A Poet’s Necessity
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Hello friends, I’m thinking about poetry this week, mostly because the great writer, teacher, and activist Nikki Giovanni died at the age of 81. Poetry was the constant companion of my childhood, teens, and twenties. I read poetry voraciously, and wrote. I always wrote. I stood up in cafés and bars and read my words out loud, testing my voice and shaping my world. I still read and write poetry occasionally, but even when I don’t, poetry has formed me. My breaths are marked in meters and my eye catches rain on leaves in a way only a poet can. Nikki Giovanni was one of the poets who influenced my youth. She wrote of simple things and grand things. She wrote about falling in love, relationships, and place. She wrote about revolution and social systems, honeysuckle and the stars. She wrote about being Black and a woman in the US. She wrote about history and math and physics, and the ways they fill our bodies and our lives. sometimes after midnight or just before
the dawn
we sit typewriter in hand
pulling loneliness around us
forgetting our lovers or children
who are sleeping
ignoring the weary wariness
of our own logic
to compose a poem
no one understands it…
Giovanni showed how the smallest things resonate out to the largest, and how vastness dances with the minute. I drank those lessons in on her words. Yes, poetry formed me, and for that, I feel grateful. Thank you, Nikki Giovanni. May you rest in peace. Your words live on. Best wishes - Thorn Want some gentle insight? The You Are the Spell oracle deck and book offers poetic, meditative food for thought.
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, This is a rare extra email! I wanted to let you fantasy lovers know that there's a huge book blast of .99 fantasy romance novels today! Here's a list: FaRoSociety/Bookblast. We Seek No Kings, my epic fantasy with motorcycles, dragons, and swords is .99 today (and the rest of this month) on all retailers. You can also buy the discounted fantasy trilogy at thorncoylebooks.com. be well - Thorn
Hello friends, February 1st is the Feast of Brigid in many traditions. Brigid was both a saint who helped the people and the Goddess of poetry, healing, and the forge. I have honored her for decades, as a patron both of my writing, music, and my activism. This weekend, I call upon Brigid's presence to heal hurting communities, and to strengthen those trying their best to help. Below is a poem I first wrote in 2015 and updated in 2025 (by changing one word). I offer this poem to you once...
Hello friends, I’ve been working on the special goodie bags for the high level backers of my Evolutionary Witchcraft Kickstarter so I can deliver the special editions in February. One of the things I’m including are charms stamped with the words “I Will.” That phrase, “I will,” is key to so much of my personal practice. “I will” helped me to commit to studying and writing fiction decades after giving up. “I will,” gets me out for my daily walks, and goads me to do some modest strength...