Handmade Chapbook Event

a POM event

Today concludes a Handmade Chapbook Event by our POM group so we will begin sharing our creations. I recently wrote a story about why I believe All Poets Should Create a Handmade Chapbook. I decided to turn it into a Poets On Medium (POM) event on Facebook.

I did a much simpler chapbook this time (I’ve made one before as you will see in the chapbook article I linked above) for various reasons. I didn’t have access to a printer (at least easily) so I opted for a personal touch of writing out my poetry into a handmade booklet.

I started with some lovely scrapbook / fancy card stock that I had on hand. I have lots of craft supplies so I just worked with what I had.

I used some old journal paper I’d cut from a notebook to use for pen pal paper to staple inside. I use card stock to glue into place for a “bind cover” to cover up the staples. I used the same card stock to stencil a title “Snippets.”

Inside I used a flower stencil to paint some decoration inside the front and back covers. I created a title page and contents.

I chose a few of my poems quite randomly and recorded either “snippets” of them or the whole poem.

Handwriting is not perfect — it’s personal. I liked doing it this way, although my other chapbook is much more elaborate, with art and with printed poetry inside.

Keeping this project simple allowed me to make a small booklet that can be tucked into my bookshelf on the shelf I have reserved for poetry books and reference materials. I look forward to running across it from time to time amongst Sylvia Plath, Robert Frost, books of poetry prompts, and anthologies — residing there, my work, with the “greats.”

If you have not taken the time today to celebrate your own poetry with a handmade chapbook, I think you should.

It feels really nice to hold them close.

If you are still working on your chapbook — no worries. Enjoy the process. I look forward to seeing what you have done! Tag me!

Christina Ward 💗 is a poet.