Aline Soules

Poet and Fiction Writer

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Tupelo Press 30/30 Project

January 1, 2021 By Aline Soules

Here I go again—for a third time.  The 30/30 project for Tupelo Press is a wonderful opportunity to spur your poetry forward and help fund a fabulous press.  After your application is accepted, you write a poem a day for a month.  There are generally 8-10 participants each month and each day’s poems are available here: https://www.tupelopress.org/the-30-30-project-january-2021/  

I’ve participated in the 30/30 project twice before and it has always deepened my work and helped me expand my vision and my writing to new levels.  I treasure each opportunity to participate in this program.  I’m grateful to Tupelo Press for their innovative thinking in creating this program and accepting me as a participant.  

Check out our work at the above link in my post.  If you’d like to chip in a few dollars to support the press, pick the name of a poet whose work you like and contribute those dollars to Tupelo in that person’s honor.  Both will be delighted.  And you have my thanks.

Carrying Within You What You Choose to Leave Behind: A Review of “If Mother Braids a Waterfall”

December 3, 2020 By Aline Soules

My review of If Mother Braids a Waterfall just went live.  A fascinating look into the world of Mormonism, women in Mormonism, and the struggle to come to terms with Mormonism.  You can find my review at https://www.tupeloquarterly.com/carrying-within-you-what-you-choose-to-leave-behind-a-review-of-if-mother-braids-a-waterfall/ 

The Struggle of Spirit: A Review of “Refusal: Poems”

October 1, 2020 By Aline Soules

 

My review of Refusal: Poems just went live on Tupelo Quarterly.  Such a thrill to have a book review there.  Here’s the link:  

https://www.tupeloquarterly.com/the-struggle-of-spirit-a-review-of-refusal-poems/

Finishing the 30/30 Project

December 30, 2019 By Aline Soules

I just completed December’s 30/30 Project for Tupelo Press, along with nine other poets.  On previous occasions when I’ve participated in this event, I’ve worked from a theme, thinking that some structure, however fluid, would help me to generate new work.  This time, I didn’t do that.  I roamed the multiple and varied subjects that crossed my brain.  As I look back on my work for this month, I realize that free-range has been a better option, at least this time. 

I retired about a year and a half ago to write full-time.  When I was writing while holding down a full-time job, structure helped me stay on track.  Now that I write every day for longer periods of time, I’m moving away from early structure and finding my generative self growing more creative in a free-ranging way.  While some of the pieces I wrote for the project will likely not develop further, I’ll definitely develop and revise some of this work to send out to publishers for consideration.  

At some point, structure becomes important, but, for me, that’s further down the line, after a longer period of exploration.  That said, this year, I submitted a sonnet, certainly “structured,” to the Kelsay Books Metrical Poetry Contest and won second place, but I don’t think that would have happened if I’d not had a longer generative period before fitting the work into a sonnet form.

This has led me to wonder about the roles of free-form thinking and imposed structure.  How do I work with each poem to find the right balance between the two?

Many years ago, when I taught high school, working particularly with students who faced multiple challenges at home and in life, I found that the more rules there were to a poem, the more amazing were the students’ results.  I taught forms like the cinquain.  See https://mickhispoetry.wordpress.com/2017/04/05/modern-traditional-cinquains/ for the rules and some examples.  See https://www.writersdigest.com/whats-new/list-of-50-poetic-forms-for-poets for a list of many poetic forms, some of which are very complex.  If I didn’t provide structure, the students were lost and had trouble writing anything at all.

So where’s the sweet spot?  The place where you’ve free-ranged enough and it’s time to explore a structure, whether it’s a formal structure or a form that emerges organically from the work itself.  I may look for that sweet spot for the rest of my writing days, but this month has led me to a closer understanding of both approaches and the importance of finding the right moment to move from one to the other and back again.

Inspiration, Motivation, and Supporting a Small Press

December 2, 2019 By Aline Soules

December 1 and the Tupelo 30/30 project starts for this month.  This project has been running for a number of years.  The goal for participants is to write 30 poems in 30 days.  This is my third time participating in this project and it’s always a thrill.  It inspires me, motivates me to generate work, and allows me to support an important small press.  Each of us commits to raising funds for the press through donations to support the poems.

The first poems are up at https://www.tupelopress.org/the-3030-project-december-19/ and will be added to daily until the end of the month. Please read and enjoy them. If you’re inspired, please donate (you’ll find a donate button on the page. I’m honored to be a fundraiser for Tupelo Press this month, even more so when I read my fellow writers’ bios (https://www.tupelopress.org/3030-project-contributors/).  They’re amazing and I’m happy to journey and write with them this month.  

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Recent Posts

  • Tupelo Press 30/30 Project
  • Carrying Within You What You Choose to Leave Behind: A Review of “If Mother Braids a Waterfall”
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  • The Struggle of Spirit: A Review of “Refusal: Poems”

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