Poetry Archives - Uncommon Discourse https://uncommondiscourse.com/category/poetry/ by Chris Gaffney Wed, 27 Mar 2024 03:05:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5 https://uncommondiscourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/cropped-UD-Site-Icon-Face-Only-32x32.png Poetry Archives - Uncommon Discourse https://uncommondiscourse.com/category/poetry/ 32 32 How Reading Poetry to My Pregnant Wife Turned Me Into a Poet https://uncommondiscourse.com/poetic-transformation/ Sun, 17 Mar 2024 03:02:36 +0000 https://uncommondiscourse.com/?p=2845 Reading to my pregnant wife's womb for the first time set in process an artistic transformation that now has me wandering the countryside with a Connecticut Poetry Society tote bag sharing my poems about parenting, pregnancy and babies. Read More

The post How Reading Poetry to My Pregnant Wife Turned Me Into a Poet appeared first on Uncommon Discourse.

]]> I’ve lived a very full and fulfilling creative life that seems to naturally form itself around whatever I happen to be going through in life.

For the past five years that creative energy has increasingly flowed towards poetry; in particular, child-friendly poetry revolving around the parenting journey from pregnancy through early childhood.

Poet Chris Gaffney at the Woodbury Public Library

I now roam the Connecticut countryside workshopping and refining a collection of poems called Baby Bump: Poems For and About Expectant Parents.

It is always well-received and something that I’m increasingly proud of talking about and serious about getting published.

Today I’m sharing the best encapsulation of where I am in my artists’ journey. 

Woodbury Poet Laureate Sandy Carlson invited me as a featured reader at their October, 2023 showcase.

Readers were asked to reflect on a fall-friendly theme like transformation, so my presentation details my artistic transformation towards poetry.

An audio version of the talk may be streamed or downloaded here:

Or, the video version may be viewed here:

The post How Reading Poetry to My Pregnant Wife Turned Me Into a Poet appeared first on Uncommon Discourse.

]]> Upcoming Online Poetry Showcase https://uncommondiscourse.com/poetry-showcase/ Mon, 05 Jun 2023 05:54:52 +0000 https://uncommondiscourse.com/?p=2811 Ridgefield Poet Laureate Barb Jennes' online poetry series showcases talent from throughout Connecticut to supportive and engaged audiences every month.

I am proud to represent my community in Poets from Connecticut's Four Corners: Father's Day Edition on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at 7 PM.

Registration is open to all. Read More

The post Upcoming Online Poetry Showcase appeared first on Uncommon Discourse.

]]>

Ridgefield Poet Laureate Barb Jennes’ online poetry series showcases talent from throughout Connecticut to supportive and engaged audiences every month.

I am proud to represent my community in Poets from Connecticut’s Four Corners: Father’s Day Edition on Wednesday, June 7th at 7 PM.

Registration is open to all and may be completed here: https://ridgefieldlibrary.librarymarket.com/event/online-poems-connecticuts-four-corners-fathers-day-edition

The post Upcoming Online Poetry Showcase appeared first on Uncommon Discourse.

]]> Poetic Gestations https://uncommondiscourse.com/poetic-gestations/ Mon, 15 May 2023 17:01:00 +0000 https://uncommondiscourse.com/?p=2799 In this People and Their Poems podcast interview, I discuss my work-in-progress – Baby Bump: Poems For and About Expecting Parents.

I hope you enjoy hearing how my life’s journey led to serving as a stay-at-home dad to a 4-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy, how my artist’s journey led to poetry, and how I’m focusing them both to cheer on expecting parents by encouraging dads to get involved at the earliest possible moment (the 15th week of pregnancy) when fetuses first start hearing voices from outside the womb. Read More

The post Poetic Gestations appeared first on Uncommon Discourse.

]]> In this People and Their Poems podcast interview, I discuss my work-in-progress – Baby Bump: Poems For and About Expecting Parents.

I hope you enjoy hearing how my life’s journey led to serving as a stay-at-home dad to a 4-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy, how my artist’s journey led to poetry, and how I’m focusing them both to cheer on expecting parents by encouraging dads to get involved at the earliest possible moment (the 15th week of pregnancy) when fetuses first start hearing voices from outside the womb.

I’ve been slowly building this project up for nearly five years and am excited to start sharing more of it publicly in the weeks and months ahead.

The post Poetic Gestations appeared first on Uncommon Discourse.

]]> A Poem for Expecting Parents https://uncommondiscourse.com/expecting-parents-poem/ Sun, 17 Jul 2022 05:05:16 +0000 https://uncommondiscourse.com/?p=2710 It was my honor to speak recently at the Connecticut Bards Poetry Review’s book launch.

The 2-minute-long video here includes a reading of a poem I wrote for our first-born child:

You Started as a Secret Read More

The post A Poem for Expecting Parents appeared first on Uncommon Discourse.

]]> It was my honor to speak recently at the Connecticut Bards Poetry Review’s book launch. I am fortunate to live in such a supportive community that provides opportunities for so many unique and diverse voices to shine.

The 2-minute-long video below includes a reading of a poem I wrote for our first-born child:

You Started as a Secret

The post A Poem for Expecting Parents appeared first on Uncommon Discourse.

]]>