NaNoWriMo is here, and for the first time in six months, I’ve decided not to work on a novel this month. Instead, I’m putting together a poetry collection of at least 10k words. I don’t like the idea of assigning a word count to a poetry collection, but it is a good place to start.
So far, the word count is around 356, and I’ve started on four poems. What I like about this idea is that I want to push my poetry into a new direction, more prose-like and with a storyline like a vignette or a novella-type creation.
While I’m working on this, I’ve been reading Dorianne Laux’s Finger Exercises for Poets, and it’s already helped me explore new ways to compile fragments of poems and build my dictionary of specific words that represent my world, my past, present, and future. What I value is Laux’s emphasis on incorporating all of the senses in poems and finding one’s own persona—the persona, voice, distinctive to a poet that takes time and work to develop.
At the same time, I’ve held off on posting any updates on my blog for a while, but finally, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I started graduate school and am close to finishing my first semester. I’m working on a Master’s in Library and Information Science from SJSU.
I’ve wanted to work on this degree since I graduated college in 2018, but I finally took the plunge this year, and it’s been fantastic. I’m a part-time student since I’m still working full-time, but so far, it’s been a good balance between the two.
Graduate school is a different experience than undergraduate school. The workload is heavier, and the studies are more complex and focused. I’ve always been drawn to this type of academic study, and now I’m wondering if pursuing a PhD in Library and Information Science after this may be a good fit for me.
Besides NaNoWriMo, which is now my poetry writing month, I’m listening to Nine Inch Nail’s Ghosts VI: Locusts album, watching Only Murders in the Building, and bracing for another four years of Trump. Why does it feel like I’m living in The Twilight Zone?
I could write a whole other blog post on the anxiety and other emotions I have when it comes to the outcome of the election, but at this point, what does it matter to expend energy on that topic in that way? Maybe I will eventually, but not today.
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo24? If so, I want to hear from you. Leave a comment below, and let’s connect!
The featured image for this post was generated by AI – what do you think?
