Create Art Podcast Timothy Kimo Brien

What is National Poetry Writing Month?Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.
The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:
NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.

Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today
And now for our (optional) prompt. Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem about, or involving, a superhero, taking your inspiration from these four poems in which Lucille Clifton addresses Clark Kent/Superman.

Poem for Today
Right Bicep  

23 April 24 

The embodiment of vengeance sitting on a throne of the bones of the souls he has damned 

Is embedded on my right bicep 

Part of the right arm of justice 

That I use to correct the wrongs 

That have occurred 

He sits there with a face so dour 

He sits there looking exhausted 

He sits and views all the work left to be done 

It never ends 

This world isn’t fair 

As I teach my children 

But there are those in this world 

That come in after the tragedies 

To make sure they never happen again 

I put you there 

Because I have always desired to be  

An instrument that can dispassionately dole out vengeance 

But I find my emotions take hold 

And I cannot damn another soul for their wrongs 

I am not the judge, jury and punisher 

So, you will have to sit on my arm 

Until I can burn out the emotions 

And one day be like you 

Without a heart 

Without a soul 
Reach Out To The Podcast
To reach out to me, email timothy@createartpodcast.com I would love to hear about your journey and what you are working on. If you would like to be on the show or have me discuss a topic that is giving you trouble write in and let's start that conversation.

Email: timothy@createartpodcast.com YouTube Channel: a...

What is National Poetry Writing Month?Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.
The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:
NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.

Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today
And now for our (optional) prompt! Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem that repeats or focuses on a single color. Some examples for you – Diane Wakoski’s “Blue Monday,” Walter de la Mare’s “Silver,” and Dorothea Lasky’s “Red Rum.”

Poem for Today
The Color of High School 

21 April 24 

I remember the scene shop in the theater where other students were tagging the walls with Rush, I was blasting out UB40’s Red Red Wine 

I’d sing that song till my throat turned red 

Feeling the words touch my soul every time 

Filling me with hope that I would find a love worthy of that song 

Drinking the apple wine Night Train with its dark red label 

When at my lowest points I’d scrawl on my notebooks our mascot the J-Hawk 

With a gun pointed at his head 

And the pale blood of loneliness and teen angst splattered against an indicated wall 

No one saw these depictions 

Which is probably for the best 

The walls of some of the hallways glowed when we lost power 

A high school built initially to be a prison had few windows 

At least that is how the story went 

The stoners and the underground kids flicked their lighters 

And we found our way to the blazing exit signs that always had power 

The crimson letters guiding us to safety 

At the D Door 

Where smoking was tolerated 

I’d see teachers and students monkey fuck each other 

To light their cancer sticks and cowboy killers 

And the rhythmic dull red glow of the embers matched their breathing 

My high school was a vampire's paradise 

Gym uniforms, sport uniforms, the carpeted triangle 

All reflected their devilish desire for blood 

There was blood at every fight 

There...

What is National Poetry Writing Month?Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.
The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:
NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.
Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today
Our optional prompt for the day challenges you to write a poem that recounts a historical event. In writing your poem, you could draw on your memory, encyclopedias, history books, or primary documents. If you’re interested in a little research, you might find interesting this collection of letters written during the American Civil War, or this collection of primary documents concerning South Sea voyages. Or perhaps you might find something of interest in digging through Europeana, an online clearinghouse of digitized materials from cultural institutions across Europe.
Inspiration for this poem came from Ronald Regan Radio Address
Poem for TodayCrate Digging 
20 April 24 
A package had been sent it me 
The shape familiar 
Just over 12 inches square 
So carefully I opened it 
And found placed with care 
A record sleeve with no picture 
And the only writing on it was Ronald Regan 1961 
I opened it and found the familiar shape of a 12-inch record with no label 
So, I took off the record I had played last 
Something by Miles Davis or john Coltrane 
And put this new, mysterious record on the platter 
Recovering from the demon rum and weed 
That my jazz obsession claimed on me 
I pressed the play button 
And the tone arm raised,  
Moved over to the starting groove 
And set down as delicately as a mother placing her newborn baby down for a nap 
I sat back into my easy chair 
As the sound of Ronald Regan’s voice came over my speakers 
 
There was no music 
Just his voice droning on and on 
He told me the horros of socialized medicine 
And how that would destroy my savings 
How it would cost me my livelihood 
How it was unamerican 
How my son, he must not have read my FBI...

What is National Poetry Writing Month?Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.
The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:
NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.
Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today
Last but not least, here’s today’s optional prompt. This one comes from the poet and fiction writer Todd Dillard, who provided this idea on his twitter account a few months ago. The idea is to write a poem in which two things have a fight. Two very unlikely things, if you can manage it. Like, maybe a comb and a spatula. Or a daffodil and a bag of potato chips. Or perhaps your two things could be linked somehow – like a rock and a hard place – and be utterly sick of being so joined. The possibilities are endless!

Poem for TodayTwo Sides Same Coin 
22 April 24 
The coffee-stained steno note pad decided one day to crawl from under the dust of neglect and seek out the cell phone 
Its wire binding was loose and its companion the bic pen had been lost after never coming back from getting cigarettes 
The pad of paper felt neglected, its blue lines fading 
Where once my innermost thoughts filled its pages 
Now were curling up unused and unwanted 
The pad scrapped along the floor 
Leaving a scratch in the flooring 
And it saw the endless stairs up to my room 
Sighed deeply and found a way to the top by standing on end and grasping for the next step 
 
My cell phone was communicating and noting my breaths and snores as I slept 
Plugged in and cared for like a king 
It slept just a mere foot from the bed 
Unaware of what was coming up from the basement 
The blue light and the life-giving electricity flowing through its circuits 
 
Years ago, I had abandoned one of my oldest friends 
And determined that due to low light 
And spilled drinks 
And the fact that i couldn’t see the words I had inscribed 
I would switch to reading my poetry off my phone as I had seen younger poets do 
It was easier to flip through apps on a phone 
Versus flipping through pages of steno note pads 
Sometimes I would bring the wrong one 
Other times due to clumsiness I would spill my coffee and the liquid would seep into the pages 
Low light at most readings made it impossible to see 
 
The steno climbed the last stair 
And made its way into the...

What is National Poetry Writing Month?Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.
The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:
NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.
Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today
Finally, here’s our prompt – optional, as always! This one comes to us from Moist Poetry Journal, which posted this prompt by K-Ming Chang a while back:

What are you haunted by, or what haunts you? Write a poem responding to this question. Then change the word haunt to hunt

Poem for TodayHaunted, Hunted By 
19 April 24 
I saw the look on her face 
The horror of almost losing her life 
I heard the way she tried to speak but no words formed 
When the words did come forth 
She sounded like the 4-year-olds she would never know 
I felt the leathery skin 
Tissue paper thin, veins easily seen but not easily pierced 
I smelled the stains on her fingers 
And the ashtray breath when she kissed my cheek 
Her heart had given out 
She was initially unable to speak 
The one who was so protective of me 
Was now the one that I protected 
Her dead body with makeup on that she would never wear 
I said goodbye to that corpse knowing there was nothing there 
 
Walking back from the park 
At the start of the pandemic 
My left side turned off 
From shoulder to toe there was nothing there 
Walking between my two children 
Each one holding me up 
On the left was my child who reminded me of the mother I lost 
On my right was the child that reminded me of my fury and anxiety 
They got me home without incident 
And I laid on the couch 
Unable to tell my wife what I was feeling 
Worse yet, unable to tell her what I wasn’t feeling 
 
I didn’t end up in a pine box that day 
My speech has slowed a bit, halts from time to time 
I can hear it, but no one else notices 
I can feel the oblivion coming but no one else listens 
I quiet myself in preparation 
The end will be lonely 
Even if I am surrounded by my loved ones 
I will be unable to say it is time 
I make plans to leave a sign for when it’s time to die 
Wanting to...

What is National Poetry Writing Month?Welcome, art enthusiasts and wordsmiths alike, to another episode of Create Art Podcast! We are diving headfirst into the enchanting world of poetry as we celebrate National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). This annual event, which takes place every April, encourages poets and aspiring writers around the globe to embrace their creativity and commit to writing a poem each day for the entire month.
The Beauty of National Poetry Writing Month:
NaPoWriMo, similar to its prose-centric counterpart National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), is a celebration of the written word and the boundless creativity that can flow when one dedicates themselves to a daily practice. Poets of all levels of expertise are invited to take part, from seasoned wordsmiths to those just dipping their toes into the vast ocean of verse.
Create Art Podcast has always been a haven for artists to share their creative processes, and NaPoWriMo offers a unique opportunity for poets to reflect on their craft. With a daily commitment to producing poetry, participants discover new facets of their writing style, experiment with various forms, and explore uncharted emotional territories.

Prompt for today
And now for our (optional) prompt! Today, we’d like to challenge you to write a poem in which the speaker expresses the desire to be someone or something else, and explains why. Two possible models for you: Natasha Rao’s “In my next life let me be a tomato,” and Randall Jarrell’s “The Woman at the Washington Zoo.”

Poem for TodayThe Name Tattooed on My Arm 
18 April 24 
Looking down at my right arm 
Seeing the skull and the fu-man-chu  
With a fedora and sunglasses 
And the name scrawled there 
Is the person I wanted to be 
 
I gave him a name 
And a tortured history 
And a dismal future 
Just on the right side of destitution 
He was my voice for decades 
When I didn’t know what to be 
 
He sat there under my skin 
As a reminder 
As a warning 
That I may become him one day 
Parts of me desired that ending 
It was so poetic 
So romantic 
He'd be someone I’d give up my sweet ass to in a heartbeat if he’d have me 
 
He was dark and dangerous 
Mysterious and stoic 
Nothing could touch him 
Feelings could not sway him 
He was comfortable in his own skin 
He is the things I am not 
 
I created this phantom 
To fight the nightmares 
To fight my weaknesses 
Naturally he doesn’t have any 
He was my hero 
Like Bukowski or Kerouac 
Until I became a father 
And thought that if he tried to date my daughters 
He’d be carried out in a pine box 
 
I so wanted to be him 
But he is not real 
He is not sustainable 
He would not be able to do what I do 
Live the life I live 
Be a father 
Be a partner 
Be supportive 
He is selfish 
He is all the bad qualities that I don’t need 
And yet 
At times I want to be...