Create Art Podcast

National Poetry Writing Month (also known as NaPoWriMo) is a creative writing project held annually in April in which participants attempt to write a poem each day for one month. NaPoWriMo coincides with National Poetry Month in the United States of America and Canada.

This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project.

I started writing poetry in 1988 after I had been exposed to T.S. Elliot in my honors English class in high school. In 1992 I started reading my poetry publicly at Espresso Europia Coffee Shop in Abilene Tx while I was in the United States Air Force. While living in Rockford Illinois I published my first book of poetry Throwing Yourself at the Ground and Missing in 2007 followed by Postcards From Someone You Don't Know in 2008 Wisdom From the Sack in 2010 and Shaving Crop Circles In My Chest Hair in 2017. You can get copies of all of these books in my merch section. In 2020 I started publishing my podcast version of the challenge and those can be viewed here for 2020 and here for 2021.

For 2023 I am not going to be just writing poems in April, I will be writing poems all year round. Also, since I will be writing all year round, I am using a different source for my prompts. There is a blog called Think Written and you can find it here. I will also be performing these works at Katora Coffee House here in Fredericksburg Virginia on their Friday Night Snaps Open Mic Poetry reading. Some of the podcast episodes you will hear will be a live recording of me reading the poem to a live audience, other times I will be reading it in the comfort of my home studio. I do plan on posting my work to the NaPoWriMo site and interacting with the poets there and see if they want to read their work on this podcast.

Misfits: How it feels when you don’t belong in a group of others  

The Wind Gets Cold Out Here 

11 Jan 2023 

Mancave 

It was a few years back during a thanksgiving meal 

Seated with over 100 folks in uniform 

Many of them my clients 

It was a work function, attendance was strongly recommended 

So, walking through the food line they set up 

Making nice with everyone  

Sat with a group of clients 

And just like that, as happens in dinner tables all across America 

Someone was making cracks at Michelle Obama 

Saying how they shouldn’t let moneys wear such nice clothes 

And no, it wasn’t the drunk racist uncle that no one listens to 

It was a white college educated professional woman 

Who happened to be in uniform 

Who happened to be my client 

Who happened to be looking for work with the Feds 

Excusing myself 

Wasn’t going to try and bash my head against the wall 

As others in the group laughed along 

Guess who she doesn’t work for 

And the next line I was going to write 

Was going to have been 

Guess who got blackballed 

But then I thought 

Am I that far removed from them 

I took the next job 

After I lost three clients in 6 months 

One to cancer, who wouldn’t admit defeat 

One to a hold-up gone wrong on his last day of duty in front of his daughter 

One who decided to take a long walk into a lake 

I took that job to get away  

To work with those that were told 

To put kids in cages 

And now their conscious got them better of them 

And they were offing themselves in droves 

The job was to make them feel better  

And I get how they got into this mess 

They had no future 

No hope to achieve anything better 

So, they signed themselves over 

To uphold the law 

And there I am, giving aid and comfort 

To someone’s enemy 

To someone’s nightmare 

Will I be tried for war crimes 

When it is my turn to cross over 

Comforting those who do the things  

That we won’t do 

Who we rage against 

Who are following orders 

I have empathy for them 

But I’ll never be in their club 

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to find new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

National Poetry Writing Month (also known as NaPoWriMo) is a creative writing project held annually in April in which participants attempt to write a poem each day for one month. NaPoWriMo coincides with National Poetry Month in the United States of America and Canada.

This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project.

I started writing poetry in 1988 after I had been exposed to T.S. Elliot in my honors English class in high school. In 1992 I started reading my poetry publicly at Espresso Europia Coffee Shop in Abilene Tx while I was in the United States Air Force. While living in Rockford Illinois I published my first book of poetry Throwing Yourself at the Ground and Missing in 2007 followed by Postcards From Someone You Don't Know in 2008 Wisdom From the Sack in 2010 and Shaving Crop Circles In My Chest Hair in 2017. You can get copies of all of these books in my merch section. In 2020 I started publishing my podcast version of the challenge and those can be viewed here for 2020 and here for 2021.

For 2023 I am not going to be just writing poems in April, I will be writing poems all year round. Also, since I will be writing all year round, I am using a different source for my prompts. There is a blog called Think Written and you can find it here. I will also be performing these works at Katora Coffee House here in Fredericksburg Virginia on their Friday Night Snaps Open Mic Poetry reading. Some of the podcast episodes you will hear will be a live recording of me reading the poem to a live audience, other times I will be reading it in the comfort of my home studio. I do plan on posting my work to the NaPoWriMo site and interacting with the poets there and see if they want to read their work on this podcast.

The Untouchable: Something that will always be out of reach

Penetration

1 Jan 23, 2013

I look into your eyes

Those pools of blue are so like mine

Every morning I ask the same question

Wanting to know what is going on behind the window

Your voice repeats things that your mother was too young to know about

There was no way you would have heard those words and phrases from me

I’ve done my best to try and forget the person who originally uttered them

But you can pick her out of a crowded picture from 1979

I want to save you the anguish she knew and caused

I couldn’t save her in the end

And it was a tragic end

Relying on everything being provided by

The one who molested your children

Cheated on you with the church secretary

Demanded that we all attend that church 5 times a week

Knowing what we knew

Being the embarrassment of the congregation

I’ve taught my child to say fuck you to the President

Put a middle finger up to the patriarchy and systemic racism

When they try to grab her by the pussy

She knows that she is not to stop stabbing until the knife won’t come out of her attacker's chest, groin, brain, heart

She is to use the knives my mother chased my brother and I around the house with

Screaming that we were possessed, and she would be taking the demons from our souls

Even if it killed us

My daughter knows how to slay the demons of Diablo

And those who put on the skin of humans

She knows how to use her words to stab at my heart

My gift to her was anger

My gift to her was rage

She knows how to wield it

I have no need to interrogate the people she will bring to our house

Nor will I clean a rifle or a chainsaw in their presence

Unless I am actually doing lawn work

I have no need to intimidate in order to protect her

She can take care of herself if the task is too large

Then she knows when to bring me in, to finish

And here we are

After another screaming match with her mother

She is doing her best to look intimidating

Her frown flexed

Her gaze intense into my eyes

Her breath shallow and quick

And just as she cannot decipher my demeanor

She has no idea I am actually in control of the situation just by sitting here quietly

Motionlessly

Emotionlessly

She ponders how I can exude so much unfeeling, such detachment from humanity

She doesn’t know that I am scanning her for a crack

A chink in her armor that I helped forge

A way to see into her inner workings, her deep thoughts

The dreams she refuses to elaborate on

She won’t know until she reads this

And even that would be a stroke of luck

If she finds it and realizes it is about her

She’s a bit too much like her long dead grandmother

And I am ignorant of my obscure grandfather

So, there will be no repeating of N.N.B.

I wish a reflection my Mother of choice

For now, I will stand by

Looking deep into the eyes of my child

Attempting to peer into her soul

Attempting to steer her away from the paths we have generationally tread

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to find new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

Much like the Mercy episode, I discuss how I use mindfulness techniques to help me maintain focus and gain inspiration. In the job I have held for the last three years, my division is in charge of helping workers build their resilience, we use mindfulness to help with that. My wife gave me a box of cards for the holidays in 2022. I was puzzled because they were creativity cards and I thought, what the heck is this, I don't need them. Well, folks, I was wrong and I will attempt to do a card a week and record an episode about how I am utilizing the card I draw every week if you decide to pick up a deck and do these let me know.

• Kickstart Creativity

Mindfulness: the quality or state of being mindful, the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis. also: such a state of awareness

• Every morning when you wake, before you check your phone, take a few mindful breaths. Write a few lines in your journal.

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to discover new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

National Poetry Writing Month (also known as NaPoWriMo) is a creative writing project held annually in April in which participants attempt to write a poem each day for one month. NaPoWriMo coincides with National Poetry Month in the United States of America and Canada.

This website is owned and operated by Maureen Thorson, a poet living in Washington, DC. Inspired by NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month), she started writing a poem a day for the month of April back in 2003, posting the poems on her blog. When other people started writing poems for April and posting them on their own blogs, Maureen linked to them. After a few years, so many people were doing NaPoWriMo that Maureen decided to launch an independent website for the project.

I started writing poetry in 1988 after I had been exposed to T.S. Elliot in my honors English class in high school. In 1992 I started reading my poetry publicly at Espresso Europia Coffee Shop in Abilene Tx while I was in the United States Air Force. While living in Rockford Illinois I published my first book of poetry Throwing Yourself at the Ground and Missing in 2007 followed by Postcards From Someone You Don't Know in 2008 Wisdom From the Sack in 2010 and Shaving Crop Circles In My Chest Hair in 2017. You can get copies of all of these books in my merch section. In 2020 I started publishing my podcast version of the challenge and those can be viewed here for 2020 and here for 2021.

For 2023 I am not going to be just writing poems in April, I will be writing poems all year round. Also, since I will be writing all year round, I am using a different source for my prompts. There is a blog called Think Written and you can find it here. I will also be performing these works at Katora Coffee House here in Fredericksburg Virginia on their Friday Night Snaps Open Mic Poetry reading. Some of the podcast episodes you will hear will be a live recording of me reading the poem to a live audience, other times I will be reading it in the comfort of my home studio. I do plan on posting my work to the NaPoWriMo site and interacting with the poets there and see if they want to read their work on this podcast.

No Prompt just write 

Perspective 

9 Jan 2023, 2103 

Mancave 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

It was the 2nd anniversary of those who send thoughts and prayers to gunshot victims 

And storm the Capitol 

And go to church on Sunday 

And say they are patriots 

And call people who jump when they hear a familiar crack in the air triggered snowflake libtards 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

That teacher was in critical condition 

That teacher was forgotten because of a football player who almost died on the field 

The shooting didn’t make the front page of a major newspaper 

The prayers all went to the millionaire athlete 

That teacher was probably underpaid 

Probably skipped a few meals to provide supplies  

For the kids in her class 

Probably never handled a handgun themself 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

The metal detectors were off that day 

The ones that children, Fucking Children had to walk through without protest 

Without thought as to why they had to  

As the lawgivers in congress celebrated the removal and requirement 

Of having to pass through the same detectors  

That their lackeys' actions caused to make the detectors necessary 

That’s true patriotism right there folks   

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

And now they are in custody 

And now they are given around-the-clock attention 

And the question is where does a 6-year-old gets a handgun  

And who taught the child to fire it 

And who taught the child to use it in anger 

And who taught the child  

Who do we hold responsible 

Who pays for the trauma of the ensuing lockdown 

Where kids accept what they are told 

Pretend you are dead, be quiet, and don’t move 

No matter how many shots are fired stay down 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

A 74-year-old man-child in his Florida resort 

Who instigated a riot 

Who stole top secret documents 

Who’s crimes have been revealed time and time again 

Sips his Diet Coke and munches on his big macs  

Inflames the weak-minded 

Love the ignorant 

Love the children, as long as they satisfy his carnal needs 

He walks free 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

How many days have gone by 

How many other teachers have been shot or assaulted 

How many other insurrections in other countries need to happen to satiate old men’s pride 

I stand here, doing all I can not to cry 

Here I stand a witness to a 14-year-old boy in a faraway land 

Being shot and strapped to the front of a jeep 

Paraded in front of his village as a warning 

Did it happen on January 6th, I can’t remember 

Should we just accept this horrid portrayal of groundhogs' day 

And relive another shooting every day 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

And on January 13th my children must practice their lockdown drill 

So that some inbred small dick asshat can clutch lustfully to his second amendment  

An amendment he probably doesn’t know by heart 

An amendment that doesn’t say what he thinks it says 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher on January 6th 

Let it sink in, let it permeate your brain 

A 6-year-old shot their teacher  

A 6-year-old shot  

A 6-year-old  

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to find new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

How can you add an element of mercy to your art? I discuss what my thoughts on mercy are for my artistic practice and being more mindful. My wife gave me a box of cards for the holidays in 2022. I was puzzled because they were creativity cards and I thought, what the heck is this, I don't need them. Well, folks, I was wrong and I will attempt to do a card a week and record an episode about how I am utilizing the card I draw every week if you decide to pick up a deck and do these let me know.

• Kickstart Creativity

Mercy compassion or forbearance (see FORBEARANCE sense 1) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power. Imprisonment rather than death imposed as a penalty for first-degree murder. A blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. A fortunate circumstance. compassionate treatment of those in distress.

• Reflect on how your creative work could bestow mercy or blessing upon yourself, someone else, or this broken world.

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to discover new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

Being kind to yourself will be reflected in your art. If we are too harsh on ourselves, how can we be kind to others? I am pushing myself to higher and more transparent levels. My wife gave me a box of cards for the holidays in 2022. I was puzzled because they were creativity cards and I thought, what the heck is this, I don't need them. Well, folks, I was wrong and I will attempt to do a card a week and record an episode about how I am utilizing the card I draw every week if you decide to pick up a deck and do these let me know.

• Kickstart Creativity

Kindness: the quality or state of being kind, a kind deed: FAVOR, archaic : AFFECTION

Love: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, an attraction based on sexual desire: affection and tenderness felt by lovers, affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests

Lovingkindness: tender and benevolent affection

As you practice extending love, do you feel your heart opening up to creativity? How? Why?

Reflect alone or in a group: What are some of the most moving pieces of art made in the name of love?

Meditate now:

May I be filled with loving kindness, may I feel safe from inner and outer dangers, may I be well in body and mind, and may I be at ease and happy.

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to discover new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

Many of us as artists and audiences have experiences injustice, but how can we use our art for justice? I will discuss what ways I can use my art for social justice and why we should. I am pushing myself to higher and more transparent levels. My wife gave me a box of cards for the holidays in 2022. I was puzzled because they were creativity cards and I thought, what the heck is this, I don't need them. Well, folks, I was wrong and I will attempt to do a card a week and record an episode about how I am utilizing the card I draw every week if you decide to pick up a deck and do these let me know.

• Kickstart Creativity

Justice

the maintenance or administration of what is just, especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments

a judge of an appellate court or court of last resort (as a supreme court)

 the administration of law

 the quality of being just, impartial, or fair

the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action

the quality of conforming to law

conformity to truth, fact, or reason

Design a creative routine or project rooted in your particular strivings toward a more just world

Reflect on how others have connected their creative inclinations to justice work

Can you point to one word, image, or phrase that connects your own life efforts to work for justice

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to discover new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

When I worked in customer service, we were told people could hear our smiles. In art, people can feel our joy. Let's talk about how we can add joy to our art today. I am pushing myself to higher and more transparent levels. My wife gave me a box of cards for the holidays in 2022. I was puzzled because they were creativity cards and I thought, what the heck is this, I don't need them. Well, folks, I was wrong and I will attempt to do a card a week and record an episode about how I am utilizing the card I draw every week if you decide to pick up a deck and do these let me know.

• Kickstart Creativity

Hospitable:

1a the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires: DELIGHT b the expression or exhibition of such emotion: GAIETY

2 a state of happiness or felicity: BLISS

3 a source or cause of delight

Keep a running list of things that bring you joy. Let something on your list inspire your next creation.

Consider a joyful milestone in your life. What might that experience teach you about finding joy in your life?

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to discover new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

Creating is not a one-way street, you need to make others feel welcome in your space. Being hospitable is today's theme, I'll be talking about ways to welcome others into your space and create a community by just being hospitable. I am pushing myself to higher and more transparent levels. My wife gave me a box of cards for the holidays in 2022. I was puzzled because they were creativity cards and I thought, what the heck is this, I don't need them. Well, folks, I was wrong and I will attempt to do a card a week and record an episode about how I am utilizing the card I draw every week if you decide to pick up a deck and do these let me know.

Ronika is an award-winning screenwriter, writer, and producer.

She is also producing her "Wicklow Stories" Anthology "The Pier" in coordination with No Wifi.

Her autobiography "The Unfinished Heart" is slated for publication in the coming years, and her textbook for Irish Screenwriters "The Hustle" is now available on Amazon or can be purchased directly from her.

She has consulted on projects in the US, UK, South Africa, and Australia.

• Ronika Merl's Website

• Kickstart Creativity

Hospitable: given to generous and cordial, reception of guests promising or suggesting a generous and friendly welcome, offering a pleasant or sustaining environment, readily receptive. 

Reflect alone or with others on what we can learn about global hospitality traditions.

Create for a table a simple centerpiece that tells a story with objects from nature or from your family history. Welcome others into your home or workspace by opening your door at the same time every week. Have tea or wine or prepare a simple meal. Give everyone you've welcomed something practical to do.

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

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If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to discover new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.

Creating takes a spirit of generosity, and in today's episode, I will explain the necessity of being generous with your artistic journey. I am pushing myself to higher and more transparent levels. My wife gave me a box of cards for the holidays in 2022. I was puzzled because they were creativity cards and I thought, what the heck is this, I don't need them. Well, folks, I was wrong and I will attempt to do a card a week and record an episode about how I am utilizing the card I draw every week if you decide to pick up a deck and do these let me know.

• Kickstart Creativity

Generous: liberal in giving: OPENHANDED a generous benefactor

Compliment a stranger, write a note of thanks, share your expertise, or mentor someone. If you have taken any of these steps already, email me and let me know so as to share it with our community on this podcast.

To reach out to me, email [email protected] I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

• Email: [email protected]

If you have found value in this podcast please feel free to share it with a friend as that is the best way to discover new podcasts. I want this to be a 5-star podcast in your eyes so let me know what you would like to see. Speaking about sharing with a friend, check out my other podcast Find A Podcast About where I help you outsmart the algorithm and find your next binge-worthy podcast. You can find that podcast at findapodcastabout.xyz.