Confessional Poetry Amplifies Everyday Resistance
weekly poetry prompt
every word you cannot say | Iain s. thomas
read poetry is a space for everyone where we celebrate identity, diversity, and empowerment in modern poetry. here at read poetry we seek to share and recognize what poetry means to the modern poet and reader.
-we hope you find a soft place to land.
“You have to realize that you are not endlessly fascinating.”
This comment came from a visiting poet at my university junior year. The surprised crowd – made up of mostly creative writing students – laughed awkwardly. The poet had been addressing “confessional poetry,” which the Academy of American Poets calls “the poetry of the personal.” It’s often the most common genre for new and emerging poets, based on the familiar advice to “write what you know.”