Poetry / Writing

National Poetry Month: The Progressive Poem is Here!

Catherine Flynn13 Comments

The Progressive Poem has become a beloved tradition during National Poetry Month. Irene Latham began this annual event in 2012 and organized its creation until 2020, when Margaret Simon took over.

I confess, I sat on the sidelines for several years. I felt coming up with a line to match the tone and timber of the work of so many talented poets was too much pressure! A few years ago, I decided to join in the fun.

This year, Irene got the ball rolling with a line from Emily Winfield Martin’s magical book, The Imaginaries. Yesterday, Donna added the possibility that this could be a poem for two voices. The invitation to adventure in Irene’s line was too much for me to pass up, so I chose a line from The Wind in the Willows that could be a response to Bilbo’s unwillingness to leave his cozy Hobbit home.

Where they were going, there were no maps; (Irene L.)

“Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not today.” (Donna S.)

“Take the adventure, heed the call, now ere the irrevocable moment passes!” (Catherine F.)

Over to you, Mary Lee.

Here are the sources for the poem’s lines so far:

The Imaginaries: Little Scraps of Larger Stories, by Emily Winfield Martin
The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

Be sure to follow the progress of our poem each day!

1 April 1 Irene at Live Your Poem
2 Donna Smith at Mainly Write
3 Catherine Flynn at Reading to the Core
4 Mary Lee at A(nother) Year of Reading
5 Buffy at Buffy Silverman
6 Molly at Nix the Comfort Zone
7 Kim Johnson at Common Threads
8 Rose Cappelli at Imagine the Possibilities
9 Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link
10 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
11 Janet Fagel at Reflections on the Teche
12 Jone at Jone Rush MacCulloch
13 Karin Fisher-Golton at Still in Awe
14 Denise Krebs at Dare to Care
15 Carol Labuzzetta @ The Apples in my Orchard
16 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
17 Ruth at There is no such thing as a God-forsaken Town
18 Patricia at Reverie
19 Christie at Wondering and Wandering
20 Robyn Hood Black at Life on the Deckle Edge
21 Kevin at Dog Trax
22 Margaret at Reflections on the Teche
23 Leigh Anne at A Day in the Life
24 Marcie Atkins
25 Marilyn Garcia
26 JoAnn Early Macken
27 Janice at Salt City Verse
28 Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference
29 Karen Eastlund at Karen’s Got a Blog
30 Michelle Kogan Painting, Illustration, & Writing

13 thoughts on “National Poetry Month: The Progressive Poem is Here!”

  4. Off to find my line. I have an idea and I like how the poem is shaping up. The two voices are so contrary. It will be fun to see if/when they finally agree! (Won’t happen on my watch!!!)

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  7. Every good adventure features the tension between one headlong and one hesitant character, right? I think we are heading towards something good and muscular already! Nice find, Catherine!

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