Creative Community: Kelsey Bigelow, Caleb Rainey, and the Poetry Potluck
How two Des Moines poets help others find their poetic potential
Every first Sunday night of the month, Kelsey Bigelow and Caleb Rainey text each other the same question.
“Why do we do this?”
The message is in regards to their monthly “Poetry Potluck,” where they take one week to write a poem based on words submitted from their Instagram followers. Words are submitted on the first Monday of the month and they share their poems on the following Friday during an Instagram live. Sometimes, they invite other poets along.
It’s tough to write on such a time constraint, to make others’ words into your own. A writer’s journey to make something out of something else, quite different from our usual blank page. Kelsey tells me Caleb rarely likes what he wrote. Does any writer ever?
But it’s never really about the end product for these two Iowa-based poets. Excuse my cliches, but really, it’s about the journey, the friends they made along the way, etc. Poetry Potluck is about the act of being in creation together, of turning art into a community endeavor and laying a path for other writers to find their way after them.
“It’s a lot of fun. We really love it,” Kelsey says.
Follow Kelsey and Caleb’s Instagram pages to join in on the fun
Kelsey and Caleb are both Iowa transplants, Kelsey moving to Des Moines for a job and Caleb attending the University of Iowa. It didn’t take long for each of them to get their hands into the Iowa poetry scene and begin molding it. Poetry is their full time jobs and they want to show more Iowans what it can do.
Today, Kelsey leads the Des Moines Poetry Workshop and works with the Iowa Poetry Association and Poetry Palooza to grow poetry’s presence around the state. Caleb founded IC Speaks, a nonprofit in Iowa City providing opportunities for young poets to write and perform, and works with Iowa City Poetry. They each have self-published collections, recorded spoken word albums, and perform regularly.
The two are at home tending to an active poetry scene. It’s what allowed them both to pursue poetry fulltime. It’s what began their beautiful friendship.
They met at the Des Moines Poetry Slam, shortly after Kelsey released her first book. Caleb asked Kelsey how she went about self-publishing; she showed him the ropes. Caleb began booking her for the shows he produced; he then showed her how to produce events herself. They found their way, together.
“For the first three and a half years of our relationship, we only ever talked about poetry stuff and saw each other at poetry events,” says Kelsey. “It felt a lot like we were coworkers. Then one day I was having a moment at work like, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I messaged him and just asked if he had a day job. He said no and started showing me the ropes of how to do this full time.”
Kelsey and Caleb care deeply about the type of community they are helping to build. Each show they produce, each writing group they convene, each Poetry Potluck they perform, their consciously thinking about how they can include different types of poets from different types of life. They want to grow together and they want their community to grow, too.
They’ve even turned Poetry Potluck into a publishing opportunity.
The pair invite their followers to write a poem along side them each month, which then can be submitted to the Poetry Potluck Anthology. Kelsey and Caleb use every word submitted for their poems; the audience is asked to use a minimum of five.
“We accept everyone who submits. We’re not judging the poems. We believe that everyone should be able to enjoy artistry,” says Kelsey. “If you brought something the potluck, you get to enjoy the potluck. If you submitted a poem, you’re going to be published.”
Kelsey speaks with a smooth, excited voice, smiles frequently, leans forward to hear what you have to say. You can’t ignore her excitement about poetry. In fact, it starts to seep into you, reminds you of the importance of precision in language, the responsibility we have to share our words with dignity.
At least, that’s what happened to me as Kelsey and I sat in a coffee shop in the East Village talking about writing and poetry and community one Sunday afternoon. Her and Caleb’s adoration of the sublime energy radiating within the Iowa poetry community caught me like a fall breeze carrying a leaf to the ground. I started to wonder—could I be a poet, too?
I think I could be, and I think that’s what Caleb and Kelsey want—to show us what poetic potential could be lying within us if we pick up a pen.
Here’s my attempt at finding my poetic potential, where I used ten words from the March Poetry Potluck list.
My nephew used to hold his
Belly Button when he’d get nervous.
Rosie, my cat, does not believe in nine lives but
Roxie, my other cat, does.
In 7th grade a boy told me I had
Thunder thighs and they have carried me ever since.
Iridescent is sunlight until I remember the '
Writer who told me she filled with iridescent rage.
I tried to remember the row of
Flowers outside of our old house as daffodils
but they were daisies.
They constantly attracted
Flies to their exquisitely golden centers
I don’t think I ever saw a butterfly.
Hope is ubiquitous whether we like it or not
and I will reverberate forever.
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I love to hear about writers who create their own community! This is great.
Thanks for so beautifully capturing the work we're doing! I'm so grateful for you!