A New Challenge

Today is the first day of Robert Lee Brewer's 2012 November PAD Chapbook Challenge. He will post a prompt each day in November and those willing to take the challenge will try to create new poems from the prompts within about 24 hours of the post.

I did the PAD Challenge that Robert did in April of this year. It was the first writing challenge I had done and I found it interesting.

 The first thing I realized was that, most of the time, an idea was not going to come to me the moment I read the prompt.  It was not going to come to me if I stared at the prompt or even if I thought really hard about the prompt. I had to write the idea out of the prompt. In other words, I had to start putting words down on paper until I wrote something that I wanted to continue writing about.

Some days, I ended up with just a few lines. Some days, I ended up with a group of lines that had the potential to be a poem; and some days, I actually ended up with poems. I still go through what I wrote during that challenge to see if I can turn the few into groups and the potential into poems.

So, now I'm ready for a new challenge that will teach me something else about writing and give me possibilities for the coming months.

 

Good luck to everyone who's taking on a writing challenge this month!

Related Post-Elementary, My Dear Poet

 

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William Blake-Words and Images

Sometimes you do find treasure on the internet.

I was reading about William Blake in preparation for the October Sunday Salon at The Writers Place. The Salon is held the third Sunday of every month and hosted by Sharon Eiker. A different writer is discussed each month. Attendees take their own approach to learn about the life and works of each writer and share their perspectives.

Blake was both a visual artist and a poet. As this biography on poets.org explains, he expressed an interest in painting at the age of 10 and his parents sent him to drawing school. At 14, he was apprenticed to an engraver and was assigned to sketch the tombs at Westminster Abbey. He saw a variety of Gothic styles that he used as inspiration throughout his life. He went on to become an engraver and illustrator of books and magazines.

As I was looking for information about Blake, I hoped to find some of his poems and images. I didn't expect to find the William Blake Archive. I urge you to take a look for yourself to learn about this still-growing resource. I will give you a tip. After you have pulled up an image, hit the compare button.


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Poetry in Photos

This month, a new exhibit opened in The Changing Gallery at the American Jazz Museum. It is called Beyond Words {A Fusion of Poetry (+) Visual Art (+) Jazz}. If you are like me, you will want to go to this exhibit, which remains open until April 26, 2013, several times because you will take something new away from it each time.

I have been working with combining poems and photographs since early 2011.  The poem and photo are distinct pieces that are being viewed together. The poem is an entity in itself and can stand alone.

After visiting the exhibit a couple of times, I created a new piece using the same photograph and elements of the poem. In this piece, the words and photo are truly joined.

How you ever created visual (or concrete) poetry? Would you be willing to give it a try?

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Conventional Wisdom about Social Media

I guess for me seeing is believing. Like many people, especially of my generation, I have entered the world of social media begrudgingly, participating some but never truly embracing it. That changed earlier this week when I attended the 2012 NACWAA Convention in Kansas City.

At this multiple-day event attended by hundreds of people, I could observe how the organization promoted the use of social media, primarily Twitter, and the response it got. I could also read the individual tweets and see what elements other people chose to highlight about an experience I was sharing.

Based on both observation and presentations I heard, here are a few thoughts I came away with:

• There will be some trial and error in building a platform.
• Platform building also will take time, and therefore, patience.
• You can tell a story even if you only use 144 characters.
• An important part of a platform is helping others.

So, I think I'm finally ready to embrace the use of social media. How about you?


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Memories in the Air

I'm having a really bad allergy season this fall. Sometimes, especially when one is grieving, I think memories can be like an allergan. I was feeling that way when I wrote the following.

Memories Alert

Memories are in the air.
Create an emotional smog
that permeates the atmosphere.
Fill the lungs
but can't be expelled
no matter how hard we exhale.
Get in the eyes,
produce tears and
blur the vision.
Relief has to be self-generated.
After all, we are all responsible
for what we put
into the environment.

Related Post-I Keep You with Me-Looking at Grief with Verse


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Poetry and Brass

When I was in 4th Grade, I took a test at my elementary school to see if I qualified to take music lessons. The instrument I said I wanted to play was the trumpet.

I didn't qualify to be given a trumpet by the school; but was told that if I owned an instrument, I could still take lessons. My sister had taken violin lessons so....

My career as a violinist ended after three years, but my love of brass
instruments continues today. Last Friday night, I had the opportunity to go to the Blue Room and hear Delfeayo Marsalis on trombone, Sean Jones on trumpet and Bobby Watson on saxophone. Engulfed in some of the most beautiful sounds I'll ever hear come out of those instruments, I had to write something.

Love Notes

Take to the air

propelled by breath

blowing horns

released by fingers

plucking strings

created by sticks

hitting drums.

Circle the globe

spreading the message:

Jazz is a love note

to the soul.

 

 

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Poetry to the Moon

Night Visitor

Search for that
first glimpse of you.
Where will you appear?
High in the sky or
along the horizon?
Will you be full
and bright or
a shimmering slice?
Height and form
don't matter.
There is comfort
in seeing you
shine each night.

Related post-Eclipsed

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