Year of Poetry Update Week 6

This week saw no work and two severe headaches that almost reached migraine status.  

So the work hours have been down, more so than last week. I do however feel as though I have been productive this week, so while the hours are down I think I smashed a poem out of the park today.

I had one of those rare experiences where my feelings about how good the poem is didn't fluctuate from day to day. 

For those interested in my process I do the following:

• Write a preliminary( I am stealing this label from Kinzie's book, apparently this is what Yeats called them) or prose draft.  I find this allows me to get down the rough shape/them/ideas for the poem

• Draft the preliminary until I feel a poem begin to emerge

• Begin drafting the poem, if the poem doesn't seem to be working ( by which I mean that I spend a good day getting nowhere) look at why.

• Write the poem to death until I think it's ready

• Run it by my brains trust

• Carefully consider each of the points on Jo Bell's checklist ( I find if I really stick to the list then something usually turns up that makes the poem better)

• Let it sit for awhile

• Review

• Submit

Today though, after posting this I will be submitting my latest poem due to time pressures.  I am happy with it and if it doesn't make it through the process I am not too worried.  I let you know how I go.

But on to the stats:

Total time: 12:40 (99:42) hrs


poem writing =  5:10 (39:50) hrs
close reading =  2:50 (25:40) hrs
technique/theory =  3:40 (23:58) hrs

reflection = 1:00 (9:24) hrs


Poetry written:


9 poems completed
1 poem abandoned



General thoughts:

Concerns:

Well I thought disruption by work was going to be the problem, but its been health that's been the real issue, and on reflection with hospitalization last week and the severe headaches this week and still managing to write successfully I don't have any major concerns on the horizon.  I think I have established the habit.