October has always been one of my favorite months. Yes, even before I lived in a place with apples/pumpkins/colorful leaves autumn, or before I leaned all the way into spooky season.
This year October looks like tromping through a Renaissance Faire with friends, a day trip to Walden Pond, lighting work candles on rainy days, and buying the fancy pumpkin spice coffee creamer because it’s cheaper than coffee out (but still getting coffee out anyway).
This year it also looked like traveling down to Nashville for my 13th Hutchmoot. Catching up with 20+ year friendships and starting new ones. Sitting in the silence of a pop up art gallery and skipping plenary sessions for long hallway conversations. Playing with art supplies and crying a little at hearing my favorite Rich Mullins song played live for the first time.
And then there’s the poetry open mics, a beloved Hutchmoot tradition for me now and always an honor to host.
Now November is on the way, which means Year Number I’ve Lost Count of attempting the November Poem a Day challenge! My friends at The Poetry Pub and I collaborated on a fresh list of prompts that I’m pretty excited about. Come write along if you want?
I’ve done this over a decade and have never hit all 30 prompts. So no promises for a flood of poems, but I’ll do my best and share my favorite drafts here along the way. Writing is a little more fun in community, so here’s a couple places you can join in:
Still on Facebook? The Poetry Pub Writing Community is where it all began! Chris and I started this group back in 2018 just to write poems with a few friends, and now it’s one of the few things that compel me to keep my account open, ha. We’re accepting new members til the end of October, then we’ll disappear into the shadows as a private group to keep things safe and cozy. My pals Sarah Spradlin and j j b r i n s k i host virtual open mics from time to time, and we’ll have a daily NovPAD thread where you can share your poems!
For the Facebook-avoidant among us, Ashlyn McKayla Ohm runs a spinoff Discord server called, adorably, Poetry Pints. Ashlyn will be running the challenge over there with the same prompts. Smaller, even cozier, and… it’s not Facebook! Here’s an invite link that will be open for the next 7 days. (If it doesn’t work DM me and I can send you a fresh link.)
It’s hard to be a person out here in the darker half of the year, but poetry helps. And friendship, and silliness, and homemade costumes, and letting yourself be a basic pumpkin spice girlie once in a while.
I didn't think any pictures of me reading my poem existed! This made my whole week. So excited to write poems with you this November, friend!
I'm looking forward to trying these prompts along with you, Jen. Thank you! And what a sweet joy to see a picture of the poetry open mic at Hutchmoot. I wish I could have been there!