struggling to write I wrote a few poems. Poetry is always the easiest for me because it is the truest reflection of myself and my life. As of now I am thirty-two poems into my next poetry collection. I don’t know when it will be published, but I’ve set an appointment in early November with my cover designer. I’ve also opened a store on Society6 that will sell my poetry as art prints and other products. I’m still experimenting with pricing and poems, so if you have any thoughts please let me know. I post frequently to both Facebook and Twitter, so if you have trouble getting a hold of me you can find me there. My current favorite of products that I’ve made is the Little Things pillow.
Usually when I’m not writing, I’m reading, but even that’s been difficult for me lately. I’ve always been the kind of reader who can jump from book to book and back again, but it’s gotten a bit out of control. The one book that really grabbed my attention is We Slept Here by Sierra DeMulder.
We Slept Here is a case study in vulnerability and honesty. In this sequence of memoir-esque poems, Sierra DeMulder pulls at the threads of a past abusive relationship and the long road to forgiveness. The poems themselves become an act of recovery and reclamation, wherein the poet finds again the voice which was taken from her. These are hard poems, made up of clarity and healing, which attempt to share some of their peace with the world.
While it is bittersweet and lyrically beautiful, it also inspired me to be more honest in my own poetry. Poetry can be narrative as well as abstract and We Slept Here has a great execution of both. Even if you aren’t normally a reader of poetry, you should think about giving it a try. I can’t recommend this collection enough. Another recommendation for poetry as narrative form is Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming. It is the author’s memoir told in poetic verse. I read it some months back but I’ve been raving about it ever since.
“The writer’s passion for stories and storytelling permeates the memoir, explicitly addressed in her early attempts to write books and implicitly conveyed through her sharp images and poignant observations seen through the eyes of a child. Woodson’s ability to listen and glean meaning from what she hears lead to an astute understanding of her surroundings, friends, and family.” — Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
I hope that you will consider both of these books as your next read, and if you have any books that you’re currently reading and in love with please share them in the comments below.
Back to life events. In October I have the opportunity to go to my first big author event while simultaneously having a mini-staycation. I really dislike the word staycation, but it’s appropriate. I’m both nervous and excited. Hopefully, health and fate permitting, I will be able to go. I also might be travelling with new business cards. (Have I mentioned that my cover designer, Najla, is awesome? Because she is.) The excitement of the trip is somewhat diminished by the fact that I had wanted my friend to go with me, but I’m trying to stay positive. Even though life is still difficult, I’m trying. I keep trying. Some days that’s the best I can do.