You're a Poet and You Might Not Even Know It

A 30 Day Poetry Challenge for April — join the party!

Let Me Tell You a Little Story

I never thought I was a poet. In fact, I thought poets were a little uppity. You know — using language that nobody else really understands just to look smart.

But around 2017, I was filled with all sorts of creative angst. I knew I wanted to write, but would always struggle to actually finish anything. I had no direction and it was agonizing.

I told this whole story in a podcast episode last year if you want to give it a listen, but the short of it is that I asked God for a little direction and he told me to write a poem a day for a year. And I thought that sounded nuts, and silly, and to be honest, a little like a waste of time. Because — who reads and writes poetry anymore?

But I bought a journal. And I filled it. And then I bought another journal, and filled that too. And I found, day after day, that I began to look forward to my poetry habit. It was refreshing, it was liberating, and it gave me a creative outlet that was joyfully bite-sized.

I discovered that I had become a poet, but in my own right. The type that didn’t care about sounding smart but who cared about getting the feeling of a single moment just right. I didn’t follow any rules. I hardly ever rhymed. A large handful of the poems I wrote were terrible, but a couple were pretty good. And I loved every single one of them.

So, you could say I’m a poetry convert.

Why April is One of the Best Months

April is National Poetry Month. I used to make a huge deal of it in my classroom. I loved teaching fifth grade boys that poetry is actually cool and rebellious. We’d do a Poetry Cafe Night at the end of the month and kids would read original poetry and we’d all drink hot cocoa and parents would clap outrageously loud and the whole thing was BALLER.

Well, I want to make a huge deal of here in this community, too. That’s why I’m hosting a 30 Days of Poetry Challenge for the month of April. The ideas is that it will be a month-long poetry party online, where we'll challenge ourselves to write a poem a day — and celebrate our love for poetry within a fun and creative community!

How it Will Work:

With the guidance of a 30 Days of Poetry Challenge Calendar, we'll be inspired to write one poem each day of April on a variety of topics and in a variety of styles. You'll have access to our private Facebook group, where I'll be posting some of my all-time favorite poems/teaching tips/encouragement for you. On Fridays, you'll be invited to share your favorite poem from the week. And at the end of month, we'll celebrate with a live, virtual poetry slam event.

And, oh yeah — there will be prizes!

RSVP today to get:

• Your 30 Days of Poetry Challenge Calendar

• All-inclusive access to our private Facebook group — (aka The Poetry Party Place)

• A jumpstart on your most creative month YET

I’ve already got some people who’ve said yes and joined the challenge & community, but I want this to be HUGE. So come on, sign up! It will likely take you between 5 - 15 minutes a day. And I KNOW it will be more worthwhile than spending that time scrolling Instagram.

Oh, and P.S…invite all your friends!

Click right here to RSVP. Can’t WAIT to do this with you.