You probably already already know it’s National Poetry Month. I feel really lucky to get to celebrate three ways this year:

First, I am very honored to be awarded an Artist Development Grant from River Valley ARTS.

I’ll be revising a verse play called Impelled, which follows three characters during an ordinary day. I want it to work onstage and as a collection of poems, and it’s KIND OF working as both, to some extent, but not–it’s not there yet. The funds I was awarded will help me get feedback from a poetry editor, a director, actors, and eventually, and audience. More on this soon! Huge thanks to River Valley ARTS and the Wisconsin Arts Board!

Next, I just got my copy of Wisconsin People & Ideas for Winter/Spring 2024. Honored to have my Honorable Mention poem published here! (The online issue should be available soon; I’ll try to remember to post that when it is.)

And thirdly, but certainly not lastly (because you will be hearing a LOT more about this the rest of the month): I’m one of six poets pledged to write a poem every day in April for Tupelo Press’s 30/30 project. I have ALWAYS wanted to do this, but when I was still a professor, it was just impossible. April is not just a busy teaching time, but it is when just about every academic conference convenes, and when every academic committee meets, and last year, for example, my spare time was sucked up planning for the very-epic Richland Road Rallye.

I’ve written 10 poems so far, and you can find them all here (you have to scroll back to find the earlier ones, and don’t just read mine–lots of good poems here & I’ll be highlighting some of those soon). One word of caution–I’m being a really REAL poet here. I promised myself I wouldn’t self-censor or try to put on my public face, even though, obviously, since I’m sharing these, they’re very public poems. Lots of confessional stuff, as in, personal information, but also–I’m inventing a lot and putting it in the poem whether or not it’s “real.” It’s still confessional. Robert Lowell talked about changing details if the poem demanded it. But yeah–there’s a lot of raw stuff here. If you have personal concerns about any of it, message me. I”M FINE THOUGH. Truly. In therapy & meditating a ton, etc.

But I wanted to post a blog to talk about why I’m happy to fundraise for Tupelo Press. Lots of reasons. I might do a Top Ten Reasons You Should Support Tupelo Press. But this is the first one I thought of–you may well have seen Maggie Smith’s fine poem “Good Bones” before. It pops up on social media a lot. It’s a great poem about the state of the world, finding hopefulness somehow, parenting, and it’s done A LOT for the world of poetry by being both easy to read and rewarding to re-read (with lots of layers). Tupelo is the press that published her book, Good Bones. I think that’s worth supporting, all on its own.

But in the event that’s not enough, or seeing me jam out a poem a day isn’t enough, I have STUFF you can get if you donate!

Note: a lot of these will get sent along in May because of logistics (especially the ones that require sewing!), but my goal is to make sure they’re all sent by the end of May.

• For any donation over $10, you can send me a writing prompt/request. I’ll put all the requests in a hat and draw one for one poem the last week of April [LIMITED to 10 donations]
• For a $25 donation, I will send you one of four (my choice) COASTER POEMS. One is featured above. They are printed on 56 pt matte paper and are ACTUAL COASTERS. [LIMITED to 10 donations]
• For a $50 donation, you can be the first person I show a 30/30 #2 poem to. 9/10 days so far, I’ve written 2 poems each day so I can choose the one I want to share. I plan to keep that up. If you donate $50, you can send me a couple of dates and I’ll send you one poem from one of those dates. [LIMITED to 10 donations]
• For a $75 donation, I will send you a set of four COASTER POEMS. There’s the sweet one about the good side of drinking wine, a kind of melancholy one about the medicinal beauty of coffee, one in the voice of a coaster/lover who’s happy to be used. NOTE: Those three are available for viewing on the 30/30 daily page. THE FOURTH ONE doesn’t appear anywhere other than a coaster yet, and I promise, it’s the best one, in the voice of a coaster/lover who is NOT happy to be used. Just don’t, you know, get clever and get your own coasters printed with my poems. That’s tacky and copyright infringement, and you know–just support a good press! [LIMITED to 10 donations]
• For a $100 donation, I will craft for you a custom/one-of-a-kind quilted, beribboned poem frame for whichever of my 30/30 poems you want to hang up somewhere (or burn like effigy–whatever. For $100 I don’t care).[LIMITED to 5 donations]
• For a $300 donation, I will craft a custom sonnet for you. We’ll chat via phone or email and I’ll interview you about what you want, and come up with a sonnet. [LIMITED to 2 donations]
• For a $500 donation, you may pick three of the above, regardless of stated limits. [LIMITED to 1 donation]

PROVISOS for all the above–any poem mentioned above is still mine to publish and share as I see fit, and I still have the copyright, including the custom sonnets. When you make a donation, you can write me a note to tell me what prize you want, and how best to reach (mailing address for the physical stuff, etc.) In the event of weirdness or harassment, etc., I reserve the right to cancel a giveaway. But mostly, the stipulation is, I hope you enjoy this as much as I’m enjoying this!

CLICK HERE FOR

THE TUPELO PRESS DONATION PAGE!