How To Be A Cult Poet

7 Days in the Orange Verse #19

All the books I’ve been buying lately

Hello Zesties,

Sorry I’m a bit late this week. I was almost ready to hit send yesterday but I had an appointment I to make and was out of the house the rest of the day. I should probably get this newsletter prepped and scheduled before Sunday comes around but Sunday mornings are all I have. And, you know, fuck perfectionism!

1 Creative Intention Check In - April

I continue to be grateful I set intentions and not resolutions this year. The monthly check in keeps me focused and accountable. Remaining fluid gives me permission to change my priorities depending on what else is going on in my life and adapt to new insight or learning.  The April check in is up on the blog. 

2 How to be a Poet

I’ve just finished the excellent book How to be a Poet by Jane Commane and Jo Bell, published by Nine Arches Press. I would highly recommend it if you’re looking to take your poetry to the next step. This book isn’t about “how to write poetry,” this book is about doing the hard work required to produce good writing and the even harder task of getting it out into the world. It asks the hard questions of why you’re really doing it and if you’re ready for all the rejection. 

Pair with Why I Write Poetry, also published by Nine Arches Press, with essays from the likes of Kim Moore, Keith Jarrett and W.N. Herbert.

3 Ocean Vuong Hits Cult Status

A glossy magazine has announced that Ocean Vuong, celebrated poet and author, has achieved cult status. I am thrilled that a poet is named as such. But it also serves as a reminder just how rare it is for a poet to find any kind of financial success from their art. Poets still have to eat and pay rent and yet for a lot of jobbing poets it’s a choice they have to make. I wrote a poem about it here.

4 Bookshops

I was very restrained and stopped myself from buying a book yesterday. I heard some advice on a “how to handle your money” podcast, that you should give yourself one thing you can splurge on guilt-free. The woman on the podcast chose plants – I choose books. But I really have been buying lots and lots of books lately and I haven’t finished any of them. So I’m on a book buying ban until I’ve finished three from the TBR pile. 

Also, why is the poetry section always terrible in indie bookstores? These shops should hold an excellent selection of local poets and presses. Let me know of any independent bookshops you love that have good poetry sections. 

5 Poem

Poem
~ Jill Alexander Essbaum

A clementine
Of inclement climate
Grows tart.

A crocus
Too stoic to open,
Won’t.

Like an oyster
That cloisters a spoil of pearls,
Untouched–

The heart that’s had
Enough
Stays shut.

6 Quote

“You also have to grow your voice. The process of refining does not stop. Growing your voice means trying to do different things from one poem to the next, from one book to the next. And it means continuing to read, continuing to take in a variety of art forms, continuing to absorb and transform influences, continuing to talk with friends, continuing to walk your dog or figure out what exactly your cat is doing now or, you know? It means continuing to live. And paying attention to how you live, including all the changes in life, some of which you choose and some of which are inevitable. Growing your voice might also mean losing a voice you once had. It can take a lot of perseverance and a lot of patience.”

~ Chen Chen, Only Poems Magazine [Interview]

7 Prompt

Come up with three titles for poems you want to write. Send them to me, or write them in the comments on Substack. I will collect them up and share them for next week’s prompt.

---

I always love receiving poems in my inbox so if you ever want to share something you’ve written, or if you respond to any of the prompts I would be thrilled to see your creations.

Happy writing, love

Lorna 🍊