WOMEN-POETRY-HISTORY Months

Dear Reader,

We are now at the last couple days of Women's History Month and will soon move into April, National Poetry Month

I did not blog in this blog in March for Women's History Month. So many vines that twist here and there like vignettes in history or poetry and literature that the enormity of it all can leave me with the difficult task of choosing which women in history to include in my blog. As for this purpose, I skipped all the potential blogs for March even while thinking about certain historical figures every day as like many other would-be writers I went about cleaning my house, cooking dinner, re-cleaning the kitchen, doing the laundry, and mopping and rinsing floors. I rinse them because I do not want cleaner residue on the floors that my grandchild or my daughter's and grandchild's dog might get on their hands and feet and paws. I enjoy taking time out for family. But then after that I have a hard time getting back to work.

With poetry month coming up, I want to focus on some women poets in April who are also historical figures in their own right of poetic license in which they lived or live. 

In a sense, I like to think that we are all historical, as we all make our own history. But these women poets who are published and many of them quite famous go down in history, so in April I will often combine these themes of WOMEN-POETRY-HISTORY. 

During February's Black History Month tributes, I did not blog about some of my favorite women poets who were or are Black American poets. I did mention in one February blog that I would blog about Lucille Clifton, Nikki Giovanni, and Maya Angelou this April. I am not going to include any writings of them here--this blog is merely my announcement of my intent. 

Also, not every poet or poem I will discuss in April will be written by a woman. I have one blog planned for April that isn't even poetry at all, but does illustrate poetry in motion or the poetry in life, I like to say poetic life. 

Even in my preamble introduction to this blog, when I say "the artistic life" or living artistically, I do not mean it has to be done with money to afford the grandiosity of lots of beautiful art sculptures or paintings all around you. Sure those things can be very nice, and what is pleasing to the eye can create a life of aesthetic pleasures; however, with little money to buy art or with little money to have the most grand library at home, there is still a way to live life as an art.* I used my imagination to envision the room I wanted, which was to me an artistic process. I did some artistic cooking--or at least it felt that way, the ginger chicken then leftover chicken salad for the soul. I wrote in my dream journal. I did my work at the library surrounded by the huge history of books. I drank my coffee thinking about art, about how a delicious cup of coffee can be delicious as poetry and vice versa. I took my granddaughter to the library. I read some stories about fairies from around the world and looked at fairy art. I met with friends. I finished reading a book of poems by Nikki Giovanni. I went for walks to the lake and enjoyed the poetic romance of the beauty in nature, sometimes by myself and sometimes with my daughter and granddaughter. What is art to you? To you, what in life makes for art, or living artfully?

I thought this thought, about the poetry in life which is not a new thought by any means yet one that is still important to so many people-- as soon as I began to read the book, Tuesdays with Morrie (the title uses the lower case t and so this is not a typo!) in this last month. The subtitle reads rather poetically and summarizes in the most brief possible way what the book is about, then the reader gathers that the book looks at life in that way that is poetic: "an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lessons." I learned some lessons from this book I will discuss later.

Every book I read and every poem I read teaches a lesson. I never feel too old to learn. You can even learn old lessons in new ways as you age. I learned a great lesson in my 20s when I heard and saw Maya Angelou recite her poems live in an auditorium where I had an aisle seat at Bowling Green State University, many years ago. She was close enough to me that I could almost physically feel the power in her voice touch me and my being. She gave her poetry reading by heart--she knew all her poems by heart, from the heart and to my heart and the hearts of those in the audience who felt a resonance with her. I can still visualize her facial expressions during the reading also, full of convictions. It is worth mention that just as many men were there as women. She is a women poet but not just for women.

Please do not be dismayed that after speaking of Women's History Month and women poets that above I write immediately about a book by a man about a man. I will write more about the author, Mitch Albom, who relays the rhythms in life, this next month, possibly prior to blogging about particular poets, particular women poets, and particular poems. Maybe I will do that tomorrow. I have been spending Tuesdays on Tuesdays with Morrie for the last month or so and wrote down many of my thoughts while reading it. I read it before years ago but felt drawn to reading it again upon finding a table at the library that featured books all with the word Tuesday in their titles. 

What is art to you? To you, what in life makes for art? What are some things you like to do that fulfill you artistically in life? 

(Photo by Kit)

 May the Muses be with you, 

Mary Ann 

*I moved into a new home during Covid isolation times and the back room I had for mt office was rather dull looking when I moved in. There were dull looking curtains on the windows that didn't even quite fit the windows and my desk was in an awkward spot because my computer battery broke down from old age and the only way to use it was to keep it plugged in to the wall which limited my usable space. By now the computer is fixed, the battery has been replaced, and the furniture has been moved around to have more of the office/studio space I have wanted. I got the old curtains down and washed them to give to charity because now that they are cleaned they might look nice somewhere else.But the floors still need to be built back up and replaced because there are some problems also with the flooring in this back office room.