So it has been a rough few years, as I have bemoaned in my last few, sparse postings. It was a time of deep digging to my own truth and often it was not pretty. There was a darkness that was as thick as tar, as persistent as eczema, as stark as the tundra. But enough of the metaphors. I am returning to the light heart, the sun, the optimism that has fueled me through most of the storms of my life. I am choosing to look forward with joy.
I have always known my selfhood is anchored in being a poet. There are those whose lofty sensibilities cause them to say, "I cannot claim the title of poet; only the greats can do that." I wholeheartedly disagree. I claim it fully and truly. I spent a decade questioning, even denying it, but my world is more balanced when I acknowledge that poet is who I am, what I do, what I crave, what I teach, how I live. And at last, I am producing work that is a glimpse of that level of development and persistence that I have dreamed of achieving. It is rather remarkable because it is just appearing on the page.
I am not a complacent person. Especially with my writing. I will not accept too many iterations before I annoy myself. I now strive to be a poet with many dimensions in the work, when I once accepted a 2-dimensional postcard with a pretty image and perhaps a clever metaphor. This means I do not write every image or sound that drifts through my head. I also wait for the poem that refuses to not be written, the poem that will not silence itself, that one that requires ink and attention. Sometimes they slam onto the page with no prior warning. Sometimes they tarry in the gray matter until they feel fully prepared to reveal themselves. But they are arriving with regularity and I am thrilled.
I will be seeing my third collection of poetry come into physical being in about 14 months. My fourth is half complete, a fifth is a third complete, and I have nonfiction working at me. I will also plan on blogging much more often, with regularity, about anything that I feel like writing.
I started this blog to share my experiences as a teaching artist. That led to the writing and publication of Our Difficult Sunlight. Now I will share whatever, with a focus on my perspective on what it takes to write a good word, line, stanza, poem, cycle, chapbook, collection. It will be fun, I hope. Outrageous at times. Silly or poignant. Not sure. I do know it will be me...Georgia A. Popoff, Community Poet, Human Being.
