Hello~
VPN's are working and I have a day off! Woo!
So, per my last post, I was supposed to come back today with some progress in writing political topics via poetry.
To begin I broke the overarching theme of politics into things I know, with an emphasis on American politics since I am American:
-Women: beauty standards, abortions, sexual assault, rape, mansplaining (feels political when dudes in office be talkin bout wtf women should be doing/ can do with their bodies and reproductive systems). Some articles I used to fuel my anger: Matt Gaetz: Women Who 'Look Like A Thumb' Shouldn't Gripe About Abortion Rights Todd Akin: Women Can't Get Pregnant From 'Legitimate Rape' 30 Times Donald Trump Has Been Completely Insulting to Women Grab them by the Pussy Donald Trump
50 Inspirational Quotes by Powerful Women in History
-Broken political systems with a focus on separation of church and state becoming less and less likely
-Cycle of poverty
-Healthcare (how fucking dare you be so expensive)
-People wanting to give up US citizenship due to it's failing to care about its citizens
I won't lie, I went hard into the cycle of poverty and abortion areas. Living in another country means I get to literally see and live in all the ways that a country most people consider beneath them, actually cares much more about its citizens than America does. This leads to a lot of fun conversations with expats from all over the world, and the circle of poverty that America is propagating is one of our main topics of discussion.
For the abortion topic, I just feel really strongly that abortions are totally fine. A woman has to carry that kid, and no one else is going to raise them for her after she rips from her V to her A pushing it out.
She gets to decide if she wants to carry to term or not.
With my main aggro points found, I decided how best to plan my attack (as I got angrier, it did feel more like trying to prepare for a verbal take down of sorts, I had to scale back a bit later hahaha).
At first I was thinking, write it out in a prose form, that'll be the most hard hitting. But then... I started to wonder if I could make the circle of poverty a bit more of an example of how exactly people are kept in these cycles.
I did what my undergrad trained me for! Research! We didn't learn about circular form of poetry in my MFA, unless you count the villanelle, which does have a certain circular nature to it.
I found two forms! The Roundel and Circular Structure.
The Roundel has a whole rhyme scheme going on, and personally I find rhyme schemes to take away from a serious point, rather than add to it, so I went with the Circular Structure.
The website had a few good examples, I think my favorite was "The Cove" by Dick Allen because it told a story and visibly came back to the beginning in the end.
I also liked “A Quiet Life,” by Baron Wormser because it felt like a more evolved poem using the Circular Structure.
I would go so far as to say “O, She Says,” by Hailey Leithauser is the beginner level Circular Structure, then it's "The Cove" by Dick Allen , and the most advanced for is “A Quiet Life,” by Baron Wormser.
What I'm working on at the moment is some circular poem regarding poverty in America and a burning Haibun and prose poem on abortion. The burning Haibun seemed perfect for telling a story of someone forced to carry a child to term, so I'm playing with it.
All drafts at the moment.
Now, onward to my update!!
Did I add scenes to my book? Fuck yeah!
Did I write poems? Fuck yeah!
Did I finish anything? Fuck no!
Get out my face, ok? But seriously, it was an okay writing week. I'm not angry.
My next steps, you don't ask?
-Re-finish novel
-Finish all poems in waiting at the moment
-Bring submissions back up to thirty
-Update publication page, as I have some new publications i haven't added on yet
I think that's all I'll have time for this week. I'm looking at six working days after today, so I'll just try to take it easy. Until next time, enjoy this weekly photo dump:
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