2. Poets choose to write about topics that are important to them. Discovering where these topics come from is essential.

3. According to Georgia Heard, “part of the process of being a poet and living our lives as poets, is finding where poems hide from us.”

4. You might find poetry hiding in hundreds of different places. They might be in unexpected places or in everyday things that are right in front of us.

5. Read the following poem to see where poetry hides for the poet Naomi Shihab Nye. “Valentine for Earnest Mann” ….poems hide. In the bottom of our shoes, They are sleeping. They are the shadows Drifting across our ceilings the moment before we wake up…

6. Think about where poetry hides for W. S. Merwin? Inside this pencil Crouch words that have never been written Never been spoken Never been thought They’re hiding They’re awake in there Dark in the dark Hearing us

7. To help you find where your poetry is hiding, you should think about the objects and places that surround you. Consider your passions, obsessions, and concerns. Finally reflect on specific moments in your life.

8. Car games we play while traveling to soccer. On the pages of the book I just read. In my closet - if my clothes could talk. In our family dinner conversations. In the picture albums that tell our stories. In my actions that remind me of my mother. In the friendships I have cultivated. In the sweet tooth that must be kept under lock and key. In the golf club that forgives the swinger. In the tears of my daughter when trying to be forgiven. This is an example of Where Poetry Hides

9. Nancy Atwell says, “You should think of this as a treasure hunt of your life and you are looking for the jewels. “ Now you are ready to start your list of Where Poetry Hides.