Poem Farm — Become a Guest Poet

Field Notes No. 8

I’m starting a new poetry project this spring and need your help! The project is called Poem Farm, and the premise is this:

Twice a month, I’ll publish a poem on my website that answers a question from a bank of questions I’m collecting. These questions are the “seeds” from which we’ll grow poems.

Submit a Question — Plant a Seed

If you have a question you want answered — big or small, simple or complex — submit it to the seed supply and a guest poet will respond with a poem.

Here are some ideas of the kinds of questions you might ask:

• Where do ideas come from?

• What should I do when I steep my tea for too long?

• Why is Italy shaped like a boot?

• Who can I turn to when I have writer’s block?

• What’s the best song in the world?

Guest Poet Spots — Grow a Poem

I’m looking for writers who are willing to answer a question with a poem. If you want to be considered for one of about 24 guest poet positions, please fill out the form on my website.

Being a guest poet entails the following:

• Writing a poem (as long or short as you like, there are no rules!) that answers one of the questions in our seed supply (when we have enough questions in supply, I’ll send you a running list and you can choose which question you’d like to answer).

• Once I have your poem, I will publish it on my website (and probably here on my Substack, too). If you have a preference for which month you want to participate, please let me know. Theoretically, there will be only two poets writing each month, so spots are limited.

• After you're signed on for a guest poet spot, I can send you a list of tentative publishing dates and you can take your pick — or I can randomly assign you a date!

I plan to launch Poem Farm in April, so stay tuned for more updates as we get started. If you know someone — poet or otherwise — who might be interested in this project, please send them this post or the link to the Poem Farm page of my website.

Have questions? Email me! You can reach me at laf.tobias@gmail.com.

---

Garden Updates

The seeds have arrived (now I'm talking about real seeds) and we are planting several this Saturday. I will share more pictures and updates as we get the garden going. Right now, it looks like this:

---

Odds and Ends

Here’s what I’ve been up to these days:

• Reading a few poetry volumes, including "Watching the Spring Festival" by Frank Bidart and "Door to a Noisy Room" by Peter Waldor (see image below).

• Singing "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers at Temple (twice in a row).

• Working on my manuscript, which feels like an endless project (in the best way).

• Submitting poems to journals — my poem "On the Way to Siena" is forthcoming in Cathexis Northwest Press this May!

Warmth, by Peter Waldor, from “Door to a Noisy Room”

With spring wishes,

Lily