Poetry

April is National Poetry Month, so I’m going to pretend that’s the reason I’ve lately been reading and posting a lot of poetry on my Tumblr. Actually it’s a happy coincidence. I’ve rediscovered poetry, as I do every few years, and this spring I’m making more of an effort to share about the books I read. Thus, quotes on my Tumblr.

Poetry can share big ideas in a concentrated space, making it especially quotable. Quick & intense suit my mood right now.

I found poets through a mix of sources, one big one being a search for queer erotic work in my library system–leading to the discovery of writers like Natalie Diaz and Danez Smith. Sharon Olds has been on my to-read pile for years and I was finally inspired to get into the copy of The Gold Cell that I picked up at a library book sale back in 2017 or so. It was worth the wait.

Overall, the pieces that stick out most to me–and thus the ones that get most quoted–are on sex, spirituality, and sadness. Plus the occasional parody; one of the most recent posts in my “poetry” Tumblr tag is on Beowulf retold by Bertie Wooster, for reasons that really do make sense in context.