Getting to Know You

“Part of the pleasure I take in being a writer and reader of poetry is this instant intimacy. By the first page, we’re practically what one would refer to as family—at this point, I’m comfortable in my nightclothes and headscarf.” In “Vagrant & Vulnerable,” Dawn Lundy Martin’s conversation with Nicole Sealey in the September/October issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, Sealey talks about feeling comfortable infusing her poems with a naked vulnerability and intimacy. What do you find yourself thinking about when the notion of outside criticism or judgment is not an issue? While envisioning your most comfortable clothing, an outfit you might wear at home with family, write a poem that embodies this level of immediate familiarity, delving into a tightly held or private subject perhaps only known by your closest loved ones.