I haven’t met Vicki Ziegler yet, but little does she know the impact she has had on me in my time on twitter. She a wonderful and book reviewer and an encouraging supporter of Canadian literary arts. There have been many a book I’ve picked up solely based on her enthusiastic opinion of it.
When Vicki that her twitter friends had created #todayspoem in a discussion, I was intrigued by the idea and soon began to post up my own favorite poems as well. As my own writing endeavors started picking up steam, I would post up less frequently. However, there was no question that seeing the #todayspoem hashtag was an uplifting sight to my stream. From highlighted stanzas to provocative verses, #todayspoem brings the often misunderstood world of poetry to the mainstream. As Vicki says:
“As I’ve mentioned before, I’m amazed every day at what #todayspoem contributors are reading and sharing. I faithfully bookmark/favourite the #todayspoem tweets and go back at every opportunity to explore the links, videos, pictures of pages taken straight from volumes, knowing that I’m going to be dazzled, amused and moved anew. I have this lovely feeling, too, that for every person sending out a thoughtful #todayspoem tweet every day or every week, there are even more people quietly reading, enjoying and reflecting on the poems we’re sending out into the ether.”
You can read more here: http://bookgaga.posterous.com/leaping-into-a-todayspoem-treasure-every-day
One day she chose my poem “Google Image Pantoum” as her #todayspoem. I think I cried (as I’m known to do about everything), from happiness. Yesterday she celebrated six months of #todayspoem and I’m in it. http://bookgaga.posterous.com/six-months-of-todayspoem
“Overall, the exercise (which has never felt like an exercise, actually) has compelled me to revisit and go deeper in my own library. It has also inspired me to go further afield in print and online, with poets with whom I was already familiar, but also very excitingly with poets old and new I was encountering for the first time.”
I am so honored to be included in her selection with such greats, people I’ve read, people I admire, and poets that continue to influence my own writing every day. I tip my hat to all of the #todayspoem’s contributors for it is a great service you are providing to the world of literature. Writing and reading poetry is such a simple thing, but it is also a complex relationship built, not just from words, but from emotions, opinions, and interpretation. I like to often say, “The poet is the world’s unpaid politician.” Well, the reader of poetry can be the world’s quiet revolution. Social media increases poetry’s audience and that has given poetry a new stage to shine in.
The changing future seems bright folks. Get thee some shades.
P.S. You can read Vicki Ziegler at http://bookgaga.posterous.com/ and at her twitter https://twitter.com/bookgaga/
jacqueline valencia 