SuperNova Afterglow: End Of Days

Newsletter Inclusion

It's always a joy to be featured in a WDC newsletter, even when the item chosen is not a personal favorite. I relate to the building theme this week that lead to the inclusion of one of my writes in the poetry newsletter:

"Emotional poetry, the kind that digs clear through to the soul and wraps a fist around a heart, can be some of the best poetry. Why? Because it pulls at you, triggers emotions in the reader forging an instant connection between author and reader. It is different than commentary, storytelling or epiphanic poetry.

It is one that works well for spoken poetry where the writer can add a vocal layering to the words building on the punch of the words themselves. I'm a big fan of poetry readings, where you've memorized your work and you lead with your heart, locking eyes with your audience and dragging them into your world.

It gives an immediacy to the work, the sounds and shapes of the words forming a bubble where the feeling/events of the poem are in and of the moment and where the listeners are a part, become a shadow in that universe. Because the emotional poetry tugs at the shared emotions, similar circumstances and shared experiences, it can be terribly powerful, absolutely engaging and it can reinforce the importance of poetry in general in a world where it is often considered something one is forced to read in school and is generally thought to be incomprehensible. (Sad, I know!)

Now, I am not saying that story poems or any kind (for that matter) don't work when spoken, because the same can apply to them as well, but the emotional ones really benefit.

To this end, even if one isn't the sort to get up and read at a gathering, reading your words aloud is still beneficial. If you stumble over a line or word combination, chances are your reader will too. It helps you to see where a line should end or where punctuation would be helpful to guide both a speaker and a reader. For the reader as well, say, when reviewing, reading a poem out loud may give the reader both a deeper appreciation of the words and the way the poem sounds or resonates."

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Written during a time when I fully felt an outcast in this writing community. Bittersweet.

It's important to share our journey as writers, not only to leave sign posts to our past, but reveal our human nature and common relevancy in an otherwise dehumanizing, indifferent world. As we have voices, people need our words to (in)form voice.

Forever be in the shadows here with a limited voice, shouting firm and clear as need -- coalesce true with beauty as a writer, without bending to indifference, manipulation and forms of hate that restrain expression as a writer purifying a lost soul. A black heart is strong, not dead.