Reading · Cathy Warner Creative

Dear Ones,

Those of you who have written with me before received an email invitation a few weeks ago to participate in a poetry project for National Poetry Month, which is April.

Now that April is here, I want to invite all of you in my Substack community to participate and/or to spread the word to friends interested in poetry, as well as other writing and creative arts. For me writing and photography are life giving and necessary, especially in response to national, world, and more personal events that can fill me with anxiety, and leave me wondering what I can possibly do to make a difference in the face of it all.

In my experience, creating in community is much more powerful than doing so alone, and it feels like the time is right for another group project. So, what is that I’m doing? I’m providing 30 images, one for each day of the month as a prompt for your poetry, or other creative endeavor. You’ll find those images below.*

During the month of May, I’ll be inviting you to send me some of the poetry, short prose, or other creations you’ve crafted in response during the month of April to be included in an anthology paired with the full-color photos that inspired the work. And yes, there will be multiple poems to accompany a single photo. It’s really fun to see different perspectives to the same prompt. In June I will be self-publishing More Poemographs for Peace on Amazon (and Lulu for those who choose not to purchase from Amazon). All proceeds from books sales will be donated to World Central Kitchen’s Middle East relief efforts, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

My first anthology, Viral Verse: Poetry of the Pandemic, came into existence in 2020 when my National Poetry month prompts morphed into 47 days of prompts after the corona virus cloistered us at home in mid-March filled us with heightened worry. It was such a gift in those early days of the pandemic to write with others and share that uncertain and scary time together.

I published the first Poemographs for Peace in 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine and proceeds from that book were donated to World Central Kitchen and the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Now that we’re embroiled in another war, and the erosion of so many tenets of our democracy, I’m reaching again for creative community as ballast and inspiration.

A highlight of publishing the anthologies for me has been to give community poets who wouldn’t otherwise consider sending their poems “into the world” the opportunity to see their words in print, sometimes for the very first time, and to celebrate and showcase multiple voices alongside one another.

My schedule for April is very full, so rather than sending a daily prompt, I’m providing all 30 photos at once and am inviting you to write at your own pace and inspiration, whether that’s writing a poem a day for all 30 poems, or writing to a single image that speaks to you.

I hope you’ll join me.