After a great four year run of Aprils filled with favorite poems and corresponding essays, I'm taking a year off. I wish this wasn't the case, but sometimes life's complications have a way of interrupting the best laid plans. I have every intention of continuing with the blog next year. In fact, I'm exploring the option of converting the blog from an annual National Poetry Month format to two featured posts a month throughout the year. This type of change would allow me to deliver the same volume of content, but in a spaced out manner, which is far more conducive to a person with a busy schedule. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on when this new format will roll out. Thank you for your continued support, comments, interactions, and readership!
All the best,
Matt
6 comments:
Thank you for your update. I will recognize poetry month this year by reading your past blog entries and awaiting your future developments.
I'm disappointed that you're not posting this April, but happy to hear that you do plan to continue the blog in the future. Love the idea of a twice-monthly format. I look forward to reading your future posts whenever you resume, and thanks so much for the past ones...have really enjoyed them!
Hello Matthew,
I am sitting here with my sweet mother-in-law who's husband of 65 years passed away ten days ago. Ed Hirsch was a good friend of theirs (long story), but she had just finished telling me that Ed had dedicated a reading of "Oceans of Grass" to her. I googled it and your blog came up. I read it aloud and she wept.
So you see how just a simple blog, out of nowhere, can touch someone.
Thank you,
Andi Alexander Pfitsch
Andi,
I'm not sure where to begin, so I'll start here: I'm so sorry to hear about your family's loss. The word "awesome" gets tossed around without much thought these days, but when I read your comment the first thing I thought was how awesome a relationship your mother-in-law and father-in-law must have forged over 65 years of marriage. I know your mother-in-law's pain must be immense, but I'm glad that you were able to bring her some solace with my blog.
Ed Hirsch is my poetry idol and his "Poet's Choice" columns in the Washington Post are my inspiration for this blog. He brought poetry to the masses with "How To Read A Poem" and his other books. I guess I figured I could, in some small way, try to pick up where Ed Hirsch had left off in the campaign to bring poetry into our lives on a daily basis.
Andi, the story you shared in your comment today is the exact reason that I started this blog years ago, and you (and your mother-in-law) have given me a great gift. You've inspired me to continue with the blog in the future. As you said, "a simple blog, out of nowhere, can tough someone."
All my best,
Matt
*I'm guilty of not proofreading that last comment...I meant it to say "touch" not "tough."
Hope that you're able to come back next year!
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