April 30th Poems

As some may know, the Residency is ending today. I had an amazing time doing this - running this blog, hosting workshops, celebrating poetry in the community, and, as of last night, hosting a successful Poetry Slam.

At the slam, we had several amazing poets compete. The winner, Chris Britton, and the runner up, Cathleen Louise, were kind enough to allow me to post one of the poems which they had recited at the slam last night. Here are those poems.

Chris Britton:

Cathleen Louise:

April 30th Prompt

Today, we're going to talk about the last place that we have yet to talk about.

Write about what you do. Write a poem to your employer. Write a poem to your employees. Write a poem to the most menial tasks, or write a poem to the amazing things you've been able to accomplish in your position. Talk about your experiences. Was there one time that really struck you with its power? Is there anything of great significance which you do on a daily basis, perhaps without fully realizing it? Poetry can be found in our daily lives, usually in places we may least expect.  Happy writing!

April 29th Prompt

Today, let's try to tackle one of the last places yet untackled in terms of these prompts.

Write a poem to or about your dreams. Clearly, dreams can have many meanings. To some, they mean our goals that are too far away to see clearly yet we know that each step brings us closer. To others, dreams are simply those things we experience late at night when everything else is supposed to be at rest. Write a poem which talks to or about your dreams. Is there one in particular which is very memorable? Is there one which reoccurs and which you can't seem to shake? Is there an idea which seems to call to you? Take some time to write about it today. If not now, then when? Happy Writing!

April 28th Prompt and Question

Today's prompt will be somewhat meta.

Write to or about writing. What is your process in terms of how you write? Does an idea come out of nowhere and demand to be picked up like a crying child? Do you have to meditate profusely on a topic for hours or days or weeks to get the right words to come up? Do you just plain wish it was easier to write? Perhaps harder? This is your chance to complain, explain, create a refrain like a song to be sung to yourself (or others) in the future. What does writing mean to you?



In keeping with this writing idea:

How do you know a poem is "finished"?


Most people know the age-old phrase, "A poem is never finished, only abandoned"; however, something that most people don't necessarily talk about is "Well, is a poem ever finished?" By finished I mean here to say ready for sharing of some kind, whether that be in print or out loud at a local open mic event. How do you know when an audience is ready to take in your poem? Is it only after meticulous long hours of perfecting every single last piece of punctuation? Is it the moment after it's been written (revision comes after sharing)? Is it never? Why - for all / any of the above - is that so?

As always, happy writing!

April 27th Prompt

Today, I'm going to bring back a prompt I was taught forever ago.

Write about a pair of shoes in such a way that creates an idea of death without ever mentioning "death" or certain words or phrases closely associated with the concept like "grim reaper" etc. 

If wanted, you could also change this process so that the poem hints at just about any grand concept: life, love, time, war - and on.

Today's question focuses on place:

Do you have a specific spot or place you like to go in order to compose or revise your poetry?

Many of us have different places we like to be. In college, I would always visit a restaurant near campus that would give me some time to think, eat, and, as luck would have it, compose poetry. Do you have a specific place that you like to go that helps this process? Is there a process that goes into writing poetry? Place is an important aspect for poetry - do you have a specific place that's important to you?

April 26th Prompt and Question

Today, we're going to think about the past but attempt to compose something new. Specifically, we're going to write about something everyone has, and something many of us have had problems with.

Write a poem to or about family. Your family, specifically. Of course, we don't always get along with the people who have been closest to us. What might you want to say to your parents? Your children? If you don't have kids, what might you want to say to them were they around? Are there any images that are closely associated with one person in your family? For inspiration, I would encourage people to read Michael Bennett's wonderful contribution to this blog - it can be found by clicking on his name in the contributor's list. Happy Writing!



A question that has been on my mind - one that I invite my readers to share in the comments section of this post - is:

Is there a poem that has particularly affected you?


I know that, for the longest time, I could not listen to a poem by Danny Sherrard called "The Distance" (which can be found on YouTube) without tearing up a bit. Strange though it may seem, I was particularly moved by this poem. Another poem I found powerful is "What Teachers Make" by Taylor Mali. Last on this list but certainly not least is a 6 minute performed poem called "The Crickets have Arthritis" by a poet named Sean Koyczan. There are, of course, several others (too many to list here) that have affected me in some way or another. I would love for others to share their experiences with poetry within the comments of this post. Happy sharing!

April 25th Prompt and Question

In honor of the Community Poetry reading tonight (a celebration to say "thank you" to all the poets and writers in the are - and showcase the poetry of those who were published on this blog) and to continue the theme of revision, today's prompt focuses on the speaking or performance of a poem.

Find an old poem (or write a new one) and write above your lines all the places that you want to pause to breathe. A fun symbol that can be used to denote a breath break is a caesura ( || ) which denotes, in music and poetry, a complete pause and was used heavily in Old English poetry. After you have have places to pause, decide on the rhythm that the pieces of the rest of your poem should take. Are there certain lines you want to read quickly? Are there other lines which should be spoken slowly to allow the listener time to absorb the information you're presenting? Finally, decide on a tone in which you'd like to deliver your lines. Does your poem demand to be spoken with a smile? Does it want to find its life in tears? Each poem has a character to it - revising poems with this idea in mind will help you to find the poem's voice. Happy writing!



Today's question is also inspired by the question of performance and poetry. Simply put:

What is the place of poetry?


Should poetry be performed or written for performance? Should it be written so that, as one teacher stated, the reader can "swim through" the poem? Is it more ideally a mix of both? In short, this becomes a question of where poetry belongs. Does it belong to the public, or does it belong to the individual? Is it neither? Or both?



Regardless of this question's answer, be sure to check out the Community Poetry Reading which starts at 7:00 tonight at the Midwest Writing Center located on the 3rd floor at the Bucktown Center for the Arts at 225 E. 2nd Street Davenport, IA. It's a great chance to hear some awesome poetry inspired and written by the community! Hope to see you there

April 24th Prompt and Question

Today, we're going to focus more on revision and creating something new through it.

Find a poem you like (or dislike) that you have written. If it's a free verse poem, try writing it in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter - for these purposes it's okay to just break the lines into 10 syllables a piece). If it's in a meter, try writing it in one long block like prose. A couple points to pay attention to are: where do you breathe in this poem? Are there any points of significance that were brought out more so in the rewritten version? Do you have to change some of the wording or context by converting it into meter? Is the flow changed? Strengthened? Weakened? Regardless of the results, this is a fun exercise to help you see your writing in a new light. Revision at its best. Happy Writing!

The simple question I want to ask today is:

What does your revision process look like?


Essentially, how do you revise your poems? Everyone's style is different. Do you go to a specific place to do them? Do you only cross out (and never erase)? Why does this help you? How does this help you? If you were to give advice about revision, what would it be?

April 23rd Prompt and Question

Today, we're going to practice something very important to any writer.

You will be writing today, but rather than focusing on something completely new, drudge up something old. Find an old poem and re-read it a few times to see if you can see it in a new light. Today, find a poem you thought you had abandoned and adopt it anew. Are there any things you have experienced between the original writing and now that you can draw from? Is there a specific image that stands out that you can keep running throughout the poem? Has this poem developed a new voice? Does it say what you want it to say? Have your views shifted? Today, breathe new life into something old. Happy writing!

Today, instead of a poem, I would like to present a question for you to ponder (and possibly answer, though the question may not easily lend itself to an answer). This question comes to us as something with which I have been struggling for a long time:


What, if anything, is the purpose of poetry?


Is there 1 set purpose? Can it shift? Is purpose determined by poem? Is it to educate? Is it to entertain? Is poetry simply written for the sake of poetry? Does it even have a purpose?

I suppose this question really boils down to: Why do you write poetry?

Happy writing, and have a wonderful day!

Robert Cone: A Taste of Summer Wine

From "A Taste of Summer Wine"

It seemed as the flowers are known to grow
The witch’s existence had been severed
The sprite had delivered a mortal blow
Dashing the hag’s wish to live forever

As for Lord Dinsmore he grew more jolly
And his wife held yet another gala
It seemed all their life had been a folly
And so they dressed in their best regalia

Lady Dinsmore wore her fancy dress ring
Lord Dinsmore was wearing his uniform
The ladies were dressed in their fancy things
And the canapés were cuneiform

The guests said from the way he had matured
That his lordship was no longer off plumb
For they asked what is the state of nature
If it is not at times deaf, blind or dumb

As for his lordship’s eccentricities
He put the fairy garden to one side
For as if struck by electricity
With the fairies he could no longer bide

He took to milking cows from the dairy
People say his life was filled with laughter
And they repeat that though he lies buried
He lives happily in the hereafter

April 22nd Prompt

Today, we're going to talk about culture. Media mostly.

Write a poem in response to a television show, a news report, an episode of your favorite drama. It may help to focus your poem on a single instance or character or moment you find most interesting. What does the moment mean to you? Why did you choose it? What is its significance? What does it say? Regardless of what you choose, I'm certain the result will be very interesting. Happy writing!

Today's poem comes to us as a selection from Robert Cone and is entitled A Taste of Summer Wine. About the poem, Cone writes "This poem was inspired by the long-running BBC comedy, Last of the Summer Wine."

Erin Gehn: Poem: The Purpose

I've not written words for you to see

until now
Because I thought they'd blur your vision
like heat does to a desert scene
With trivial scribbles, loops, and punctuated
. ! . !
expressions yerning to be read beyond the page
....

April 21st Prompt

Today, the style of the blog has changed up a bit (at least on the poster's end), but that fits quite all right with the prompt.

Write about an adventure you had. Dig into your memory and find something about some travels you went on or a mountain you climbed or even a particularly adventurous trip to the super market. Does this memory have a broader connection to your life today? Did you realize something on this outing which you still keep with you? Has this event changed you in some way? Write your story, then share it! Happy writing!

Today's poem comes to us from Erin Gehn and is entitled Poem: The Purpose. About this poem, Gehn writes, "To be read in full and by only the right ledger phrases as two separate poems in one. Notice see-vision-scene, the blur style formatting of the middle ledger phrases, how 'punctuated' does not stop the sentence, and how the left ledger words- last words in every line- also tell a story "See, [a] vision punctuated [the] page." Aha!"

Joseph A. Uphoff: The Lands of the Doll

Opacity ruled the distance between the

frequency of creative production and some

other recipient, a station regulated by the

spectator sport of charismatic power. Perhaps,

it was a bluff that emotions could be arranged

and, otherwise, deranged by the effort

suggesting an indifferent comparison between

deserving individuals and the lyrical diatribes

within which lament was a subtle

grammar for which sorrow remained a

stain upon the syllables and inflections

of the dramatic sword. Outside, the

yard beckoned with fence posts and

sandy boulders. It could not be recognized

that color was tinged by means of enigmatic

spelling and tensely held beliefs requiring

the eccentricity that was the mark of

a spurious fabrication. The paintings

fell into place, winning a stretch of the

wall in full view of adversity,

criticism, and appreciative spectators.

Since it was always all about the fact

of repetitive effort, it remained likely that

a new election would not lead to a fresh

result. The renewal was to be searched

out by reference to other criteria, of which

there was a bounteous plentitude. Fabric

Had woven a whole district to float above

the floor like a dear memory, not without

its departure into virtual form and

expressions cast forth as if a sport

were being playing with a ball, yet the

number were unreliable. the score had

been derived as a fantasy so, without

meaning, it was hovering like the price

being scorched as inflation levered against

the ceiling. The tradition was a rigid

heritage reflected from some predicament

poorly comprehended by indigent and

disinterested people. The dreaming came

before the composition, and after, there was

understanding for the color and the incident

forever documented by scratches forced

into the great expanse of a flat, rock

face. The became the residence

of many ghosts from ancient time, studied

by anonymous spirits at the university,

a vision of future probability. The

sky presided over them with heat and

rain. Nothing was expected to erode

in such a short season as eternal

remembrance., but there was silence about

erosion. Quietude encroached upon

the rooms of the traveler. With a clank

from the chains of this burden echoing

out of the canyon, the wisdom left; it was

picked up and carried away in the

depth of cameras and carved from the

cliff's face by the face of anthropology,

not forgetting responsibility

to the environment of relics.

April 20th Prompt

Today, we're going to revisit perception.

Revision is a process that we undergo in our poetry. It allows us to see something we hadn't seen before in a poem. In a way, it opens the world just a little bit by allowing us to see something in an entirely new light. However, sometimes, this revision can also take something away from us. "We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it -- and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again -- and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore." With this Clemens quote in mind, think about something whose meaning has changed - something which you could no longer see in the same way - and write about that. Explain the revision if you can.

Today's poem comes to us from Joseph A. Uphoff and is entitled The Lands of the Doll.

Caitlin Griffin: Cigarette Romance

one of those nights where

real is surreal.

colors are too bright,

the ground is too textured,

the dark is too clear--

my heart is not calm.

April 19th Prompt

Today, our goal for poetry is to just not worry.

Pick a span of about 30 minutes today that you can set aside for the following purpose: write what's on your mind. The most important thing to keep in mind with this exercise is nothing. Write the first and last things that come to you. Don't worry about what comes out; simply enjoy the process for what it is. After the 30 (or so) minutes are up, read what you've written and see if any ideas or images pop out at you. You may just discover a poem within a poem today. Happy writing!

Today's poem comes to us from Caitlin Griffin and is entitled Cigarette Romance. About herself, Griffin writes "I'm a junior at Augustana College from Central Illinois, majoring in English and Secondary Education with a minor in German. I enjoy reading and sleeping and a good cigarette."

Sean Walsh: Wee Flower, Old Leaf

I lived a lot in my head, as a lad.
Like, I was the last in the –
brothers and sisters well ahead of me.
They were stretching their wings
while I was still in the nest –
if y’know what I mean…

I didn’t know them. Not really…
And my Dad was away a lot and my mother
working the pub, trying to make ends meet.
So I – I turned into a world of me own…

Well, like, you won’t believe this
but I used to write letters.
To, to the Little Flower. God’s truth…
Saint Teresa of, of Lisieux.

Nearly every night. Two, three pages.
With the fountain pen I got for Christmas.
No matter how cold it was in that bedroom.
And I’d leave them folded under her statue
on the tallboy before I’d get under the blankets…

God only knows what became of them.
Dumped, I suppose, like a lot of other stuff
when the family home was sold off…

And there’s a thing: whenever I go into a Church now
she’s nearly always there to one side or another,
standing with the bunch of roses,
looking at me…

And I think, maybe, she might just get me into Heaven
by a side door when – when the time comes…

April 18th Prompt

This prompt will ask you to step into the perspective of the unknown.

Write a poem from the perspective of the universe, of God, of a "higher power." What would the universe want to say? If it had emotions, what might it feel? What would this point of view be like? Is there anything that this being/point of view would feel necessary to speak? In any case, happy writing!

Today's poem comes to us from Sean Walsh and is entitled Wee Flower, Old Leaf. I found the story stemming from this poem to be very interesting. It draws on memories from the past to powerful effect. Please enjoy!

Ryan Collins: Unsupported Transit

Into photographic plates into immediate effect
What effect is not immediate that matters?

The slow wave the flicker effect washing over
Into my eyes my ghost pressure building up
Behind my photogenic eyes stuck on blinking

Cymbal crash hooves stampede pull toward
Push away to stampede afloat for a moment

A cloud hanging in a room a ghost in a photo
Graph of a bell an acoustic anomaly charging
Toward the frame’s precise edge at a full gallop