Hi everyone,
Welcome to 365 Days of Poetry & Honesty.
I've started painting! Mainly because I wanted my newsletter to really encapsulate my perception of the world. And it feels weird to say hey this is art, my art, especially because everything I've always done is to do with words and I figured the pen was my pal not a paintbrush (although, I don't use paintbrushes, they make me nervous, so all of these were done with either my fingers, filter tips, an old toothbrush and paint tube caps) And I have no artistic training whatsoever but considering the newsletter feels incomplete without images and I enjoy the collaging (but i always forget to source the images :/) So, this way the newsletter is my art and my poetry and this story is crafted by me, my eyes! And if I do uses images that aren't mine, I will credit/source the artist! Thank you for reading <3 Also it's been fun seeing the newsletter as an archive, a record of my endeavour with creativity. It feels good :)
Here are some songs that I’ve been listening to this week, especially the one by Mereba! She’s one of my favourite artists. Her voice, her words, the composition of her music, I’m in heaven!!
Monday
Started this week with ‘Radiant Child’ by LION BABE playing, and it inspired this beautiful poem. I like to think I’m talking to my inner child, and if I’m being honest I wrote it for her!
Tuesday
I wrote this after a particularly horrible dream I had and I didn't know how to feel. It was very surreal and I couldn't let go of the fact that my subconscious went there.
Wednesday
Most of the poems this week are circling around the topic of death, and they’re a bit sad so I thought why not come from a different angle. Which is why I wrote this poem about orgasms :) or as the French like to say ‘la petite mort’
Thursday
I hope I’m correct in referencing ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, but as I was writing, I remembered studying the short story at school and it seemed to speak to what I was trying to say with this poem. But yeah, I’m exploring madness, but as you're reading, think about the pathologization of femininity as well
Friday
After I wrote this poem it dawned on me that half the time I’m really writing to God. Sometimes it’s desperate and I feel like I’m on my knees begging.
Saturday
Sunday
Two poems. The first an extract by Erika L. Sánchez and the second, a poem by Dorianne Laux.
Thank you for reading this week’s newsletter!
With love,
Oyinda
P.S. here’s another one of my favourite Mereba songs!
really enjoyed reading this and love the collages!