secret poem: perhaps somebody

a blue blackout, plus a workshop update

This summer I joined the Substack Global Blackout Poetry Exchange, created and organized by

Kathryn Vercillo

and

Monique Mulligan

.

I hadn’t been looking to take on another project, but working on my erasure poem “A State of Decoherence” had been so satisfying, and this seemed like a good prompt to do something a little—or a lot—less labor-intensive.

This time, instead of spending months cutting out tiny words (and discovering stray phrases in the carpet for months afterward), I used iridescent washi tape, which had the lovely secondary benefit of creating the sensation of moving water.

Here’s my contribution:

i could escape
could escape
could escape
I can
remember
a bottle and
the sea;
i
wrote something
in the water, perhaps somebody
got the message.

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I didn’t begin with a plan to write about writing, or small magic, or you all, but that is what ended up on the page.

So often I feel like a Very Small Animal, trapped in my home by an ongoing pandemic with no way of escaping. And then I write, and throw my words into the water, and you read them, and respond, and I am reminded that we are, none of us, alone.

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workshop update

not bad, maine.

I’ve decided to cancel October’s Writing for Tired People class because, well, I am tired, people. I’m hoping to schedule another session in the new year. If you’re interested in participating, leave a comment with your time zone and I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here’s a little homework, because I know you’re all overachievers: Take 3 minutes today to do something that eases your heart.

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tenderness toward existence days

workday doodle

Note to new subscribers: 1. Hello! 2. This is the part of the newsletter where I offer a curated roundup of tiny, weird, and often confusing holidays you can celebrate over the next few weeks.

This month, our observances take two very distinct tracks:

Play Is Essential! Honor Your Kid Self! Take Time to Be Silly!

• National Doodle Day (September 13)

• National Coloring Day (14)

• National Play-Doh Day (16)

• National Dance Day (21)

&

Hey. If You’ve Been Dragging Your Feet on That Thing, This Is the Moment, Man.

• National Day of Encouragement (12) (see above)

• Someday (15)

• Time’s Up Day (17)

I may end up celebrating all of them.

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Thanks for reading, and for being Somebody. I am so, so glad you’re here.