Dear Maggie, thank you for the peptalk. As I was reading it, I was reminded of a David Whyte quote: “Poetry is language against which you have no defenses.” So I can and does matter.
I was also reminded of Seamus Heaney’s poem, “Digging”. It starts:
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat, pen, rest; snug as a gun.
I won’t analyze the whole poem here but in it I think he’s really talking about two things: using a pen to support Irish independence but also using a pen because that is a tool that he has. As writers the pen is the tool that we have at a time when we all have to do our own part, even if it’s writing poetry. Perhaps especially if it’s writing poetry.
Thanks for this Maggie. The Brecht quote speaks to me so deeply. Makes me feel a little less helpless and a little more a part of the collective consciousness.
Thank you for this. I can only speak for me....there's an old Texas saying, "I've got a gun in one hand and a bottle of aspirin in the other." I'm good with the aspirin today... :)
I so love this, Maggie, and as someone who writes and posts a poem a day (not necessarily good, but true, as Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer says), I think this daily. But oh, you answered your own question that prompted the peptalk, especially with a good line likem "It’s hard to write, feeling like you’re bringing a pen to a gunfight." Turns out the pen (or the fingers typing) is one of the best gizmos invented for times like these. And your posts help tremendously, too. Thank you!
Thank you for this Maggie! It’s exactly what I needed to hear. I have been questioning all the time I spend painting & journaling and wanted to encourage others to do the same- but I’ve been feeling insecure that it’s not doing anything actually productive. But you are right, these 3 quotes you share are so true, there will always be singing, there will always be art, there will always be poetry… in fact in these dark times I look to the people who are producing those magical things for peace, inspiration and change ❤️
Yes to all of this wisdom and truth. Thank you, Maggie.
Here's one of my favorites from William Carlos Williams: "It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die every day for lack of what is found there."
Yes to writing more poems and reading more poems out loud to everyone. Poetry heals on infinite levels.
I needed to hear this today. I have been thinking lately, what do I have to offer the poetry community, why don’t I just let the professionals write the words, but then I stop, breathe and realize I was meant for this too. I hang on your words and appreciate the time you take to reach out to all of us that feel we aren’t enough.
Dear Maggie, thank you for the peptalk. As I was reading it, I was reminded of a David Whyte quote: “Poetry is language against which you have no defenses.” So I can and does matter.
I was also reminded of Seamus Heaney’s poem, “Digging”. It starts:
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat, pen, rest; snug as a gun.
I won’t analyze the whole poem here but in it I think he’s really talking about two things: using a pen to support Irish independence but also using a pen because that is a tool that he has. As writers the pen is the tool that we have at a time when we all have to do our own part, even if it’s writing poetry. Perhaps especially if it’s writing poetry.
“The tool that he has.” Yes. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Maggie. Exactly what I needed to read, at just the right time.
❤️
That quote from Brecht … wow. Thank you for writing.
I think about it often!
Oh how I relate to having a hard time writing right now and how I appreciate you calling us to it anyway, reminding us why. Thank you.
Thanks, Barb.
Thanks for this Maggie. The Brecht quote speaks to me so deeply. Makes me feel a little less helpless and a little more a part of the collective consciousness.
Yes yes yes
Thank you for this. I can only speak for me....there's an old Texas saying, "I've got a gun in one hand and a bottle of aspirin in the other." I'm good with the aspirin today... :)
Needed this. Thank you, Maggie. <3
Love from here, Sari ❤️
Back at you, Maggie. 😘
I so love this, Maggie, and as someone who writes and posts a poem a day (not necessarily good, but true, as Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer says), I think this daily. But oh, you answered your own question that prompted the peptalk, especially with a good line likem "It’s hard to write, feeling like you’re bringing a pen to a gunfight." Turns out the pen (or the fingers typing) is one of the best gizmos invented for times like these. And your posts help tremendously, too. Thank you!
I think of the message on Woody Guthrie’s guitar, “This machine kills fascists.”
Exactly! Thanks again!
Thank you for this Maggie! It’s exactly what I needed to hear. I have been questioning all the time I spend painting & journaling and wanted to encourage others to do the same- but I’ve been feeling insecure that it’s not doing anything actually productive. But you are right, these 3 quotes you share are so true, there will always be singing, there will always be art, there will always be poetry… in fact in these dark times I look to the people who are producing those magical things for peace, inspiration and change ❤️
❤️❤️❤️
Yes to all of this wisdom and truth. Thank you, Maggie.
Here's one of my favorites from William Carlos Williams: "It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die every day for lack of what is found there."
Yes to writing more poems and reading more poems out loud to everyone. Poetry heals on infinite levels.
Yes yes yes, Cin. Thank you. Love from Ohio!
I needed to hear this today. I have been thinking lately, what do I have to offer the poetry community, why don’t I just let the professionals write the words, but then I stop, breathe and realize I was meant for this too. I hang on your words and appreciate the time you take to reach out to all of us that feel we aren’t enough.
Kevin, you—and your words—are plenty. Onward!