SOLSC 31: Last Slice of the Month

This month of slices has felt harder than usual. I’ve missed a couple of days without eve realizing it. That’s partly because I’ve been working on a big freelance project that’s taken up a lot of time, but has included a lot of fascinating reading about changes in book publishing over the past 25 years. Partly because of that, I haven’t been as diligent in reading and commenting on others’ posts.

            April brings the poem-a-day challenge, which I participated in for the first time last year. That time I used a poem format new to me: the golden shovel. This format I learned about from the New York Times, which, during the pandemic, published the “At Home” section every Sunday offering a variety of activities, recipes, streaming or TV, and puzzles. In early April it suggested writing poetry using the golden shovel format, but instead of being based on a line of poetry, it proposed using New York Times headlines.

            I’ve never thought of myself as a poet, but the golden shovel format using newspaper headlines was energizing and fun. I think I will try it again this year. Should I focus on war in Ukraine headlines, or avoid them? We’ll see how things work out.

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I’m participating in the 15th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 31 of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!