a word from me to you.
beginning in March, i will be launching a paid subscription here at ars poetica.
dear little voice,
this is the story of how my letters to you are made:
i write a word.
i wait.
after a while: either it changes shape or i do.
when i began writing you these letters, i was perhaps, as Wendell Berry wrote, simply silently praying back to the one who prays:
“Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.”
what i did not anticipate was for the silence to pray back. when i eventually did hear it, i realised that it wasn’t silence, but you. and then, suddenly, these little words weren’t only mine.
ars, praying back.
many of you have asked when i will be writing more here, and now i am. beginning in March, i will be launching a paid subscription here at ars poetica.
why? because i would like to use this income to create more Art, and i would like to do that forever.
for $5/USD month (or $50USD/year), paid subscribers will receive:
✨ another monthly letter. a poetry pocket: not an analysis, but an attempt to sit with the words and let them do their work:
✨ a poetry circle: access to a monthly Zoom call—a space where paid subscribers gather each month with myself to read a poem together, to sit with it, and to consider the place it has found in our lives.
✨ access to a subscriber-only group chat: a place to talk about poetry, words, feelings of aliveness— or maybe a lack thereof— or simply an orange you ate today.
✨ and hopefully more, soon.
and if you can’t pay? that’s okay. my monthly letter will still be here, open-palmed, and for everyone, completely free.
if you would like to be part of this circle but cannot afford it now—please reply to this email and speak with me about your situation. i will arrange a complimentary subscription. words should not be behind gates.
but if you do feel you can spare a few dollars each month— if you’ve ever read a piece of mine and felt some part of it stay behind with you— i hope you will consider supporting my work.
and for those who have pledged a subscription already that is higher than this amount— you have been placed on the subscription fee above instead. please contact me if you would like to donate more, as per your original pledge (and if so: thank you).
like in Wendell Berry’s poem, my hope is to make a poem that does not disturb the silence from which it came. that silence is mine and that silence is yours. it is oranges and finches and tears and stars and music and hope and love and everything i have tried to put into language and everything i will continue to try to.
thank you– to those who have read, who have been touched, who have touched me, who have donated, who have reached out to me. thank you for everything.
love,
ars poetica.
PS- if you would like to simply drop a coin in my wishing well instead, you can do so here:
Every time I read ars poetica I feel a little bit more alive and a lot more grateful.
I'm so happy for you. Keep growing. This is a special place. Subbed!