Hi everyone! This week I spoke with Sunflowergirl about her poem, "Forget Me Please," being inspired by the weather, pulling an all-nighter, feeling giddy at funerals, going to big cities, and admiring other YWP writers. Also, I mentioned that Yellow Sweater and I are hosting another Oh Snap! YWP Online Open Mic on February 27th at 1pm EST. You can sign up here to join us, and we'd love to see you there! 
I hope you enjoy!
Iris

Hi everyone! Here is the very special Episode 30, Part 2 of Line Break! Amaryllis and I gave each other lines that we wrote, which we used as inspiration to write our own poems. My poem, january., can be found here, and amaryllis' poem, hallowed halos, hollow be thy name can be found here. In this episode, we talked about our poems, superstitions, my writing process, writing songs versus poems, memories, and what it was like to write using each others' lines. 
I hope you enjoy this episode, and thank you to everyone at YWP for supporting Line Break and creating a really amazing podcast with me! 
-Iris

(listen to episode 30, part 2 of Line Break to listen to how this poem was inspired by a line that amaryllis wrote, and to listen to her poem that was inspired by one of my lines!) 

Periwinkle skies in the middle of the night. The inelegant purr of my typewriter. Lucid dreams, I’m aware of a complete numbness in my body that I mistake for loneliness.

I only throw pennies in pairs, seventeen years of tossing salt over my shoulder never blinded any demons. I want to crack open pistachios while the world orbits around me, the Earth itself is sometimes poetry.
 
Cacao powder, dried flowers pressed into books with gilded pages, spilled espresso makes ink beads that spread out on homemade paper like a ripple in the water.
 

Hi everyone! This week I spoke with TreePupWriter about her poem, "Cilantro Flowers," yoga, being young and having a simple life, writing about small things, and taking big meaning from picture books. Also, Yellow Sweater and I are hosting another Oh Snap! Online Open Mic on January 30th at 7pm EST. Sign up if you want to join us for a fun night of sharing and listening to poetry!
I hope you enjoy!
-Iris
 

Saltwater is sometimes
the only safe place to hide,
sunken under miles of ocean,
hiding between the corals and
schools of zebra-striped fish.
I whisper your name again
and again like a prayer
but there’s never any response.
All I hear is the echo
of lovers who drowned.
I can’t build stepping stones
across the Atlantic
but I could pretend you’re
sitting next to me beside the
seaweed.
The shadows of my feet
kick up clouds of sand
from the ocean floor.
I feel sorry
for the salty creatures
who watch me from the abyss
in the same way that
I feel sorry for people
who have never seen
the world from above,
when the cities become toys
for the clouds to toss around,
and the cars and the people
vanish as if they never existed
at all. It’s the same way in reverse
underwater, the world lifts or maybe
you fall, there’s no air to breathe,

Hi everyone! This week I spoke with NiñaEstrella about her poem, "Salty royalty," Pointillism paintings, group projects, writing letters to our future selves, and taking inspiration from dreams. Also, here's a link to "The Swing" by Fragonard, which we mentioned in the episode:
https://ta-images.condecdn.net/image/ZWxdbW58EJ1/crop/810/f/les-hasards-...

I hope you enjoy the first episode of 2021!
-Iris

Hi everyone! This week I spoke with saskiag about her poem, "On Days Like These," the 'kill your darlings' concept, working at libraries, British accents, and taking time to relax. Stay tuned for more Line Break episodes in 2021!
I hope you enjoy!
-Iris

Write the good parts,
laughing and writing,
poetry and open mics,
friends and black and white
pictures on permits,
IMs and emails
and CONGRATULATIONS,
YOU’VE BEEN ACCEPTED INTO THE
CLASS OF 2022.
 
But then,
it is important to write the bad parts too.
Glossy coffins,
last goodbyes,
first goodbyes,
cameras and pens that ran out of ink
a few sentences too short,
stuck in lobbies
and emergency rooms,
crying thick black stitches
that sew your mouth shut.
 
Sixteen years is not enough time
to heal.
 
Write rainy days,
sad days,
sitting-here-until-it’s-over days.
Pajama days,
endless cups of coffee days,
ripping-everything-off-my-walls-
and-starting-over days.
 
Write sunny days,
bare feet that startle the neighbors,
little hands that trace your face,
open windows
and hair that dances to the music,

Hi everyone! This week I spoke with Stargirl about her poem, "H.H," reading at open mics, getting support from your family and community, Jandy Nelson's books, and thinking positively about your writing. Also, this is Part II of the Hannaford Love Poems mini-series! 
I hope you enjoy!
-Iris