Celebrate May with us! (Sunday Summary)

“I cannot tell you how it was,
But this I know: it came to pass
Upon a bright and sunny day
When May was young; ah, pleasant May!”

With only 30 days in April to celebrate poetry, there was no way to include all of the poems or poets we wanted to. And in order to include not only the ones that Adam and Erika chose but to incorporate the ones from our readers and friends as well, it meant some, like Christina Rosetti, were left out. So, let’s carry the spirit of poetry on for one more day and begin the Sunday Summary for the week of 25 April 2022-29 April 2022 with a excerpt from Christina Rosetti’s poem “May.”

There is so much to celebrate as we begin the new month. The changing season of course, as well as Eid al-Fitr, Beltane, May Day and International Worker’s Day. But also that it was exactly one year ago that Adam and Erika launched their initial blogging venture; the project which eventually led them to start 2 Rules of Writing.

Monday

“Nice guys do those things. Nice guys walk you home when it’s dark. They keep a couple of cans of soda around. They remember your favorite pizza topping is mushrooms.”

As Sexual Assault Awareness Month ends, Erika continues her reflections on being a rape survivor. There are things that “nice guys” are supposed to do. What happens when they don’t? And what about the other rules? The ones people are supposed to follow to stay safe? Why do we judge victims and survivors, determining their worthiness by whether or not they’ve followed the rules we have that determine who is or isn’t the right kind of victim?

Tuesday

“So let’s say for argument’s sake that you’re interested in reading a book outside of your comfort zone. For example, you usually read thrillers and mysteries but you want to read something older.”

Adam continues our National Poetry Month and returns to his teaching roots. This time around he uses Paradise Lost as a model for how to read outside your comfort zone. When you want to read something outside your usual genres, when you want to read something challenging, where do you start? What do you do? And what resources are available to help you discover something new (or old) and amazing?

Wednesday

“Days like this get my blood pumping. The kids remarked that I was doing the evil scientist face all day, a silly thing I do when I have fun projects and things planned for them.”

It’s time for our visit to Ms. Lacrete’s class! Who doesn’t love a special day in class when we get to deviate a little from our usual lessons? On this visit Josi shows us what can happen when teachers have the freedom to teach creatively and joyfully. Hard questions are asked and answered. When teachers love what they’re teaching, students love what they’re learning.

Friday

“Poetry helps teach us to tell stories. The rhythm and rhyme makes it one of the basic building blocks of literacy. It’s how we preserved our stories before we had written language and printing presses. It kept our stories in times when we weren’t allowed to read or write. Poetry is a vital connection to our past and our future.”

We take a break from the regular Watch/Listen/Read feature this week for Poem in Your Pocket Day, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. We keep so many things, literal and metaphorical in our pockets. Things that we need just to get by–our money, our phones, our keys. What about words of inspiration? What poem might you tuck in yours to inspire yourself or to share with others? Is it the same every day or do the words you want to carry with you vary?

Saturday

“But Big Cat sorted him out. “There are only so many plots,” he said. 

Three plots? Six plots? Seven? Thirty Six? How many novel plots are there? Are there really any original plots anymore, or do we retell the same story over and over again in new ways? And are we copycats when we do? The Caturday cats want to talk about novelty and plagiarism. See what they have to say. And let us know what you have to say!

Looking Ahead to May

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Take some time to focus on self care and your well being. Mental Health is very important to the 2 Rules team so we expect some content about that coming up this month. We’ve got new work coming from Shi Huiwen this week, too. There are new submissions in the inbox for Adam and Erika to check out and new formats to experiment with. And of course, Adam and Erika will keep bringing you their regular columns, too. Keep reading to stay on top of the latest stories from them and bring us your submission. We’re excited to bring you new writers and more stories.