In pursuit of writing time: my Month of May Poetry Challenge (and a new poem)

While I struggle to find the time to dedicate solely to writing I am conscious of the need to do just that. Pursuit of dedicated writing time is a major reason why I attend, organise and promote workshops. It is why I completed the Iowa Writers MOOC How Writers Write Poetry why I have done NaPoWriMo, why I joined Kevin Higgins' online workshop.
I also realise that although the actual writing is a solitary activity, for me an important impetus is the group; the joint participation, the feedback, the energy, the companionship it offers.
So, when I was invited to join a poetry writing challenge on Facebook for the month of May, I jumped at the chance. I would have to commit to sitting at my desk (mostly kitchen table) for a set amount of time per day. Some of the group were familiar to me and included Nick from Garden Room Writers, but most were not.

And that way, May began with a daily prompt, a word or image, and twenty-four hours to respond. At school May is busy with planning and marking student revision, so it was almost always after 10 pm when I sat down to consider my poem. Incredibly, the poems would come. Not all masterpieces but many of them solid first drafts. Most interesting were the poems I wrote that I wouldn't have reached on my own without the prompts.

The camaraderie of the group was important  and the diverse voices without a doubt enriched the month's writing. It was impossible to resist the urge to read what others posted on my lunch-break and at the end of the day (Facebook is blocked on my work computer and 4G coverage poor). Maybe I would have been better to try to respond 'blind', I'll never know. I was surprised by the angles people took, the quality of the writing produced in these constraints and the productivity of everyone involved, not least my own.

The quality of my own responses varied, there were "Yes" moments definitely, but some writing was a chore and reads that way. I persisted even with prompts I disliked, as the discipline of the challenge was so important to me. There were tired evenings and busy evenings, the latest post from me was 11.58 pm. I missed two poems but was determined to get back and I did, writing three responses on May 27th which I posted at 8.36, 8.59 and 11.22 pm.

The challenge produced poems (which is not to be undervalued) but did it instill that all important writing habit? Yes, resoundingly, yes. It certainly proved what I've been told often. Of course you will write if you sit down to write, it is unlikely to happen otherwise.
I have written more since the end of May, although I admit not every day. But still. I'm on holidays now, and excuse free, I have a body of work to edit and submit. I feel satisfied with 31 pieces of work produced in May, nine of which I consider worthy pieces. I have never written nine poems in a month.

Here is my response to 'Tame' and a photo of my print of one of Kim Sharkey's beautiful hares.



Girl

There is fox in that glic eye
hare in the mad dash of you
the badger in you won't relent
you are salmon sure of your path
hedgehog safe when you roll

my frog adaptable dear one
don't tame for them,

not entirely.

It's the first week of December so check out Visual Verse's prompt for the month

I discovered Visual Verse while I was meant to be writing this July. This journal releases a visual prompt on the first of each calendar month. Writers set themselves a challenge to respond in an hour and in 50-500 words. One or two writers provide leading pieces to get the ball rolling and the issue is live. The editors invite you to submit your pieces and publish these throughout the month. There follows a rich and by its nature, imperfect, exploration of the image.
I submitted 'Turning Point'  in July in response to this image by Oscar Keys.

Turning Point

What is the sea’s invitation?

Come see blue, it says, Come and I’ll show you grey.

These changing skies are the wind’s gift,

each passing hour a flickering slideshow.

Seabirds glitter, tilt and soar

are ruckus, tear, uproar

until eyes, ears, heart, soul of me answer:

Step back, they say, slip this blindfold.

Maureen Curran

Is is perfect? No. In an hour you really only have a good draft of a work in progress, not a finished piece. I wonder if my insistence on keeping ruckus was a good idea as a reader may think I spelled raucous incorrectly. Incidentally, I don't like what they did with the layout upon publishing, losing my 8 line, 4 stanza structure. Still, I valued the exercise, and there are occasions when a  good shove in a direction we weren't heading is just what we need.
It's the first week of December, have a look, take an hour out from the seasonal preparations and see where this image from Julien Menier takes you. I might meet you there.

In response to a comment after the poetry review in today's Irish Times

what women write is of the body

the body we toil to preserve and to serve

up, we write of Sile na Gigs

the body familiar, the body of history and hysteria

we write of our genitals these days,

of our lovers’ too

we dare to speak its name

we dare to write it white

we write of domestic bliss and of love

we strive for the universal in the local

the shelter of words when the sky is falling

for the secular prayer to fill the void

while children are dying in Gaza and maybe 

we could take our hands out of our knickers

and write about expelling Israel’s ambassador

or the sale of the country’s most beautiful theatre

or the consultants getting a pay-rise

but sure who'd read it anyway

now that books are dead?

and a girl in a workshop last week

had it on good authority poetry isn’t far behind them.

 John McAuliffe's poetry review in today's Irish Times

Writing to 5K

I began to run when I got fed up walking, and when I discovered that getting up at 6 a.m. to make an hour to write in didn't mean I had any more to say. In the last year I have run a nice loop around where we live and there is no accounting for the entire benefits. I definitely feel fitter, many a lesson plan and idea for the day ahead has formulated itself. Its the peace at that early hour I appreciate most though. Sometimes an idea that is slow burning or stuck resolves itself and I have the best of both worlds.  I compromise now, split the time between writing and running. Here is a poem.