This month, one of our resident poets, Susan Chase-Foster, gives us some encouragement to join in on the National Poetry Month activities and festivities. Check out her blog post below. Thanks, Susan!
Hi April Writers,
It’s a blustery day here in B’ham and for a while the sky was so white and the temperature so cold it looked like snow. Normally, I’d murmur (or shout) an unglamorous expletive, but today I simply added “April Snow!†to my expanding list of poem possibilities for National Poetry Writing Month or, way more fun to say,
Now, many Red Wheelbarrow writers are familiar with NaNoWriMo, the November write-a-thon in which a novel is written in 30 days. Some of you have created a novel of your own, while others have written a chapter in one the collective RWB masterpieces that Laura Kalpakian and Cami Ostman initiated. Both were great fun! Well, NaPoWriMo is kind of like that only, instead of a novel, participants write a-poem-a-day so that by the end of the month you pretty much have a chapbook of original poetic musings. That’s why I’m taking the plunge.
 
Don’t worry! There are a ton of supports for those who participate.
• On the NaPoWriMo website, which you can access by clicking on the link above (or right here), what you will see right away is the blog on which each day a wonderful and optional prompt appears (no kidding) along with an explanation, supporting links and an example or two.
• There is a daily “featured press†to which you might consider submitting your writing.
• A daily “featured participant†whose poems and blog you can access by a click also appears, and if you’d like to share your blog with other participants you simply click on the tab at the top of the page that says “Submit Your Site.†I did that with my blog.
• There is an FAQ tab for those who need more information and a Participants Sites tab for those who want to read other writers’ work and maybe make some new friends.
• You can also access NaPoWriMo via Twitter (@napowrimo2o14) and NaPoWriMo’s Facebook page.
Lastly, I want to let you know what a delightful time I’m having writing a poem each day. Before Day 1, I was terrified thinking that I’d never be able to keep up, but what a surprise! With the delicious prompts and supports it’s been surprisingly easy and, most importantly, it’s not too late to start! Not at all. I really hope we can make this an RWB event and that, if you aren’t already participating, you’ll decide to join me and other writers from around the world for this delightful challenge.
If you’d like to take a look at my poems for the first couple of days please head to http://stilllifewithtortillas.com and check out “If Only Eyebrows Were Wings,†“Wild Night! Wild Night!†“La Llorona,†and “How to Enthuse a Muse.â€
Happy writing!
Susan Chase-Foster
