JOURNAL/WRITING

My Poetry Book Journey-2

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Photo by Burst on Unsplash

This is the second part of my journey to publish a poetry book. The introduction is linked at the bottom.

Part 2: Choices

The Unsplash photo above really called to me today. It represents my overwhelm about which way to go. It is like a corn maze. Each row looks the same, each ear of corn the same.

I am working with a coach, but I want to be somewhat prepared and organized before our meeting.

Questions I am asking myself:

1. Do I want to collect poetry by theme?
2. Does the collection need to be chronological? Should it tell a story?
3. Is there a central theme to my poetry that can be broken up into separate sections?
4. Will it be clear what to include and what to leave out?

When I look at what I have written and posted on Medium this past year, there are a lot of options.

I have a collection of 110 poems in my publication Sky Collection. Many of these poems center on nature and the loss of my father.

I also have poetry about love and relationships, family, motherhood, politics, teaching, COVID-19, the general state of the world, gardens, and other topics…