Two Sylvias' Weekly Muse: February 5, 2023

Issue 41

Welcome to February, Writers and Poets!

Most of us would agree that there are a variety of fears (subtle and not so subtle) that can interfere with our writing lives. We work hard on a poem and feel it is one the best we’ve ever written, but when it comes time to show it to our critique group, we are suddenly a bundle of nerves with sweaty palms and a rapid heartbeat. Have you ever composed a strong poem about a difficult personal experience, but you kept it hidden in your computer files because of anxiety over what your family and friends might think? What about the nagging fears that cause us to say “no” to doing an in-person reading, applying for a writing residency, or submitting to a more prestigious literary journal? It’s difficult sometimes to pull ourselves into risky areas when we have grown accustomed to our own writerly comfort zones.

Amanda Gorman, the former National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration, has given numerous intervi…