Words in a random order for no particular reason logo

Words in a random order for no particular reason

Archives
April 4, 2026

NaPoMo is here


Dear Dears,

Back so soon? Yes, National Poetry Month (NaPoMo) is like Christmas for us poetry-types. Lots of readings, book releases, festivals and more. So it’s no wonder that I am back with some things to talk about. Also some things to figure out.

An black&white image of a field with several small haystacks. There is a white x across the image done with with looks like a brush. There is also a black hole in the circle, where a hole punch has been used.
Discarded photo negative from the US FSA series during the Great Depression. These are haystacks in Garrett Co, Maryland. Image sourced from the Public Domain Image Archive / Library of Congress

First, am I in the Twilight Zone? I watch as these men in suits, who even muted sound like assholes, talk about bombing and golf and dominating. And everyone treats them so normally. This is totally what operational complicity means. If that’s not a thing, I just coined it. Following the rules of civility in the face of autocracy, in the face of someone who lies all the time. 

One of my weird social quirks is wanting us to be honest about the elephant in the room. I want to yell something to the effect of, “Wow, we are all just going to ignore this? Are we that corrupt? I mean, he’s casually talking about killing people – and we’re not going to question him just a little bit harder?” Granted I am not in the room, but this does remind me of some of the thoughts I have had on a smaller scale, mostly when the tension is high and we’re all thinking it and no one will say it. And so I would. Say something. Which was most every conversation I had at my last job. Which might be why…

*

The daffodils are coming up. It’s a big party in my garden bed. The birds are nesting and I’m beginning to hear that dreaded leaf blower sound again. Still, planning a garden, getting a farm share, and feeling the sun again revives me. Nature is a gift.

*

Two side by side negatives - one negative and one positive -- of a farm scene. Taken during the great depression, the image is of men tilling and clearing a field. One man looks at the camera. What looks like the sun is actually a hole that has been punched through the negative, essentially destroying it.
Clearing land in Prince Georges Co., MD Image sourced from the Public Domain Image Archive / Library of Congress

IT’S NAPOMO, COME CELEBRATE:

April 7-11, Maynard Book Festival. Specifically:

  • April 9 Poetry Reading at Felixology with poets from Lowell and Maynard

  • April 10 Luke O’Neil will be reading at the library from his new book, We Had It Coming. I will be the host and am excited to do a Q&A with him.

April 14 Gabrielle Calvocoressi & Sasha Waters will be in conversation at The Notebooks Collective, discussing what it means to live a handsome life.

April 16 Poetry Appreciation Society: Patricia Smith. If you are in Maynard, come read some poems with me.

April 18: Poems on Demand at the Nossrat Yassini Poetry Festival. If you are going, come say HI! I will be conjuring poems from the few words given to me on a typewriter.

That’s it, or at least so far! Thanks for subscribing — please share with any writerly types who might enjoy!

With Love,

Becca

Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Words in a random order for no particular reason:
aprilist.com
Bluesky
Instagram
Powered by Buttondown, the easiest way to start and grow your newsletter.