Category Archives: OnePoemEveryMonth Project

OnPoEvMo: Billy Collins Blues — Nov. 2006

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(This is the first installment of my One Poem Every Month for One Year project)

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Talking Billy Collins Blues

November 2006

I called on Billy Collins last night
And he asked me outright if I was disturbed
To which I replied,
Yes, slightly, sorry for the intrusion
but how do you write a poem every month for a year
And where do I look for lost words — the ones I have misplaced with time?
Billy slipped me a piece of paper when we were done talking
And disappeared
leaving me alone with nothing much but that paper.
I could just make out some red ink scribbles and a few doodles
when I held that thin skin of a tree up to the light
and let the paper become a translucent buffer between me
and the muse.
I held Billy Collins in my hand for hours,
nursing him like the last drink of the night when daylight is looming,
afraid to even look
because if it did hold the key then my search would be over
and why write poems after that?
So I crumpled Billy up and tossed him into the street bin
(apologizing profusely for being so impolite)
and I chased my own shadow all the way back home
in the darkness of memories.

And that’s when I really began to write.

Listen to me read my poem Talking Billy Collins Blues

Peace,
Kevin

One Poem a Month for a Year

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I was reading through a profile of playwright Suzan-Lori Parks in The New Yorker (Oct. 30 2006) last week, intrigued by the wit and intelligence and liveliness of her as a writer and observer of the human condition. (Parks once went to college in my part of Western Massachusetts, so I seem drawn to her name when she wins awards or takes on new projects).

At one point, she decided she would write one play every single day for a year.

“Sometimes, I would write in the security line at the airport, you know? …. A lot of them were written in hotels … I didn’t limit the time. I sat down and did it and then kind of went on with the day.” — Parks.

Now Parks is collaborating with some other folks to produce her plays on one day in different venues in the country. Wow!

It reminded me of another project I heard about, called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in which participants are invited to write an entire novel from start to finish during the month of November. I can’t possibly take that on right now but next year … I hope so.

BUT — what if I tried to write One Poem Every Month for One Year? (And call it OnPoEvMo? I kind of like that).

So that is what I am going to try to do, using this blog as my publishing platform for this very personal project. And it may be more than one poem … who knows? Plus, I intend to podcast my reading of the poems, and maybe a video here and there. I am going to try to dig at my life through poetry — as a teacher, as a parent, as a writer, as a musician — whatever the inspiration.

Now, let’s get started.

Peace,
Kevin