The title for my page, "Defiant Verse," comes from the title of a Dorothy Parker poem about love. This is my first year with the "30 Poems in November" campaign but not my first time with the Center for New Americans. Long ago, when I had the time, I was a volunteer tutor, and then more recently I took Spanish classes--which were excellent! I wanted to take Spanish as a beginner to remember the experience of being brand new to a foreign language. It is always a humbling and expansive experience. I still can't speak Spanish (though I can understand a lot of it and I speak a couple other languages besides English), but that's because I don't practice enough. Trying to express yourself in a language not your native tongue is always an impressive leap, and I want my new neighbors in western MA to have every opportunity to make that leap. And writing a poem every day for a month, in my native tongue, feels like a huge leap too. Please pledge as little or as much as you can. I will be ever grateful.
Thank you so much for donating to the Center for New Americans campaign. Every dollar encourages me in this poetry marathon month.
In gratitude,
Justine
