COURSES > WINTER TERM 2021 > Writing and Practice: Art-ing Across Genres > SESSION 03

F455i SESSION 03

March 15, 2021
Epistolary Poem: The Letter Poem

“Epistles” have been around for a long time. The Bible and lots of sacred text mention Epistles. Many of the “letter poems” were admonishments or letters of instruction. Letters of the 6o’s and 70’s were often submitted to newspapers as “open letters.” An open letter is a letter seemingly written to one person yet upon reading the letter, it seems to appeal or beg the attention of a large group of people. Many open letters were written in response to political or religious situations. In the writing world, poets oftentimes write to younger poets. Alice Walker and bell hooks have been known to write to younger poets. The Epistolary Poem (Letter Poem) is now one of the most used poetic devices of our time and often seeks to share personal information publicly. Many writers of novels, novellas and short stories have embraced the epistolary style. Today, you are going to write an Epistolary Poem! Please choose one of the subjects below to write to:

Dear Love
Dear Joy
Dear Past Self (any age)
Dear Racism
Dear Peace
Dear Hate
Dear Apathy
Dear Future Self (any age)
Dear Homophobia
Dear Mars
Dear Fear
Dear Fortune
Dear Ancestor
Dear Transphobia
Dear World
Dear Anxiety
Dear Anger
Dear (any object in nature)
Dear Sexism
Dear Hope

Notes/Definitions to keep in mind:
The goal of the epistolary poem is to draw the reader in and make them feel like they are getting an up close and personal view of the writer. Write as if there is no one in the world besides you and who/what you are writing to. Keep in mind though it is a letter it is also POETRY. It’s okay to use sparse words, creative word choices, metaphors, similes, hyperbole, or anything else you might use in creative writing. Be as creative as you can in the “letter form.” Lastly, feel free to add some intentional doodling or artwork to the letter. If you want to send this to me and the group as a picture and send the text separate, feel free to do so.

Warm up Prompt:
Think about who or what you spend a great deal thinking about. Write a short letter to the person or thing. No longer than two paragraphs. Keep this to 7 mins. Don’t censor yourself or worry about editing.

Writing Prompt:
Write an Epistolary Poem

*Due to group (Online Studio 3/19)
*Feedback from group members(Online Studio due 3/21)

Weekly Homework:

Journal Entry #3
Write a love letter to the current you. About a page or two. Gush over yourself. Stay away from writing anything negative. Be sure to date the letter.

Sketch Entry #3
Sketch, draw, doodle or collage from magazines a series words that make up a letter to one of your writing or creative ancestors or create another epistolary poem using only art materials and no words.
*Ongoing journal assignment weekly “obsession.”

PLEASE NOTE: It is best to write your material on your own document, then copy and paste into the Online Studio. If you are writing, then happen to leave the Online Studio page by clicking a link or looking something up, your text might be lost! It’s good to get into the habit of opening different tabs in your browser when writing in the Online Studio to preserve your submission.

Discussion

Kadie Kelly: Hi Jeannine, I read this yesterday and what stuck with me to...
Jeannine Bardo: Definitely!
Kadie Kelly: Thanks, hopefully there is room within the poem to imagine our collective...

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studioELLadmin

15 March 2021 11:06am

testing this comment section

Artist

Kadie Kelly

16 March 2021 6:16pm

Hi, here is a draft of assignment #3:

Dear Me, a Letter about the Patriarchy

Is it ok if I post additional letters this week as well?

Dear me, A Letter to the Patriarchy.pdf

Last edited 3 years ago by Kadie Kelly

Artist

carli toliver

21 March 2021 4:42pm

Reply to Kadie Kelly

I sort of felt the beginning of your letter was a play on words “dear me, I’m making him depressed” could also just be a coyly ironic statement but is also the introduction. I liked that. I also enjoyed the personalizing of patriarchy I took from the statement “we don’t want the same things.” I wonder too, if some of the visual effects in the letter – the large bold words, change to small print, the single hyphen breaking up stanzas, the foreward slash – were there for emphasis around certain lines. Specifically “Makes me want to protect myself” is surrounded by the foreward slashes, so maybe those symbols are creating a border or boundary of protection around that line. I enjoyed the rhyming lines as well, especially toward the end, they carry and move the letter along to what could also be the name at the end of the poem -Tragically, Me. All the rhymes and similar sounds just seems to reiterate that we contain multitudes, which I liked.

Artist

Tracy Holtham

21 March 2021 7:26pm

Reply to Kadie Kelly

I like the conversational style of your letter poem, which is intriguing to me.

I found the visual format of the bold text in the initial lines effective in introducing the theme. I was also interested in the punctuation used in the initial stanzas, which made me reflect on their meaning, and the tone of voice within the lines.

We don’t want the same things
– For me, this line says so much.

I thought the repetition of the word anomaly was powerful.

I want hope not hate
– I like the use of alliteration, and the sense of pace this brings. To me, this could be seen as a manifesto within one line.

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 11:33am

Reply to Kadie Kelly

“He doesn’t want drama and stress”
“Look for somewhere else to live because I have a lot of drama, emotion, stress ”

“He only wants the happy me
But when I’m happy
He’s mad”

i really respond to this… like having men say, “smile, you’re so much prettier when you smile.” … infurating! but also, when you do have power, or beauty or sex, men can feel weak or less-than… and react to retain power. i think this is a place for further discovery.

the repetion feels good — disconnected a bit, but i think in a good way.

///
the second, though shorted, feels more complete somehow. feels like you distilled the essence!

Artist

Kadie Kelly

23 March 2021 11:50am

Reply to j o h n r o s

Hi johnros. Good to hear from you. 🙂 thanks for your thoughts. Right? :/
When you say the second, do you mean the second page? I intended it to read as one continuous poem. If that is not clear – that is good to know!

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 12:06pm

Reply to Kadie Kelly

yes… i meant the second page.
on re-read, it flows for sure… i think it is a clever way to add ambiguity and clarity…

Last edited 3 years ago by j o h n r o s

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 1:14pm

Reply to Kadie Kelly

Hi Katie, The beginning: It definitely sounds like an abusive relationship and you need to get out. Even the way it is phrased, jolted, a bit confused, questioning. The end: sounds like a new beginning, an affirmation of you.

Artist

Kadie Kelly

23 March 2021 3:25pm

Reply to Jeannine Bardo

Thanks, hopefully there is room within the poem to imagine our collective abusive relationship with patriarchy.

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 5:07pm

Reply to Kadie Kelly

Definitely!

Artist

Kadie Kelly

16 March 2021 6:20pm

I added this one to session 2, after the due date. Coincidentally it is a letter haibun so I am posting it here too.

...3.13.21.Letting.go.internal.misogyny.pdf

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 11:37am

Reply to Kadie Kelly

again, love the concrete nature of this… as well as the graphically visual qualities. like an umbrella and a sun? a beach scene? wondering… aging… forgetting…

Artist

Kadie Kelly

23 March 2021 11:50am

Reply to j o h n r o s

This is good feedback. I’m trying to create a mirror out of the shape. Like a handheld mirror but am failing!

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 1:16pm

Reply to Kadie Kelly

Love the visual and your little circle of energy on the side ready for use. Seems like this was written on the cusp of something.

Prof

j o h n r o s

17 March 2021 4:11pm

this has been a week! probably noticeable in the writing. the Epistolary Poem needs a ton of work, but i am not able to devote any more to it this week… so i am posting it only after two revisions. i liked the journal entry prompt this week quite a bit… i kept wanting to go sexual with it for some reason! ha! … but i kept it clean 🙂

thank you all for your work and time here in this course. it has been such a great experience.

Writing journal week03.pdf

Artist

Kadie Kelly

20 March 2021 10:30pm

Reply to j o h n r o s

Hi johnros,

Thanks for crystalizing the ways complacency allows American white supremacist culture to continue.

Your letter starts Dear Apathy. You open with the mention of the neighbor, which I like and can visualize right away. Apathy starts off so personified I can picture the person.

Then it seems to shift to be written to specific other behaviors and then it’s no longer to apathy but to the apathetically over-privileged person who thinks its ok to still shop at amazon and walmart. …

I’m not sure if the change in who you are talking to is as effective as it could be, but its a good way to explore the behaviors that are all connected to this problem of what I see as white supremacy and everything inherent within its culture and subculture.

This sentence clearly points me in that direction as well:

white, christian, land-owning, straight, male people, but this is not a government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich — or wait, is it? stop wasting your time seeking donations and get to work for your people.

this great country was founded on genocide, slavery and destruction — rampant capitalistic overconsumption still relies on slavery and destruction.

I liked the rhythm of this sentence and the repetition of the sounds created by destruction and consumption.

Artist

carli toliver

21 March 2021 4:03pm

Reply to j o h n r o s

There is so much in your Dear Apathy letter. I loved the personalized, intimate bits – the mail, the unsorted recycling, the unacknowledged greeting (that just happened to me this morning) – I resonated with those daily occaisions of apathy. And then yes, the larger, the systemic, the historic – Yes. The reference to convenience (one day shipping) as a side of Apathy, the healthcare and childcare of the delivery driver, the bathroom breaks – all those took apathy and showed its many sides, it’s personification, its consequences, how it shows up on the lives of others. I thought that was beautifully done.

Artist

Tracy Holtham

21 March 2021 8:16pm

Reply to j o h n r o s

Your epistolary poem is compelling – I see it as having an emotional resonance, which embodies longstanding and more recent concurrent societal themes.

your town is crumbling and all you can think about is where to get more for less.
– I felt the power in this line.

how can we continue to consume without regard to our local communities, our fellow human beings, our splendid earth.
– I like how this line builds from communities to our splendid earth – to me it highlights the breadth and severity of issues which can arise from apathy.

when your freedoms impinge on my personal freedoms, we have an issue.
– I really felt the energy in this line.

these are the times that matter most.
– This line is poignant to me.

to apathy, get lost. these are urgent times.
– I appreciate the forthright nature of these lines, as view honesty as having the ability to create meaningful momentum and change.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 12:22pm

Reply to j o h n r o s

I’m interested in how this poem reveals how form reinforces tone and energy, which here, is about as far from apathetic as one can get. It put me in mind of firebrand preaching or that famous line, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!” It gave me the sense of being roughly shaken, which seems fitting given the allusions to sleep.

The sleeping walks reminded me of the Baldwin line, which I have on a chair I used years back in an installation on indefinite detainment at Guantanamo, “We live in a country in which words are mostly used to cover the sleeper, not to wake him up.”

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 11:38am

Reply to j o h n r o s

thank you all for your comments 🙂

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 1:24pm

Reply to j o h n r o s

Apathy = corruption. Everything is corrupted. You hit every nail on the head! Great rant. Must-keep-hitting. Definitely felt the frustration and the anger and the helplessness in how deep, deep, deep this well is.

Prof

Anastacia-Renee

17 March 2021 8:20pm

Greetings All,
Taking a look…good to see you all are digging the prompts and writing the Epistolary poems. I will share my epistolary journal with you all next week!
Prof. A.

Artist

Kadie Kelly

19 March 2021 4:40pm

Reply to Anastacia-Renee

Can’t wait to see your ep.journal!

Artist

cary

19 March 2021 1:58pm

hey all,

i found myself trying to write myself out of a grim mood this week. (I spat out a lot of short angry and frustrated letters in response to the world, before managing to write the love letter to myself.)

here’s my epistolary poem as a pdf.

also attached: some photos i took this week, between storms, of the plants mentioned in the poem. No edits/filters.

Epistolary poem cary.pdf

Artist

cary

19 March 2021 2:19pm

Reply to cary

something I’ve been thinking about this week: perhaps all epistolary poems are, in some sense at least, a letter to oneself…

Here’s the rest of the plant photographs, with a bonus hairy bittercress thrown in just ‘cause its a tiny delicate white flower with a delightfully incongruous name. Although in fairness, even without trying it, i suspect bitter refers to its taste and not its emotional disposition.

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 11:42am

Reply to cary

you have such a captive way with the photographic lens. i feel like i am there with you. i smell spring. i touch dew. i feel damp and spines and green.

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 1:29pm

Reply to cary

What a beautiful reminder of what is beautiful! I used the epistle to spew anger and it seems the epistle is the perfect outlet for that, but I appreciate that you kept going and came up with this gem. The flower names are beautiful too and I love how you listed so many. The pictures are what I saw when reading your epistle.

Artist

Kadie Kelly

20 March 2021 10:48pm

Reply to cary

Your letter/poem was a delight. It was delicate, tender, made me want to hush my voice and walk light footed and pay attention to the tender shoots of spring. I loved picturing each plant (I googled several – which was fun)

I felt most involved here:

Does your thriving carry meaning?

No matter, i am trying:
To listen?
To be present.

I also loved the rest of it but when I got “to be glad” in addition to the word resurrect at the beginning I started to feel christian/ easter associations and backed away a little in my heart. Which made me sad. Because I like the poem. And its a nice message – to be glad.

This could be a projection on my part because of my background. You reference Demeter.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 12:32pm

Reply to Kadie Kelly

I can see why one would make that association given the roots of Easter in earlier spring equinox celebrations.
I was thinking of Persephone as a cyclical resurrection myth – Demeter welcomes her back out of the underworld, her mourning ends and spring returns.

Artist

Kadie Kelly

20 March 2021 10:51pm

Reply to cary

These are lovely. My favorite of these is photo #2. When I looked at it your line came back to me: Life greens through your veins, unburdened, unselfconscious.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 12:33pm

Reply to Kadie Kelly

Nice. That’s the comfrey.

Artist

carli toliver

21 March 2021 3:52pm

Reply to cary

I really enjoyed your letter. I felt the celebration of spring, of return, and the healing power of the earth – in spite of this sad, maddening week of news. I really loved the list of flowers, and their sounds, their syllables, the hyphenated words were playful and there was something spell-like in reciting them that I enjoyed. I also agree that these letters are like letters to oneself and your letter was a reminder to be present to what is happening around us at this time of year and the being-ness of nature.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 12:35pm

Reply to carli toliver

I love that idea of spell-like recitation. I’ve long been intrigued by the double meaning of the word spell.

Artist

Tracy Holtham

21 March 2021 10:16pm

Reply to cary

I like the vivid descriptions of spring and growth in your epistolary poem, which gave me a sense of hope. The accompanying photos have a real sense of beauty being close-up, highlighting the details, contours and textures.

Dear shoots of Spring.

– I like the immediacy of this line, as for me it reflects the pace at which spring and new growth can appear.

I enjoyed reading the list of plants and flowers. I liked the way they are specified, and have their own presence. I also like the way some can be seen to have comforting properties, which further highlights the nurturing nature of spring.

Life greens through your veins,
unburdened, unselfconcious.

– I like how the use of colour here could be seen to provide an alternative slant, with green running through the veins of spring, as a strong visual metaphor.

i am trying:

To listen?

To be present.

– For me the italicisation of the i, and indentation of To be present, highlight their immediacy. I also like how spring could be both eternal and youthful in nature due to the new occurrence of the season, and accompanying sense of renewal.

To be?

To be glad.

– I see these indented lines as call in response in nature – replying to the i.

To rejoice, like Demeter:

– Thanks for introducing me to Demeter – for me this is a powerful ending.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 12:42pm

Reply to Tracy Holtham

Thanks for this. And you’re welcome. It never ceases to amaze me how many different stories humans have told across the world and through time in response to the cycles of the seasons.

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 11:41am

Reply to cary

i really appreciate the personal nature here… “forgetting to let you be” especially resonated with me. the list feels right as well as the final questions and responses!

Artist

Kadie Kelly

19 March 2021 4:36pm

Can the sketch entry #3 be like found poetry or erasure poetry? I see the mention of words, so it doesn’t have to be absent of text, correct?

Artist

Tracy Holtham

19 March 2021 10:04pm

Warm up Prompt:

Why the creative endeavours I saw so clearly in my head from a young age have not come true so far

Dear Creative Epiphany

You are a precious token trapped within the enclosure of my heart. I remember when we first met – I was in single figures, and I’d been taken to the cinema to see The Wizard of Oz. I remember the cinema feeling relatively empty (maybe because I was taken during the day?). My heart felt a deep sense of relief and acknowledgement at what had occurred. Towards the end of the film, I had this wholly enveloping sense that my life purpose was to find my way out and entertain. That somehow Dorothy’s story led me to my own narrative. I remember sensing these strong feelings, yet I was small and didn’t know either how to contain or release them. I was skipping lightly through abeyance. I’d been given ‘The Answer,’ and you provided me with the space and time to re-live these feelings every instance I thought of you.

You are my longest and closest friend and ally. I cherish you unconditionally, and have devoted my life to trying to understand the wonderment that was bestowed upon me. As the red velvet curtains were released and the cinema became re-illuminated, I knew I would hold you continually. You have always guided me, yet I feel like I need to apologise. You gave me complete clarity, yet I didn’t and haven’t known how to treasure it, because my desires weren’t visible in the Outside World. So I kept you secretly, hoping I would sense the wonder in daylight. I am ever hopeful the reason you came will be delivered to my core. Thank you for bringing grace and knowledge to my young spirit. I trust I can honour you in my adult life. I have never turned my heart away from hope.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 12:59pm

Reply to Tracy Holtham

I love this line, hoping I would sense the wonder in daylight
for me, there’s this lovely interplay between the interior of the cinema and the Outside World, between the dark of the cinema and the sources of light. So that wonder in daylight does double or even triple the work: is the wonder to be found in the outside daylight world – or – in the daylight itself – or – for what the light might yet make visible: your desires? It all works.
there’s an almost magical dreamlike quality – it could be a love letter to cinema and yet this is so much more intimately personal.
And it occurs that it’s so fitting for the wizard of oz too – which itself is built on the stark visual contrast between Kansas and Oz. Which takes me right back to your opening line which then resonates with the hope that ”the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true”

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 11:50am

Reply to Tracy Holtham

“You are a precious token trapped within the enclosure of my heart.”
“I have never turned my heart away from hope.”

first and last lines’ focus on heart — air-filled chest full of creativity like anxious energy waiting to be released. the cinema is filled with memory in a way that i too am there. wondering if there is an opportunity for more here — connections to creativity and this fertile birth-place of creativity.

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 1:37pm

Reply to Tracy Holtham

I love how you honor your creative self and how you doubt that you have given it what it deserves even though you are creating through your epistle. Your “friend and ally” seems to be the best kind of friend and ally, showing you the way and stepping back to let you shine. A shy sprite happy to live within you. I also love how you reference The Wizard of Oz since it is a story of looking for something you already possess.

Artist

Tracy Holtham

19 March 2021 10:08pm

Epistolary Poem

Dear Love

I’m ashamed to say that sometimes I have wondered whether you are fictional. I see you touch and honour the lives of others, yet somehow, I feel I am emotionally bypassed. I hope you don’t mind me writing with such candour. I thought it was time I was wholly honest with you, as I feel this may support a shift of significance in my own mind, as to the reality of this statement.

I know that when I was born, there was love. I could feel it in the eyes of others as they smiled in my direction. I could just-about see it when I surpassed conditional expectations put upon me.

Then it started to wane. I began to see love less, or see it through mist, or miss it sometimes, until I realised I had not seen it at all for an extended mass of time.

And now I find myself here. Numb. Frozen. Bewildered. Scathing. I wholeheartedly wanted to embrace you, but I felt rejected. This could be my own projection – if this is the case I apologise.

My subconscious started to find ways to obscure or obstruct the eyesight of others so I could protect the pain I was feelings. What else could I do with it? It had become part of me, so I had no choice but to hold it near and treat it as if it were me.

Was it me? Eyes then started to look elsewhere, look to the side, look behind me, look too much, or not look at all. I stopped wanting to be seen.

My internality sourced building materials set to creating heights with stone and will. I was oblivious to this hardening.

I’ve probably become unbalanced on this tightrope of words, yet I feel it’s important to clear the entanglement between my own eyes right now. I’d like our energy to coincide in parallel again, so that you can become we.

Yours

T

Artist

Kadie Kelly

20 March 2021 11:05pm

Reply to Tracy Holtham

Hi Tracy,

I can relate to this letter. Acceptance of what is resonates powerfully with me.

I noticed you shifted away from addressing love as you to it here, which took me out of imagining talking directly to love:
I know that when I was born, there was love. I could feel it in the eyes of others as they smiled in my direction. I could just-about see it when I surpassed conditional expectations put upon me.

I want to suggest keeping it to love.

But I also really got into the emotion in the part I put in bold, the way you wrote it. I think the reason is is because it became multi-sensory there – feel, then see right next to each other. I like that.

I love how you are open – and sharing and unsure. And inviting, believing love to come present, taking responsibility for hardening.

Artist

carli toliver

21 March 2021 3:39pm

Reply to Tracy Holtham

I found it interesting in your letter how you begin with you (the writer) seeing love and then there is a shift with others seeing (or not seeing) you. I felt the opposition between being the one who sees and being seen. And because “sight” plays such a part in this letter to Love it made me reflect on how much seeing/being seen has to do with Love. Some of my favorite lines: I’ve probably become unbalanced on this tightrope of words and My internality sourced building materials set to creating heights with stone and will. I was oblivious to this hardening. I could relate to this in particular, very much.
I feel like your letter reads very well as an Open Letter and can speak for many.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 1:17pm

Reply to carli toliver

Like, Carli, I found the relationship between seeing (or not) and being seen (or not) interesting to think about in relation to Love.
Thoughts about sight in turn got me thinking about how in English by way of Greek, then French, we call the center of the eye, “the pupil” – because we can see the reflection of the self in the eye of another.

The yours at the end is a nice touch.

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 11:58am

Reply to Tracy Holtham

“I feel I am emotionally bypassed. I hope you don’t mind me writing with such candour. I thought it was time I was wholly honest with you, as I feel this may support a shift of significance in my own mind, as to the reality of this statement.”

this really set the tone… a confrontation of sorts.

“surpassed conditional expectations put upon me.” — a heavy moment…
“an extended mass of time.” — more heaviness.
“I stopped wanting to be seen.”

“My internality sourced building materials set to creating heights with stone and will. I was oblivious to this hardening.”
— so exciting to see this heaviness personified… coming together to build walls, but could it also become infrastructure or foundation?

“I’d like our energy to coincide in parallel again, so that you can become we.”
the connection… and back and forth of you and us/we is powerful. “tightrope!” — perhaps this tension can be played up even more?

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 1:46pm

Reply to Tracy Holtham

I love how you open by exposing yourself to love right away “I feel I am emotionally bypassed” and then you speak of shutting yourself away “My subconscious started to find ways to obscure or obstruct the eyesight of others so I could protect the pain I was feeling” and finishing with a wish, a request to come to terms with love so “that you can become we”
I also love how you use sight as metaphor, your eyes what you see, eyes on you and then away and not wanting to be seen after that rejection, what others can’t see, the “entanglement between” your eyes. Lots of great places to sit while reading this.

Artist

Tracy Holtham

19 March 2021 10:20pm

*Ongoing journal assignment weekly “obsession.”

Working From Home Evening Routine

I’m really interested in routine setting, sometimes as an observer, to see the range of possibilities. I used to think when I was younger “What do people do on a Sunday?” Since lockdown this has morphed into “What do people do after working from home in the evening?” How is the boundary set between work and the rest of our lives right now? Is it a wish, or can it be a reality?

So I’ve been looking at what people do to re-set after work. This is what I’ve found so far:

Packing away work desk / laptop / any associated items
Overview of the day
To do list for tomorrow
Going for a walk
Having a shower / bath
Cooking
Reading
Laying out clothes for the next day
Listening to a podcast
Listening to music
Spending time with a partner or family
Spending time alone
Video calls
Exercise
Meal prep for the next day
Turning down the lights
Craft
Working on a side hustle
Working on passion projects
Films
Netflix
Turning lights down or off
Lighting candles
Putting on a diffuser
Online shopping
Going to the supermarket
Going for a drive
Computer games
Journaling
Gratitude diary
Meditation
Mindful Breathing

I’m interested in what may have been undertaken prior to this pandemic, and what is new due to lockdown. I wonder how activities differ across the world, or how a child’s routine may have changed due to learning from home.

Artist

Kadie Kelly

20 March 2021 11:18pm

Reply to Tracy Holtham

In response to this, I see a pattern developing the last few weeks for me and my partner for Saturdays.

Snuggles, coffee, morning pages (20 minutes), emotions (time to connect with them, talk, cry), breakfast, swim, lunch, dessert, creative stuff, dinner, watch something.

I don’t think we felt as much need to have the intentional emotional time outside of lock down.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 1:21pm

Reply to Tracy Holtham

Thanks for sharing this process and list.
The way the pandemic has blurred different kinds of boundaries for so many is fascinating.

Artist

carli toliver

19 March 2021 10:43pm

Sorry for the later post, attached is my epistolary poem. It’s definitely a draft and needs work – but is a letter to my younger self. Am looking forward to reading the letters this from this week!

Epistolary Poem.pdf

Artist

Kadie Kelly

20 March 2021 11:11pm

Reply to carli toliver

Hi Carli, I like the sense I got from your letter to your younger self that you are still on a team with her. You are acknowledging the dream she created as alive.
I was a little lost on the ZORA part.

Artist

Tracy Holtham

21 March 2021 10:57pm

Reply to carli toliver

I can relate to the thoughts around moving to a city, and viewing the experience from the other side over time.

Dearest 26,

I return to you tonight.

– For me, these are powerful introductory lines as they drew me in, and I wanted to find out more.

I’m writing from a dream place you imagined into being thirteen years ago.
– I like the manifested quality of this.

Do I dare live in some far flung little town, a dog my only company, if it means I can shuffle across wood floors, wrapped in my robe to coffee, have time for a hot breakfast and in return? The day stretched out before me to write.

– I can imagine this so clearly and can relate to the desire for time and solace for creativity. For me, the pace within these lines highlights the journey of working towards a dream, and the sense of relief or momentary pause that can occur when this point arrives.

I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be here, but I’m glad we made it.

– I connected to this line, and am grateful for the reminder that sometimes where we stand now, was once a dream to be realised.

Artist

cary

22 March 2021 1:58pm

Reply to carli toliver

This is such a wonderful use of and personal reflection of/on that quote. It’s great to see familiar lines framed in this context.
And the reference to the river had me then thinking of the lines about “ships at a distance”… “come in with tide” that precede it.
I like too how Zora is presented like a voice in a play, like a character with you (and your younger self) on an appropriate stage.
Lovely stuff.

Prof

j o h n r o s

23 March 2021 12:04pm

Reply to carli toliver

“dearest 26”! such a good way to start!
this foreshadowy recollection is physical. we are in both places at once!

i feel like i am hovering — watching these action play out. there are deep roots which bring satisfaction to the reader… and wonderment to the protagonist.

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 2:00pm

Reply to carli toliver

I love how you are writing to your younger self as a way to comfort the angst out of the dream. You are there, but not in that place and its okay. You are in the right place the one the dream was made for.

“New York was simply one line item in this accounting of dream; in truth it was the easier sell. Most can support the romance and courage impelled by New York. But solitude and oddity for a woman seemed pitiable; especially when one does not have the full weight of Manhattan as The Reason. And thirteen years ago, that was your deeper fear”

Artist

Kadie Kelly

20 March 2021 12:42am

Refusal to actualize.
Refusal:

to see self
to awaken
to see self in the mirror

Prof

Anastacia-Renee

20 March 2021 12:47am

WOW! These epistolary poems and prompt responses plus your responses on responses is wonderful. It is giving me Friday night LIFE! (As my kids would say). Please post all the letters you choose! My weekend question for you regarding the epistolary poems is:
If you knew for certain your letters would be published in the NYC times, what would you change about your pieces (if anything)? OR If you knew that the words you wrote carried a sort of magic, what else would you add? Below a few links to “Open Letters.”

https://sites.google.com/a/ucdavis.edu/ms-taylor/text-set-link/the-collected-poems-of-langston-hughes-open-letter-to-the-south

https://www.pw.org/content/a_letter_from_a_black_woman_in_publishing_on_the_industrys_cruel_hypocritical_insistence

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/150542/dear-white-america

https://ohandreagibson.tumblr.com/A%20letter%20to%20my%20dog%20exploring%20the%20human%20condition

More examples to share coming!

Artist

Jeannine Bardo

23 March 2021 1:08pm

Sorry for the late Epistle. Assignment #3

Dear Racism.docx

Artist

Kadie Kelly

24 March 2021 9:13pm

Reply to Jeannine Bardo

Hi Jeannine,

I read this yesterday and what stuck with me to today is the lymph pocket parts.

The narrator acknowledging how insidious racism is, after pointing out the ways in which racism is like a drug, for other people. The fear that it is also hiding inside of the narrator is a powerful way to end that creates space for further self-examination, as the reader.