It is always scary for me to share my poems and stories, especially when they are so personal. Your supportive comments last week helped ease my fear. Your kindness and encouragement means a lot to me. Thank you so much!
Today I'm sharing a poem from my new book WRITE WITH ME. You can read more about my book here.
I have a ton of journals and probably should recycle them, but they are so hard to part with.
If you write in journals, I'd love to know what you do with them when they are full. Do you keep them? Recycle them?
A special thank you to Matt for hosting this week on his blog Radio, Rhythm, & Rhyme.
Have a great week!
Linda, I love your journal poem! It captures my feelings about journaling exactly. I started journaling when I was 12, and I still have those hardcover books tucked away. After a decades-long break, I started journalling again earlier this year. Today, I blast through composition notebooks, which somehow create less pressure to be perfect than a leather-bound journal. I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do when they fill my attic, but I am thinking an annual bonfire might be fun!
ReplyDeleteThe bonfire idea crossed my mind too! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who prefers simple notebooks to fancy leather-bound journals. Thank you for stopping by, Tracey!
DeleteCongratulations on the new book, Linda! Great idea, and this poem should resonate with many young readers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Matt. I sure hope so!
DeleteLinda, thank you for planting the seed that a journal is a PLACE. I've never been much of a journal writer - though for the past three years, I start my days writing poems, so I suppose that counts? But now you have me thinking about A Poem's Place. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of A Poem's Place! Yes, a daily poem definitely counts. There are no rules when it comes to journaling!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Linda. Like Patricia - I haven't been much of a journaler. That's why I love any month of poetry challenges I've taken part in. Because they invariably become partly journal. My photos are my memories and writing prompts. Though they don't always capture the facts. That my head doesn't always remember...Your poem does put a good case for the journal!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, Linda. I save all of my old journals and have referred back to them a time or two. Have a safe space is vital as we create. I know your sense of vulnerability. I'm feeling it with my art for #scbwiArtober2023. But by practicing and sharing we grow and get better. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bridget. Your art and poems are lovely! I'm so glad you share them with the world!
DeleteThank you, Kat. I also love using photos as writing prompts, and poetry challenges are wonderful. So many ways to save memories!
ReplyDeleteI had years of journals through all the teaching time, Linda, finally kept a few of the very recent, pulled out a few poems but put them in a box & paid to have them shredded. I loved keeping journals with my students, hoping it would be a gift to them for future writing. Yes, the journal is a private place, "where I can be/me." (I still have mine from my college years! Congratulations on your book being published.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. I kept journals with my students, too. Most of those have been shredded. It's my personal journals I have a hard time parting with. Maybe someday. : )
DeleteLove your poem and thinking about a journal as a place. It is exactly the kind of poem I would have used with students during writing workshop. I love rereading old journals - there's always snippets of ideas lurking there. And congratulations on your book!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rose. Like you, I often find ideas for future writing inside my journals. : )
DeleteI have a big tub of full journals. If they are idea journals or ones with scribbles of possible lines, those seem worthy of keeping. But I also have a lot of notebooks with morning pages in them. Honestly, I want to burn them. They are drivel that are for PROCESS in the moment. Nothing I want to look back on.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new book!!
Thank you, Marcie. Many of my journal entries are on the same topics. In some cases, I can see how I've changed over time, but I doubt I'll ever reread all of them. Eventually, I'll choose to keep some of the more recent ones and shred the rest. At least, that's my plan. : )
DeleteWheeeee! A new book with a great poem about a journal. Love it. I use old writings in collage art sometimes. A little old journal notes go a long way though! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea, Linda! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda jealous of journalers and that physical space of pages, sometimes. I only use paper journals on trips, and I have them all in a bin. For my morning pages, I do them in a word document, and I usually dictate them! But the doc is still a combo of safe space, garbage bag, memory keeper, external brain... I'm glad you feel safer sharing personal poems, Linda ❤️
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura. Sharing isn't easy, but I am hoping it will help others feel safe to do the same. I'm sorry you had trouble getting your comment to work. I had a few spam comments from unknown sources so now they don't publish until I approve them. : )
DeleteCongratulations on your book, Linda. And thanks for sharing this lovely poem. I've been a pretty avid journal writer since around age 12. Sadly, I didn't keep my journals from those early years. I'd love to see what I wrote then. But since I returned to journaling as an adult, I haven't been able to part with my journals. Not sure what to do with them--there are so many!
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you, Carmela. I just can't seem to part with my journals.
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ReplyDeleteThat last stanza says it all, Linda! Congrats on your new book!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anastasia!
DeleteCongratulations on the new book Linda. Your thoughts about journalling spoke to me. I am not as regular in my journalling these days but in my teens they were a life line.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sally!
ReplyDeleteLinda, such a beautiful and succinct description of what a journal is. I have recycled many journals over the years. Sometimes I snap photos of pages that are interesting. I kind of wish I had saved some of them at certain periods of time. I gave my journals to my kids that I wrote when they were babies and small children. I saved my Covid-19 era journals for a little pandemic history.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of snapping photos of interesting pages. That way I could share those with my family without leaving behind boxes of journals. Thank you! I also have a Covid era journal that I am saving. Maybe someday my grandchildren will want to read it. : )
DeleteLinda, Congratulations again. Your journal poem will make a wonderful mentor text for children who are ready to write personal and public poems or snippets of ideas. I found journals from my past so that should answer you question what do I do with them. You never know if they hold a magical line or two.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol. The thought that they may hold a magical line is part of the reason I have held on to them for so long. I keep thinking that maybe one day, I'll need them for inspiration. : )
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