Behind the Scenes of a Poem

published poem reveal + behind the scenes + craft tip

hello everyone! i’m testing out a new substack series where I share a poem of mine that was published in a book or literary magazine. In this series I share the story behind the poem, its inspiration, and the techniques + intention I used to complete it. I spent many years struggling through wondering on how to submit my poetry for publication, and now it’s happening! Mentoring other writers is the intention of these posts . This is for the lovers of poetry, its readers and writers. It’s also for those who want to gain craft tips and learn how to get their works published.

During the summer of 2023 I had the pleasure of attending a series of poetry workshops centered on writing about the body. The series was organized and hosted by Nicole Callihan in collaboration with Poetry Well. We listened to published poets discuss the body in relationship to desire, the mind, and gender and wrote from prompts inspired by these conversations. How I loved it! I was honored to have sat at the foot of other poets and create a piece that is now published in the anthology entitled Braving the Body printed through Small Harbor Publishing.

The poem I wrote is entitled “hence this worn lament.” It is about my body and the spiral of growth I face with rejecting, accepting, and having a makeshift peace with it while living in a society that continuously tries to exploit my labor and personhood while also telling me my body is too much and/or imperfectly made.

---

---