Exhuasted. Seriously, the amount of conversation, poetry and activism from the last few days has me all spent which is a good thing. I feel like I’ve shaken off a lot of my personal insecurities and doubts about my poetry. Not the mechanics of my work but if my poetry can actually be more than just words that sound good from a stage. After the CantoMundo workshops and dialogue, I feel my work can have a longer reaching effect but only if I believe it.
It feels like I’ve done a good job with the public high points of the week but the real good news is the best is yet to come. I’m not sure exactly how and in what form but all the fellows and organizers are committed to coming back together next year and making it even better. Like good poetry critique, this meant we had to acknowledge things that could have gone better in this inaugural gathering. And like good critique, everything was said with positive intentions. All drama free. Yay!
Can ya tell I’m excited about being associated with this org and its mission? It’s been a minute since I’ve had this feeling. It’s happened less and less since I’ve decided that developing a poetry manuscript was my primary priority i my art life. CantoMundo has me feeling I can still keep my poetry in the forefront but also add a deeper commitment to reshaping how Latin@ Poetics are viewed by the public. Palabra.