River City Poet members Judy Melchiorre, Joanna Lee and Marsha Owens are co-editors of a 2019 poetry anthology. Photo courtesy of River City Poets

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This winter, visitors to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s library wrote short poems on green paper and attached them to the “Poet-Tree.” Despite local closures and event cancellations, it’s easy for budding poets to write at home. In fact, River City Poets will be providing ideas for a daily poem at rivercitypoets.com for those wanting to complete their poem-a-day challenge in April. Photo courtesy of Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

Marsha Owens taught high school English for half of her nearly 40-year career in education, but she didn’t flex her own writing muscles intensely until she retired. “I no longer had an excuse not to write,” said Owens, now 74.

Owens launched her passion for writing by joining James River Writers, an organization for writers of all ages and abilities in central Virginia.

Because of her interest in poetry, some of her contacts there suggested she reach out to Joanna Lee, a former neuroscientist-turned-poet who was making a name for herself in the Richmond writing scene. 

At that point, Lee had founded River City Poets (RCP) and was starting to host regular critique groups, which workshop poems in progress, and other events like open mic nights.

“We have an open community,” Lee said. “Anyone can show up.” Many of the group’s regular attendees are over 50, but not all have the same level of experience. Some have written all their lives, while others, like Owens, started writing later in life.

The members of River City Poets enjoy learning from each other and putting their work out there for other members to read or hear. “Poetry is meant to be shared,” Lee said. “It is a vocal, oral art.”

At first, Owens felt hesitant to participate in RCP events, but she pushed herself to attend. “For introverts, it’s hard to go places where you don’t already know anyone,” Lee said, “but I dipped my toe in the pond.”

Before long, that dip turned into full immersion. “It has been a great adventure,” she said. “It [has] created an ongoing chain of connections I never could have imagined.”  

Owens met Richmond poet Julia Melchoirre while serving as editor for RCP’s anthology of poems by Virginia writers entitled “Lingering in the Margins: A River City Poets Anthology,” published in April 2019.

“This community is really important to me because we always learn from one another,” Owens said.

Letting nature nurture poetry

To inspire others to write poems, River City Poets has collaborated with Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden for National Poetry Month in April. 

Poets from William Wordsworth to Mary Oliver have established a long tradition connecting nature and poetry. What better subject for well-crafted language than the unceasing, ever-changing beauties of the natural world?  

Since late January, Dory Klein, a self-described lover of puns and librarian at the Garden, has worked on developing many programs around the idea of “poet-tree.” Before the Garden closed due to the coronavirus, visitors were invited to attach their original poems to a tree.

Inspired by their surroundings, visitors added their own words to the tree. “It has been delightful to see the ‘poet-tree’ flourish as we have transitioned from winter to spring,” Klein said.

The tree kicked off a celebration of the artform in recent weeks, with the Garden hosting events like poetry-themed story times and workshops with the River City Poets, and an open-mic event in March called Branching Out, which attracted poets of all ages.

The original plan had been for the Garden to host a culminating celebration of poetry on April 26 during National Poetry Month, but due to the coronavirus, that event has unfortunately been cancelled. 

Most likely the celebration will take place next spring, according to Klein, but some aspects could be held virtually via technology. 

Although we don’t have the opportunity to visit the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden during this period of social distancing, we can still derive inspiration from nature. Outdoor walks or even time spent perusing photos from past vacations can inspire creativity.

Try penning a poem a day

Each year during National Poetry Month, RCP encourages poets of all ages and abilities to try writing a poem a day. Lee will provide around 30 prompts at the beginning of April in her monthly newsletter, which anyone can subscribe to for free at RCP’s website, rivercitypoets.com

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Owens has completed the poem-a-day goal a couple of times, and has found the process to be difficult but satisfying. “I would encourage people to do it,” she said, “particularly if they think they can’t write.” 

Writing poetry each day can enhance creativity while also helping people cope with stress and uncertainty. “I believe in the power of writing to heal and process trauma,” Lee said.

Whether or not we choose to write a poem a day, National Poetry Month provides a wonderful reminder to reread our favorite poems, discover new poets or experiment with language. 

We may not intend to have our words be seen by others, but Owens encourages sharing poetry.

“Anything you write needs to be read,” she said. “You never know who will get something out of it.”