What Exactly is Poetic Perspectives?

 What Exactly is Poetic Perspectives? 

What exactly is the topic for this blog, and why is it named “Poetic Perspectives”?   

    Poetry is one of the largest forms of writing used for such a vast amount of topics and materials. Some of the most famous poets come from different parts of the world, sexual orientation, gender identity, and points in history. The best part being- poetry is not limited to any individual. Poetic Perspectives is a blog that highlights the art of poetry from a non- biased or opinionated perspective. This blog will be all inclusive, especially highlighting the amazing work of many BIPOC and LGBTQ + writers that constantly go unnoticed by many places throughout the education system as well as share resources that directly help these communities. 

The blog will consist of a multitude of series- all of which will not be consecutively posted to keep the content interesting. Some of the different topics that will be discussed in the blog are (not limited to), poetry prompts, good to know knowledge on the art, viewing and analyzing the work of classic or up and coming writers, and even sharing some of my own.  Though this may not sound like the blog is narrowed down, having a realm of topics within the subject of poetry is what will allow me as the creator to offer a more diverse and reader friendly experience while offering more original and authentic content with each post. 

    The name Poetic Perspectives came from a few different rationals. For starters, it has a ring to it! But more specially, this blog explores a multitude of concepts demonstrated through poetry, as well as new ways of interpreting classic and new writing. Not only does the blog get to explore and analyze work that is already published, it will provide a multitude of resources on why poetry is helpful to everyone and new prompt ideas. And finally, it just simply works for promotion and sounds pleasing. I love the name and there is no other blog or social media page that has an immensely similar handle. The blog already has several social media pages with a large amount of interaction for the amount of time they have been up. Viewers are allowed and encouraged to share their work with the blog for other readers through the use of Direct Messaging on Instagram. (Link below) 

https://www.instagram.com/poetic_perspectivesblog/ 

What is the target audience for this blog? And how will you reach them? 

    Poetry is loved by people of all ages. However I sometimes fear that with the lack of inclusivity within our education system, writers from the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities will continue to not be recognized and further push the injustices they face to do the same. My target audience will be people who identify within the age realm of a Milillenial or Gen Z to help spark and continue the push for more inclusive and politically correct content  and conversations being pushed out into the world. These age groups seem to be very vocal and active about injustices that marginalized communities face everyday. I hope that by making my target audience individuals who push for change and are an ally (like myself), or identify with any of these communities will continue to educate others and share their work, perspectives, and additional resources with this blog as well! 

What makes me qualified to write about this topic? Why is this topic important to me?

    I have written poetry since I was at least 11 years old. Writing was the first form of therapy I began utilizing as a coping mechanism to deal with my own trauma. I remember the first time I spent a large section of class time in sixth grade creating my first poetry portfolio, that I still have(That was almost 10 years ago). Throughout many opportunities in my life, I have been able to turn this tool into an enjoyable hobby and a craft that I have been gifted to be able to share. 

I have worked with very great writers and Professors at our University and shared my work with my followers on my social media and am very grateful I have the platform to be able to turn this into something that is not only an interest to me, but may also benefit others. I myself am not a person of color, but feel very fortunate to have a majority of the content used in my classes for my BA in English to have primarily been work and poetry from Black Feminist writers, BIPOC folx, and individuals in the LGBTQ+ community. I take every opportunity I can to be a good ally for these marginalized communities, and I hope to share all of that through this art. I hope to eventually publish a book full of my poetry, and I hope this blog begins creating the motivation, platform, and opportunity to make that possible one day. 

XX- T

“Seasons”

 Seasons

 

In the midst of summer,

The leaves around me seemed to be dying.

My bones ached; my mind was frozen,

   as if it were winter, the death of a long season.

Dark skies hung above my head,

   wind swirling me into submission,

For the leaves were simply crumpling to the touch,

   meanwhile everything else seemed to be warm and bright.

 

In this decayed hold, I was lost,

For the seasons were jumbled,

And I;

I was tired.

 

Then one day, I finally felt a glimpse of heat,

A small break in the clouds.

He began to show me the color in the leaves,

But the wind kept swirling me into submission.

 

Months went by, and the winter chill felt more like an autumn breeze,

The clouds were less dark but remained overcast.

He warmed the air, but my heart stayed cold.

 

By the time the air was brisk,

And the leaves of the real world had begun to fall,

All I could feel was the heat of summer,

The leaves full of color.

 

In this decayed hole, love began to fill the spaces.

Each day replenishing what was being emptied before,

Now this.

This is where I need to be.

And today, I finally saw all the colors of the leaves.

XX- T

“I Never Told Anybody”

I Never Told Anybody

 

I never told anybody that chords with dissonance resonate with my heart.

The clash of the notes is a tragic pain: They sound wrong yet appear so close.

Their relationship causes tension.

 

 

I never told anybody that my relationship with love is an entanglement of chords;

I can never figure out.

I have yet to master the notes.

 

 

I never told anybody that I caused my own broken heart.

The broken chords in my chest just kept bending with each sound my mind made.

And yet I still wait for the note of resolution,

The break in the dissonance in what I call;

 

 

My life.

XX- T

Prompt- Open a book, and let your eyes pick the first line.

 Prompt- Open a book, and let your eyes pick the first line. 

    When I was a Sophomore in college, I had an amazing opportunity to take a Creative Writing Poetry Class. My Professor was a well known published poet,and was very helpful at helping me form my craft. In the class I wrote so many poems that I simply lost count. But, I still have every single one and love each of them. 

At the beginning of every class, we would start with a little bit of time to just write. But we would spark our creativity through randomness. Our Professor would pick a student to close their eyes, open their book to a random page, and stop their finger somewhere on the paper. The student would then open their eyes, and share the word or phrase they stopped on. And let me tell you, being in a room full of poetry wizards made every single one worth it. Because no poem was the same. 

Some of my favorite poems I wrote came from this practice. Examples of prompts included: 

• “I never told anybody”

• https://poeticperspectives.blogspot.com/2021/04/i-never-told-anybody.html 

• “Some call it eating weather”

• “In this Decayed Hole”

• https://poeticperspectives.blogspot.com/2021/04/seasons.html 

All of these poems will be posted in the blog and links will be provided in this post as well- so look out for them!! 

One of the books we used for the class was the Penguin Anthology of Twentieth- Century American Poetry. The book is full of work from famous writers all throughout the United States, from a multitude of gender, cultural, and sexual identities. All of the phrases above were from poems included in the Anthology.

Anthology: https://www.esowonbookstore.com/book/9780143121480 

More Black owned bookstores: 

https://lithub.com/you-can-order-today-from-these-black-owned-independent-bookstores/ 

 In the links tab, I will continuously post links to poems to do this with for my readers without access to books. I will also be sharing links to places to buy the books I write about throughout this blog! I will primarily be sharing links to sustainable, BIPOC or LGBTQ+ owned businesses. 

Send me what you come up with!! 

XX- T

Prompt- There’s a First time for Everything

 Prompt- There’s a first time for Everything. 

    In life, there is always a first time for everything. From your first time seeing the ocean, eating new food, to even when you realized you were not a kid anymore, or that you were in love. Identifying these moments can sometimes be difficult because we may have been too young to remember, people often become complacent with routines, or purposefully forget bad experiences. But I am a firm believer in “everything happens for a reason”, and writing about an important first time event in your life can lead to an immense creative breakthrough. There are so many first times in our lives, some that may have changed them for better or worse. 

For this poem: Think about a first time in your life and the emotions that accompanied it. Think about these things when brainstorming or free writing. 

• What was that moment?

• Why was it important? 

• Do you get nostalgia reflecting on it? 

• Did this moment impact your outlook on life?

• Personally change your life?

• For better or worse? 

Examples to think about:

• Your first love or lust. 

• Your first time driving. 

• Your first time realizing you were growing up. 

• Your first time going on an adventure. 

• Your first time you realized your love for writing. 

• Your first time you found love for yourself.

• Your first time realizing you may not be okay. 

Here are some links to my own poetry where I talk about a first experience, located on our blog. :) 

https://poeticperspectives.blogspot.com/2021/04/tr-now-knowing.html 

PROMPT IDEA FROM: https://writersrelief.com/2018/12/14/125-of-the-best-poetry-writing-prompts-for-poets-writers-relief/

XX- T

Who Benefits from Poetry and Why?

 Who benefits from writing poetry, and why?

• To simply answer the question: Everyone can benefit from writing poetry. And let me tell you why! And why people don’t like it… 

I know the introduction can be intimidating..

When I was in sixth grade, I was introduced to serious poetry. Not that all poetry isn’t meaningful, but the kind where you really had to think about what you were writing, and why you were putting it down on the paper. We learned about different forms, as well as had opportunities to free write. Some of us loved it and well- others simply hated it.

Poetry gives us the opportunity to express ourselves through writing. Sometimes rules are applied when it comes to formatting or type (ex- Haiku). But in reality even with those limitations, we can still form a piece of art about whatever we want. Learning about the freedoms of poetry can make people uncomfortable, because as a society we have made it a taboo to express ourselves openly. Poetry often allows individuals to be vulnerable not only to others if you are sharing, but even to yourself as you are allowing yourself to feel. 

When we are young (and even old) sharing our writing with our peers or mentors is so often feared because quite simply: vulnerability. From academic writing, journal entires, to detailed poetry, all aspects of writing share a piece of you. But poetry is a big platform that allows people to express themselves without limitations. We live in a world full of rules- and to be told there are none? That is quite scary. 

Don’t be scared.Everyone can benefit from poetry, even if it’s not being shared! And here is a few reasons why.  :) 

1. Mental and Emotional Health

   
   

    Though the idea of being vulnerable is terrifying to most people, it can honestly open up so many doors for our emotional and mental health. Sometimes, we cannot physically verbalize the multitude of emotions that are swallowing us. Writing in general can help us figure out ways to say things we sometimes cannot speak. Though some of our work may not be shared with others, it helps us get out those traumas or frustrations that we avoid while keeping them to ourselves. 

    This further allows us to be more in tune with our self awareness. In some ways, using writing and poetry as an outlet is a therapeutic practice commonly used in mindfulness. It helps us bring awareness to ourselves about where we are and what we may be struggling with. 

    However sharing your work can also have a multitude of benefits as well. By sharing your work (from the emotional and mental health perspectives) you can learn that you may not be alone with your experiences. Knowing your peers or mentors may have experienced the same things you have can help heal some of those tramas, as you can hear how other people have coped. 

2. Improve Writing/Creativity / Cognitive Skills

    For some people writing something can be immensely challenging, while for others flow comes naturally. Regardless of either, continuous writing has proven to enhance academic and cognitive skills. Just like many other skills in our lives, the only thing that can improve our writing is practice. Continuous writing allows our brain to become quicker at creating coherent and creative content- may it be academic or an artistic outlet. 

For many people, having a hobby or an artistic outlet is immensely important. Some it may be music, drawing, or even sports. But the awesome thing about allowing poetry to be one of those outlets is that it leads to way more benefits than just getting the “itch” away for a creative outlet. Writing poetry allows our brains to enhance as well. 

Poetry enhances our cognitive abilities to collect our thoughts quickly in a much more coherent way. With the continuous practice of exploring others and our own writing, we are allowing our brains to begin recognizing patterns, words, analytical skills, and much more. Enhancing our cognitive skills can even help with having conversations and using that verbal language. 

3. Developing an Open Mind

    Poetry (and creative writing in general) is often open for interpretation. Though the author of whatever content you are reading wrote it for a specific purpose, poetry allows you critical analysis skills to understand the context of the poem. When having open discussions with others about a specific piece of writing, you may find that others have a difference in opinion on what the poem is about or what metaphors/ similes may be in reference to. By having these discussions and listening to others ideas, it allows our minds to open up to the thought processes of others. 

    Some poetry also tells personal stories, and allows us to form empathy or opinions on topics we may have not experienced. Poetry can be written about anything. And some of the greatest poetry addressed issues that make us uncomfortable. Reading poetry on these issues are the beginning of normalizing uncomfortable conversations which will inherently lead (hopefully) to a greater understanding of each other. 

These are just a few examples of why writing poetry can be beneficial to us.

    There are so many positive reasons why everyone should take part in writing or reading poetry. This list is very short- because in reality the number of benefits that it has is extremely overwhelming!! 

Here are some resources I used to help create this blog and give more reasons you should get involved. :)

https://www.writingforward.com/poetry-writing/the-personal-benefits-of-writing-poetry 

https://resources.theesquiline.org/blog/10-reasons-make-poetry-part-life 

XX- T

T.R- “Now Knowing”.

 Before,

    I swore that to “just Know”

        Was entirely all

                A

                Lie. 

Yet I sit here in my though,

    And Know. 

But even though I Know, 

    I’m afraid to say I Know,

        Because if I tell them I Know,

            I will Know,

                That they 

                    Don’t Know. 

I could not tell you how I Know. 

I could not tell you why I Know,

    That I have doubts to face the fact,

            That I Know. 

To fear to Know,

Is a fear to love. 

    But you know you love,

        You know, you 

            Know. 

XX- T