On Becoming a Poet, Writing a Book and an Editor who Got Me
The words showed the way, someone else helped me to see it
My writing career began when I was eight years old—I have folders and scrapbooks with essays of contest entries as evidence.
Back in the early days when I was first published (read: in print) my work reflected a wide range of content. In addition to narrative essays, I had opinions galore about everything from parenting to education or how to be a Christian. Seriously. I had no qualms about sharing my ideas; there’s a big, fat folder of Letters to the Editor with the evidence. I really need to clean out all those folders.
That was a long time ago. Fast forward to January 2012 when I discovered blogging (remember blogging?)1 I filled virtual pages for years, opining on “the intersection of faith and life” and reveled in the wonderful community connections. Getting to know my readers virtually and then in real life was the greatest gift of that era.
Twelve years later-ish, in the year of our Lord 2023, waxing eloquent on such a vast and all-encompassing theme as “the intersection of faith & life” can lose its luster, particularly when one is trying to appeal to All The Readers. The urgency to write short form blogposts was waning and I knew I needed to make a change.
That being said, there have been rewarding fruits of sharing my work with my blogging audience. I self-published a book about Christmas - “Living the Season Well” (2017) - and my first book of poetry “Hearts on Pilgrimage:Poems & Prayers” (2021). Releasing a book of poetry mid-pandemic seemed an audacious thing to do, but I was determined to offer some beauty and truth in the middle of a world filled with uncertainty and fear. Poetry could help, I thought.
After Hearts on Pilgrimage was launched into the world it confirmed the sense that if I was going to write, my words belonged inside the frame of poems. I decided I was going to claim the title Poet.
With a significant intentionality to say more with less, I began the process of refining my writing focus and decided to commit. Nearing my 71st birthday2 and with Scripture’s reminder to “teach us to number our days,” after a year of stirring and recalibration came a shift. Next, there was the serendipitous timing of an online course3 and an introduction to mentors who steered me through new waters to discover my core message and purpose: writing poetry, yes, but encouraging and inspiring others to make friends with poetry, too.
Crafting a book of Poetry
Writing my newest book-Mining the Bright Birds:Poems of Longing for Home provided the catalyst to becoming a poet. When I drafted the manuscript and sent the poems off to an Editor, there was a period of time where I held my breath, as one does. Were these poems any good? And more importantly, Would what was in my head translate to the page at all? Sometimes we’re too close to our work; we focus on the leaves on the trees but I was fortunate to have a guide who offered a bird’s-eye view of the entire forest.
When we convened over Zoom some weeks later, Lady Editor offered her perspective. She saw a theme woven through the poems, that of longing for home, ‘Home’ being Heaven where God’s presence is. Interestingly, there was also a parallel journey of discovering my identity as a poet, something I was just beginning to uncover. I am finding this to be true—the closer we get to God the more like ourselves we become.
I am finding this to be true—the closer we get to God the more like ourselves we become.
When J. remarked on what she sensed about how to organize the poems, I nearly wept—she got me. It is a rare gift to have someone listen as you bare your soul on the page or in person, to feel like you’ve been heard and seen. She confirmed that God was up to something after all, gathering what I saw as random poems into one whole story and God was “poeming” me into being at the same time, as poet Malcolm Guite has said.4
This experience—releasing a new book of poems in late Summer 2023 and participating in an eight week mentoring course just before that—solidifed two things:
Writing poetry was a way for me to discover who God had made me to be and sharing the poems and processes is a way to help others see that, too. I’d like others to make friends with poetry and connect with God in a way that allows them to see His speaking in their own lives and I think poetry can show the way.
Reading and writing poetry is a way for God to speak to us and through us, using words as a conduit of becoming.
I’m so very glad you’re here for the journey. Thank you for coming along.
Should there be a period after that parentheses? Argh.
With writing heroes like Madeleine L’Engle, poets Luci Shaw and Anne Porter in mind
Writing off Social-the podcast and course
Malcolm Guite, poet, sonneteer and inspiration
Oh Jody, you know how deeply I love the work you're doing - it's like all those years of preparation were leading to the way you're bringing others to poetry in such beautiful, miraculous ways. I've always LOVED poetry but have been afraid of writing it, for some reason. You give me courage!