Welcome to Poetry Friday! I’m delighted to be hosting this week’s Roundup, even though it did sneak up on me. (Where did July go anyway?)

by Stephanie Corfee

I’ve been thinking about joy a fair bit recently. I’ve been considering what it is, where I find it, how I nurture and spread it, etc. Way back in May, I read the transcript of a fabulous 2023 commencement address given by Sarah Leavitt to students graduating from the UBC School of Creative Writing. Entitled Joyful Persistence , it was all about finding joy in creative practice. Here’s a small quote to entice you to find some extra time to read it:

“For most of my life, my art-making, whether it was drawing, writing or making comics, felt painful and fraught. But now – most of the time – creative practice is something that steadies me, something I rely on to think and feel my way through the world. It’s a source of deep joy. I’m going to share some ideas with you today that have helped me make that shift.”

At about the same time that I read this, I happened to read Mary Oliver’s , Don’t Hesitate. The final line “Joy is not made to be a crumb” sang for me. Don’t you just love it? I returned to it recently, and it inspired me to write this golden shovel, which is still a work in progress.

Joy
after Mary Oliver’s “Don’t Hesitate”

It sneaks up on you. Joy-
a whisper, a flutter, and whoosh! there it is,
rich, heady and full throated, not
something to nod at in passing, but made
to be fully savored, to
wander and wallow in. Stop! Be
greedy! Gobble up each morsel! This is a
moment to lick your plate clean of every crumb.

©Molly Hogan, draft

Then, in a lovely moment of serendipity, I came across this quote:

Joy as insurrection…wow!

Consider this an invitation to rise up against the oppression of fear, and stir up the pot of joy with big, messy strokes! One way to do so is by sending some poetry out into the world, so you’re invited to share your link at the Inlinkz link party– Click here to enter . You’re also pretty sure to find some joy by clicking on other links and seeing what’s on offer this week. En-JOY!

PS I may be a bit delayed in making the rounds due to summer visitors, but I’ll be around sooner or later.