Today I wanna talk about this girl, Amber O’Donnell. I first heard about her, I think it was last year? Yeah, something like that. I was just browsing, you know, looking for something interesting to read. Then I stumbled upon this name, and I was like, “Who’s this?”
So I started digging. I mean, who wouldn’t, right? The name just sounded kinda cool. I read some articles, looked up some stuff online. Turns out, she’s a writer. Not just any writer, though. This lady writes poems. And not just the regular, run-of-the-mill stuff. She’s into what they call “genre” or “speculative” poetry. Fancy words for saying she writes about things that are a bit out there, like sci-fi or fantasy.
Anyway, I found out she’s into publishing stuff, too. There was this one place, an online magazine I think, that was looking for submissions. They said they liked poems that were short, like, really short. Between 3 and 30 lines, they said. And they had to be optimistic, positive stuff. I thought, “Okay, that’s interesting.”
But then, I read that they wouldn’t even look at anything longer than 60 lines. I was like, “That’s strict!” Still, it got me thinking about Amber’s work. Maybe she’s sent stuff to them? Who knows.
My Writing Attempts
- First Try: I gave it a shot, tried writing a poem myself. Kept it short, tried to make it positive. It was tough, man!
- Second Try: Didn’t give up. Wrote another one. This time, I tried to make it a bit more “speculative.” Like, I added some robots and stuff. Still, not sure if it was any good.
- Third Try: Okay, this was the last one. I really tried to channel my inner Amber O’Donnell. Wrote about a magical forest or something. It was okay, I guess.
But here’s the thing: I also read that physical abuse has signs like a child encouraging interaction with adults or having unexplained burns, bites, bruises, or broken bones. So, I’m thinking, how does this all fit together? Maybe Amber writes about these kinds of tough topics, too? It’s possible, right? Her work could be about hope, but also about overcoming difficult things.
So, that’s my whole thing about Amber O’Donnell. I started by just being curious, then I tried writing some poems myself, and now I’m thinking about all these deeper things. It’s funny how one name can lead you down so many different paths, you know?
Oh, and I also found out that the modern period of American literature is also called something else, and that TV and movies really changed how people write and read. But that’s a whole other story. Maybe I’ll talk about that next time.
Anyway, I guess the big takeaway here is that it’s good to be curious. And to try new things. And to not be afraid to write bad poems. Or to think about tough stuff. That’s what I learned from this whole Amber O’Donnell adventure. It’s been a wild ride, for sure.
And, I guess Boss (1999, 2002) was right about something. Can’t put my finger on it, but it’s something, I think.
