What made your soul feel most nourished this year?
Years ago I remember stumbling across a video on YouTube. It was this man named Taylor Mali, and he was, among other things, a slam poet. The cadence of his words, the message he delivered, impacted me more than I ever imagined poetry could. While I would go through fits and starts, forgetting and then remembering that it existed, every once in awhile I would be reminded of this vehicle of words and meaning, drawing me into a bottomless pit of poem after poem.
Last spring, during National Poetry Month, I was introduced to the poetry of someone who I list as number 1 on my favorite poets list. Her words, and the words of others I fell into around the same time, helped me through a dark period, and gave me the courage to work through Difficult Things.
I have started writing my own poems. I do not perform, generally, not because I don’t want to, but because the vulnerability is just a bit too much at times. I have found that writing poetry provides an outlet to say what you can’t say otherwise. At the same time it just hurts.
Shine | What was the best moment of 2013?
I think the best moment of 2013 for me was when I decided that I had to make it count. Big decisions, changes in life course, and I realized that I was kind of floating by without intention, and I didn’t like it. Having purpose may seem like this trite thing, but at that point of my life, it was important. Since then, while I haven’t been 100 % successful, I have definitely attempted to take more opportunities as they have presented themselves. A big thing for me is reaching out to other people I admire or who have touched me in some way. It’s anxiety producing, but the more often I reach out, the easier I find it.
