Michelle Bitting: Preparing the Body for Poetry

In this interview captivating poet Michelle Bitting discusses the connection between movement, mythology, and writing poetry. A trained actress and dancer, Michelle says that writing poetry is a lot like being in a performance, where one needs to generate and sustain a certain mood in which to enter the text and keep the momentum going. Elliptical machines, walking, and everyday rituals can support such endeavors, and help break us open to what the unconscious had been recording all along. 

Rewrite exercise: Move. Go for a walk, dance, get the blood flowing before you re-enter the poem. Approach a stubborn piece from the right physical and emotional space.