Tips for Verselove-ing: 30 Days of Writing Poetry

Tips for Verselove-ing: 30 Days of Writing Poetry

Let’s celebrate all that poetry does for our hearts, minds, and humanity. This month-long celebration is all about encouraging educators write poems in a supportive, virtual space because the more we write, the more we will be able to nurture the writing lives of our students and colleagues. And, we’ve also found, that writing poetry actually improves our well being and capacity for joy. Any educator can join — life-long poets, new-to-the-craft poets, rhymers, free-versers, musings-writers, self-doubters. The goal is to show up and write.

We begin April 1st. Just show up here: http://www.ethicalela.com/category/poetry/verselove/

Here is a guide to a great month:

Subscribe.

If you did not receive this blog post through your email. Sign up now through your email and then “confirm” the subscription. This way, you will get a new prompt in your email box each morning.

Write a poem a day-ish.

A new poem prompt will be published on ethicalela.com every morning at dawn. 30 teachers have written these prompts so you have something new every day from a different educators. You can compose a poem inspired by the prompt or compose a poem inspired from within. Post the poem in the comment section. You will be asked to include your first name, but feel free to use a pseudonym (but keep the same one throughout, so we can get to know you) as this is a public site.

If you miss a day or cannot muster the words — no worries. Join in when you are ready. You can also just participate as a reader-encourager. Set a goal that serves you. Write every day. Write once a week, e.g., every Saturday. If you want to write a poem but not post it, that is fine, too. Perhaps you will comment that you wrote a poem.

We hope you will share these prompts with your students or consider creating a parallel Verselove at your school. Here are some tips for getting started. Most of the prompts will be easily adaptable for a variety of contexts.

Comment with care to teachers from across the country and beyond.

Follow the poems throughout the day and encourage your teacher-poet-friends with positive comments. But how should you comment? Well, is there a phrase that resonated with you? Is there a clever or especially beautiful line? Are you noticing connections across poems? Are you seeing or understanding something in a new way? Most importantly, responses to other poets should not be critique or suggestion. Comment with an observational or positive tone.

Note: People usually write, read, and comment in the same day/prompt and then move on to the next prompt the following day. While all poems and comments are appreciated, not everyone returns to prior days to post/read comments. In other words, if you want to post poems on past prompts, you may not have an audience for your poems.

Care for your audience. Words are powerful.

Keep in mind that the poets here are educators from across the country and beyond, so the content, life experience, and insights will be diverse. You may be surprised by what comes out as you write. Poetry has the power to move people to feel, think, believe, and act. Be responsible and respectful in your poems and commenters. Our hearts are tender these days. Ethical ELA will remove any egregious comments or offensive poems.

Manage time so that is serves you.

Teacher-poets will approach this month-long challenge in a variety of ways. The hosts have tried to make the prompts concise and accessible. Spend 10 minutes or an hour writing. Some days you will have more time than others. I, Sarah, set a timer and try to be okay with whatever I can do in 15 minutes. Below, I have included 2 videos of me demonstrating this. I type into the text box, but others type in a document and then transfer the poem. Once you publish your poem, you cannot edit it, so that is a consideration, too.

We like to think of everything on the site as a draft and embrace typos as part of the process. We are not here for perfection, just progress.

Questions? Suggestions?

If you are new to Verselove, write questions below, and our community will respond. If you are experienced with Verselove, write any tips or suggestions you have for participants! Invite friends/colleagues by sharing this post and having them also subscribe.