on community

second poetry for palestine workshop linked inside

over the past year, i’ve felt social media change and my priorities shift.

in this current moment, my accounts aren’t growing like they used to. but as someone who finds meaning in everything, it’s made me think–what’s the point of continuous exponential growth if i feel disconnected?

sure it’s great for brand deals, something good to tell publishers as i think about pitching my next book.

but if my accounts are growing because of one post, and then none of these new people ever see my posts again–

if a poet falls in the forest and no one is there to hear them, do they make a sound?

if every time i post something that reflects my values (e.g. supporting the LGBTQ+ community, or Palestine, or Black Lives Matter) people unfollow–something isn’t clicking.

would i rather have hundreds of thousands of followers i know nothing about, who know nothing about me, or a community of 100 people i get to know, get to see and chat with regularly?

the first poetry for Palestine workshop felt like a real shift for me. i felt like i found my people. people with the same values, with the same interests, people who would show up to the same kind of workshop that i would show up to.

i was astonished at how good the poems that were written in five minutes were.

we cried, we laughed, it felt like real alchemy.

and we raised over $1,000 canadian dollars for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

all that’s to say, i’m hosting another workshop. i’m finding new poems from Palestinian poets to share and will be coming up with new prompts if you attended the first one and want to come again.

poetry workshop for palestine | thursday, june 13th at 7 pm ET on zoom

taking it one workshop at a time, but i would love to do a few each month. i’m thinking poetry for pride, poetry for rage (i want to scream into pillows and dance around in an unhinged way), poetry for whatever feels right in the moment.

i’ve been craving more community space that feels close and real and maybe this is one way to create that.

thanks for being here.

xoxo
m