30 Poems in 30 Days

A new undertaking, inspired by the recent revival in my writing revelry, and a new and sudden passion (of unknown origin [though perhaps from listening closely too closely and too frequently to Andrew Bird's lyrics]): 30 poems in 30 days. It's kind of like National Novel Writing Month, except it's personal, not national, and it's poems (plural), not novel (singular, or even fractionally singular, being quite possibly unfinished).

I already cheated and wrote one on August 29th, and not one on September 1st, but since then, I've done one a day--that makes four so far. I plan to continue to write (at least) one a day for the remainder of the month. I may or may not post them for your reading pleasure, as some of them are more personal (and/or bad) than others. I may submit some to one or more contests, just to see if I have any idea what I'm doing (I don't). I will submit at least one to the City Paper Poetry Contest.

For inspiration and education, I have actually been reading poetry (never before a pastime or pleasure of mine), including that of Wallace Stevens (thanks to Chris), Thomas Gray, William Blake, Dylan Thomas, and more.

Simultaneously, I am working, story-by-story, through the near-2000-page The Story and Its Writer short story anthology. I am on indefinite hiatus from finishing Moby Dick, whose literary merits do not agree with me (or, vice versa, with whose literary merits I do not agree).

Also, on this note, I have finished the first short story I wrote during the Writers Block meetings. Alas, it is too long to submit to its originally intended City Paper contest (by a formidable thousand words), so I'll be writing another, pithier story, and submitting "Scheme" elsewhere.

Note: Chris and I are still in disagreement as to whether a limerick counts as a poem. Thoughts on this are invited.