June's week four free-for-all

Things are still pretty quiet over here at "poem," but we're chugging along. The fourth week in our virtual writing group represents the closing (networking and sharing) segment of an IRL writing group. So let's wrap up and begin looking forward to next time:

• What do you think it would be like to go on vacation with other famous poets?
• What's on your reading list when you go on vacation over the next couple of months (summer for the northern hemisphere)?
• What kinds of conflicts do you face as a writer when the line gets blurry between poet and narrator?
• What ideas do you have for "poem" in the coming months?

It's a free-for-all!

free-for-all week: get up close and personal with an insect

Hi all! We're still recovering from National Poetry Month around here! If you participated in napowrimo, leave us a note in the comments and tell us how it went for you!

In other news, although you may have had your share of prompts the past four weeks, we couldn't resist just one more... Our free-for-all this week is a Moth-based writing prompt: a little research, a little examinaiton, a little poetry. Here's what you are invited to do:

1. Choose an insect: a moth would be great, but there are so many more! ladybug, ant, beetle, stink bug...
2. Google your insect. Gather all the information you can: names of body parts, full-color photos, mating habits, gestation periods, habitat, folk lore... Pull together every bit of information you can about your chosen insect.
3. After you have all your information, write a poem from the viewpoint of the insect.
4. Stuck? Need some inspiration? Try starting your poem with "When I was a..." or "I am a..."
5. Of course, as with all of our prompts, these are just suggestions. And this is just a free-for-all. So, as long as your poem is insect related, anything goes. Post a link to your poem all week long. Come back Sunday to see what new poet and new poem we have chosen for the next month's discussion.
   

A collaborative sestina! Why not!

We have something special in the works...we really do. In the meantime, we thought it might be fun to try some collaborative poetry--even more fun if we try a collaborative sestina!

The form appears complicated, but can be broken down pretty simply: 6 stanzas of six lines each. Each stanza uses the same six end words, in a different order in each stanza.

To be clear:
Stanza 1: 123456
Stanza 2: 615243
Stanza 3: 364125
Stanza 4: 532614
Stanza 5: 451362
Stanza 6: 246531

To begin, we will need people to contribute our first six lines. Whatever words each person's line ends with will become our six repeated words. So give it some thought!

To keep it simple, each time you contribute a line, please cut and paste the previous lines into your new comment.

Off we go!

week four free-for-all

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay! Easter, travel. family...you know!

Our free-for-all this week is an "immediate" kind of poem. One day this week, when you have the time, write a poem about something you just put away. For instance, after a 3-hour train trip and four days away from home, I am stripping the sheets off the beds and putting away the luggage. If my son stops chattering directly in my ear about the Jedis and the Clones that he is fighting in my bedroom, I might be able to write a poem. Maybe I'll write about putting away the Clones...

You could write about a literal putting away--the groceries, the dishes, the toys, the books, the car, the tools. Or you could write about a metaphorical putting away--the lover, the fight, the worry. The only caveat (and this it what makes it a free-for-all!) is the immediacy. Really try to write immediately after you perform the task.

Have fun! Post your put-away-poem links here all week. Next Sunday, stop by for the reveal of our new poem/new poet for the month of April! National Poetry Month! Yahoo!

poem free for all!

Well, it's week four in our poem cycle, time for some fun. Why don't we try a smorgasbord? Pick one and report back with your results!

1. write a poem about a person, place or thing without naming the person, place or thing.

2. find another poem about a name and tell us about it.

3. write a name acrostic--that is, a poem which spells out something in the first letter of each line. ex:

Joy for mothers
is seldom found
lying under
low-flying hairballs.

(first letter of each line spells out my name, Jill.) yes. i know it's a lame poem. i'm kind of tired.

4. write a list poem of all the names you wish you'd had, all the names you've been called, the names of all the personalities you have, etc...

5. write a poem under a psudonym. that is, write a poem from a view point or a voice you would not normally write in, or about a subject you would not normally write about. sort of an anti-you poem.

6. send the poem you wrote about your name to the people who named you.

7. engage in any other creative poetry outlet you feel so inclined to enjoy!

There's a new poem/new poet next month, so stay tuned! And, as always, thank you, everyone, for participating!

"poem." free-for-all!

it's week #4 in our virtual poetry group cycle, and as week #4's will go, this one is tame. find a poem online that reminds you -- in any way -- of mary oliver's "cold poem." it could connect via imagery, meaning, style, etc. it can even be another one of your own. go to the comments and link up for us.

next week, we'll start this all over again, with february's week one introducing us to a new poem!