Every Day Is a Poem by Jacqueline Suskin (manga ereader txt) 📗

for Marlee Grace,

my soul mate in the work of poetic healing

When it’s over, I want to say: all my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

—MARY OLIVER

Contents

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1BE IN AWE OF EVERYTHING

EXERCISE FOR FINDING AWE

Close Your Eyes and Point in Any Direction

WRITING PRACTICE

How to Make a Poem Out of Awe

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Your Awe Can Be Connective

CHAPTER 2MAKE MEANING

EXERCISE FOR MAKING MEANING

Pick Up a Commonplace Object and Give It Meaning

WRITING PRACTICE

Create Your Personal Mythology

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Keep Your Meaning Up to Date

CHAPTER 3EXPLORE YOUR PURPOSE

EXERCISE FOR EXPLORING PURPOSE

Discover the Purpose of Your Favorite Writers

WRITING PRACTICE

Create a Poem of Purpose

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Hold On to Your Purpose All Day Long

CHAPTER 4SHARE YOUR ANSWERS

EXERCISE FOR SHARING

Read Aloud to Others and Share Your Work

WRITING PRACTICE

How to Edit Your Work for Sharing

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Let Accessibility Be the Inspiration in All Communication

CHAPTER 5USE YOUR SENSES

EXERCISE FOR THE SENSES

Heighten and Appreciate Your Senses

WRITING PRACTICE

Bring at Least One Sense into Every Poem

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Sharpen Your Senses and Hone Your Awareness

CHAPTER 6USE YOUR PAIN

EXERCISE FOR MAKING PAIN USEFUL

Find the Source

WRITING PRACTICE

How to Write a Healing Poem

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Your Pain Is a Seed for Growth

CHAPTER 7USE YOUR MEMORIES

EXERCISE FOR MEMORY

Think of All You’ve Done and Let It Wow You

WRITING PRACTICE

Create Your Timeline

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Learn How to Appreciate the Past

CHAPTER 8USE YOUR JOY

EXERCISE FOR JOY

Make a Ritual of Joy

WRITING PRACTICE

Write a Celebratory Poem

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Find Joy Everywhere

CHAPTER 9LISTENING TO THE POETIC UNIVERSE

EXERCISES FOR LISTENING TO THE UNIVERSE

How to Take Care So You Can Hear It

WRITING PRACTICE

What Are You Asking For?

What Path Is Already Open?

POETIC MINDSET TIP

The Power in Making Poetic Mantras

CHAPTER 10PERMISSION TO BE A POET

EXERCISES FOR BEING A POET

Give Yourself the Tools

WRITING PRACTICE

Find a Routine and Show Up for It

POETIC MINDSET TIP

Everything Is a Poem;

Don’t Worry About the Outcome

CHAPTER 11RESOURCES AND RECOMMENDED READING

AFTERWORD

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

POEM SOURCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ALSO BY JACQUELINE SUSKIN

ABOUT SOUNDS TRUE

COPYRIGHT

introduction

I am doing something I learned

early to do, I am paying attention

to small beauties.

—SHARON OLDS

How do humans deal with the heavi ness of everyday ft living? How do we keep going when everything is so hard, sad, and infuriating? We’re surrounded by hate, injustice, death, and destruction—how do we sift through the anguish and enjoy being alive?

MY ANSWER IS,

POETRY.

What would it be like to find inspiration everywhere you look? It’s a sacred challenge to mine the wonder out of every day, out of trauma and pain, out of the mundane. This is what poetry does for us. No, it isn’t a magic wand that vanishes all atrocity. But it does make humanity reappear; it brings beauty out of the shadow, back to the surface, making it accessible. Poetry is a guide, a teacher, providing reminders on how incredible it is to be alive at all, even when it hurts.

The poetic mind is a grateful one; it’s a mind that celebrates the miracle of being. The poetic mind is moody, and it digs its heels into these moods, pulling out the best and worst of feelings in the name of discovery, in the name of the shared human condition. The poetic mind shines a light on its uniqueness and its specialized way of coping with grief or anger. The strength of this mind is that it can turn any experience into one of worth, into something meaningful, into an answer or a gift of clarity.

When Allen Ginsberg wrote Howl, he tuned into the travesty of America in 1955, exposing the nuance of mental illness, connecting the dots between this sickness and the state of the country:

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed

by madness, starving hysterical naked,

dragging themselves through the negro streets at

dawn looking for an angry fix . . .

This poem became an anthem as it brought out a new language to describe something so dark, painful, and prevalent. That’s why Howl still sticks with us. Like all influential artworks, it displays a mind in touch with the greater picture, a mind that is willing to overflow with gratitude and wonder, while at the same time remaining skeptical and critical of society, war, and greed.

Similar in reach, Mary Oliver’s famous poem “Wild Geese” remains impactful as it explores a universal permission to move through pain into awe by way of curiosity, acceptance, and a celebration of the intricate details that connect us all. Her words help us circle back to our innate imaginative power, a human quality that is available, all-inclusive, and reliably healing:

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination.

This is my purpose as a poet, to write reminders that help us identify with our place in the universe, on this perfect planet that we call home.

I’ve always been a poet, filling notebooks with cryptic verse before I really even knew how to write properly. It’s the way that my brain processes my experience. I even got a degree in poetry. From 2009-2019, my project Poem Store was my only job, and it enabled me to write more than forty thousand poems for strangers. I set up with my typewriter at private and public events, writing for patrons who chose a subject and a price in exchange for a unique poem that I wrote on the spot.

This practice allowed me to explore the human condition in a way that I never dreamed possible. I’ve heard humanity’s deepest secrets and traumas, I’ve listened to the most wonderful expressions of love and elation, I’ve witnessed intense confusion and beautiful awe—only to translate it all into poetry. When my customers saw themselves on the page, something happened. My words offered a reflection, a moment of deep knowing, and I provided written proof that they weren’t alone, that they were seen and heard. This work is transformative and healing for people, and that’s how I’ve been able to make my living as a poet in the