I took courses on poetry in college a few years back but hadn't thought too much about being a poet because I knew I wanted to write prose fiction. That is... until I discovered and fell in love with verse novels like Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate, Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga, and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai.
The year 2020 was tough on a lot of people, me included, so when it came time to think about the new year, 2021, I decided to keep my resolution(s) simple but worthwhile. This is when I came up with my "year of poetry" goal. I figured I wanted to write a verse novel, like the ones I'd read, but I did some other things as part of my year of poetry. I spent the past year reading as many Middle Grade verse novels as I could, and I started a poetry blog---a place where I can practice short poetry. I professionally published two poems this year, one of which was read from outer space. (lol) I also attended several poetry readings (mostly virtually) and attended writing workshops, including one about writing and revising Middle Grade verse novels with the amazing Rajani LaRocca (author of the verse novel Red, White, and Whole) and Chris Baron (author of verse novels All of Me and The Magical Imperfect)! I've made a lot of New Year's resolutions in my day, but I think this is one I will always remember. Maybe because it was so open? Maybe because I did so many cool things related to poetry? Either way, I finally consider myself a poet! I call that a successful resolution. What resolutions have you made? What resolutions will you be making for next year?
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