Poetry Prompt - Now, I see: Inspired by the work of Rita Dove

Reading at least one published poem a day by a notable writer has drastically changed my writing of poetry and my enjoyment of poetry. In my earlier days of poetry writing, I must confess I was in it for myself. I wanted to get out whatever emotion was driving my poems and I didn’t care too much about what other poets before me had said or how they said it.

I had yet to learn to appreciate poetry.

It was when I was facilitating a local open mic night at a bookstore that my mind and pencil shifted.

People who came to the open mic were more dedicated to craft then I was. They wanted to read books about how to write poetry and how to read poetry. They began to ask me for recommendations. I felt obligated to know more and the rest, as the cliché goes, is history.

Today our prompt is directly from the poem “This Life” by Rita Dove. By the way, this is a link to Rita Dove’s biography at the PoetryFoundation – and at this site you will find every single issue of PoetryMagazine from their 100 year history. You will literally never be lacking for quality poetry if you acquaint yourself with this website.

Prompt:

Now I see…. 

Now I see the possibilities are…..

I suggest you begin with simple sentence endings – at least ten – and then choose the one that calls the strongest to you and use that to begin your poem. When you run into a block, scoop up another one of your beginnings and continue writing.

For further inspiration, I have added a video of me from a live Periscope Broadcast reading Dove's poem as well as giving writing suggestions as I share the the prompt aloud as well.

 

Word Prompt: See, Possibilities

Suggested Form: Free Verse

Suggested Theme: Love Poem

Now, loves, create a poem - and link up below as well.


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Julie Jordan Scott inspires people to experience artistic rebirth via her programs, playshops, books, performances and simply being herself out in the world.  She is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy-extraordinaire and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming in Spring 2016 and beyond.
  To contact Julie to schedule a Writing or Creative Life Coaching Session, call or text her at .
  Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing. 
 Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter:   and on Periscope for writing prompt, tips and inspiration daily created to ignite your artistic rebirth.
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  Follow on Instagram  And naturally, on Pinterest, too!      © 2015

OctPoWriMo Day 21: Poetry Prompt: "I was here...."

Where are your fingerprints?

I spent last weekend at Morro Bay along the Central California Coast. On both Saturday and Sunday morning I could be found nestled in the dunes along the beach, waiting to greet the new day.

On Sunday, I noticed I left a distinctive hand print in the sand.

As a creative person, you are aware how such a thing sparks the imagination. It got me to thinking where my fingerprints and handprints and footprints live on in places, with other people, in memory.

It birthed the image you see here (feel free to also use the image for inspiration and on your blogs) as well as this prompt.

Question Prompt:

Where are your fingerprints?

Where are your handprints?

Where are your footprints?

Sentence Starters

My fingerprints are...

My handprints are...

My footprints are...

I remember the fingerprints of...

I remember the handprints of...

I remember the footprints of....

Words for Inspiration

Hand

Foot

Sand

Impression

Memory

Beach

Ocean

Fingers

Share your poetry with us by linking up. Make sure you visit your neighbors one or two before and after. If you are last on the list go back to the beginning of the list. If you are the first few on the list please go back to the day before and visit the last on the list if you haven't already. Have fun!

-- Julie Jordan Scott 

Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, creative life coach, speaker, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist  whose Writing Camps and Writing Playgrounds permanently transform people's creative lives. Watch for the announcement of new programs coming Fall and Winter, 2014 and beyond. 

Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

Please stay in touch: Follow me on Twitter: @JulieJordanScot    

 Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook. (Thank you!)

Follow on Instagram

And naturally, on Pinterest, too!
© 2014

The Thing with Feathers: Hopeful Inspiration for OctPoWriMo from Emily Dickinson

Mixed Media: Emily Dickinson portrait with book page and leaf - 2012, Julie Jordan Scott

As we get closer to the beginning of OctPoWriMo, you may consider ways to stay inspired. Some of my greatest inspiration comes from the poets who have written before me, especially the women. 

I call them "Literary Grannies" because they have a feminine legacy that isn't often touted. 

I make it a mission to elevate the stature of all women writers and poets. Along the way, I fall in love with the poems and the women.

The more I get to know Emily Dickinson, the more I love her. I have been an admirer for quite a few years now, but my word-love has flourished since I visited her home in Amherst Massachusetts. Not once, not twice, but three times so far and I think another trip there is long overdue. 

It isn’t as if travel to Western Massachusetts is convenient: I live in Bakersfield, California. Visiting her home is like visiting Mecca.

 Not only do I visit her home, I take in the stomping grounds of other literary figures.

My visit, though, does not begin until I have paid due homage to Emily.

So many people think of her as an odd recluse who had agoraphobia among other mental illnesses. Perhaps she did fight some disease but we don’t know for certain. There are so many books of research about her poems, I am sure we could find a researcher or several right now who would argue for all sorts of illnesses and quirks.

What I feel most strongly about is this: Emily Dickinson was a one of a kind. She lived with great passion, continually learning via the news of the day from both her family and newspapers and magazines. She enjoyed baking for the neighborhood children – she would lower Ginger cookies in a basket to them as they waited below her bedroom window. She was a botanist – spending hours in

"The Thing with Feathers" inspired by Emily Dickinson's poetry. Mixed Media, Julie Jordan Scott, 2013

the garden drawing flora and communing with the trees.

 Yes, she sought refuge in solitude.

She spoke to people behind a curtain.

She also corresponded with many and grew friendships via her entertaining letters.

What impresses me most about her is how the mystery surrounding her continues to invite inquiry AND the more I know of her the more I want to know. The more I know of her the more I want to create in her honor. The more I know the more I want to share with others.

I created a mixed media work of art called “The Thing with Feathers” based on this stanza of hers, one of her famous oft quoted ones:

"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

She inspires me as poet, a visual artist and as a human being.

It doesn't get much better than that.

What literary granny (or any other poet) inspires you to write? If you don't know of one yet, I urge you to begin reading more poetry. We can support poets (and poetry collections) by purchasing their books. My own skill as a poet increase multi-fold when I studied poets with a lasting legacy.

Honor your poetry by honoring wise sage poets.

-- Julie Jordan Scott

* This entry is a revised blog entry from the Julie Unplugged Blog.

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Time is going by quickly, are you ready for this poetry challenge, will you be sharing your poetry on your blog? Make sure you if you are on Twitter that you share your poem posts with the hashtag #OctPoWriMo so that other participants can find you. You can also share and chat with us on Facebook in our Writing Poetry Group.

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Poetry Prompt Day 23: Number Theory

A page from my art journal

You knew it was going to happen. The former math teacher turned poet/writer/word artist would have to go there. Yes, my fellow poets, today our focus is numbers! Now before you roll your eyes, panic, and run screaming from the room, allow me to assure you that your writing today has nothing AT ALL to do with "Math" (unless you want it to, of course!)

 Let's face it. There is not a day that goes by that we don't encounter numbers in some way. Look around you. Think about the last drive you took, bus you rode on, purchase you made. We cannot function without them. They are on our calendars, in our phones, along our highways. We use them as markers of important days and remembrances of special years. They keep track of the pages in our books and remind us when we're running late. Numbers are everywhere.



Do you have a lucky number? Is there a number that appears frequently in your life? Perhaps you're a fan of odd numbers or even. Maybe prime numbers fascinate you. Open your mind to the infinite number of possibilities! (Pardon the pun... couldn't resist!)

Here are some examples I found:

"Numbers" by Mary Cornish

"Number Man" by Carl Sandburg

"The Geometry of Death" by Amy McGrath (while not about numbers, it's still very much mathematical!)

I hope you  are able to take five minutes and enjoy the video below. Poetri is wonderful!




The Prompt: Write a number poem. There are many ways to go about this. You can write about a specific number or a sequence of numbers. You can use a familiar sequence (zip code, phone number, etc) to provide a syllable count for your lines. You can write about your love of (or distaste for) numbers. Just find a way to use a number in your poem, to inspire your poem, or to provide structure for your poem. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

Suggested Forms: Tetractys, Etheree, or Tanka

~Amy McGrath

Poetry Prompt Day 17 : Games We played

The moment I log in to Facebook , my first thought is to once play Candy Crush [ Am stuck on same stage for about 15 days now ].  And then , I proceed to check other notifications. On mobile too , I am addicted to same game from some time. Before that , there was Ruzzle , Motto race  , WordFeud and a  few more.

So while I was thinking of today's prompt , I was of course playing Candy Crush again , when the idea hit me. Why not write of the games we play on mobile , desktop or play stations ( sorry , I am not aware of latest gadgets ) . While we are at it , lets go back into our childhood and list all the games we loved to play.

As far as I remember , my choices were quite limited since I was into reading as early as I can think of. But still , for most kids around me , I could notice games being in and out of fashion. Can you think of such phases and a game for each phase ?

so for today's prompt , make a list of all your favorite games . either pick one of the games and the lessons it taught you. Or you can just trace your life in terms of the games you played.

Another idea could be , To think of the modern times games being available to you in your childhood and imagining how different or same you would feel about it.

Some of you might have kids and even grand kids . What game do you play with them  ? Or what game from your childhood would you want to pass on to your kids ?

Are indoor games better than outdoor ones ?

Phew ! I myself am being so overwhelmed now with all the ideas. I should sleep now over this and hopefully wake up to some concrete ideas and few good poems from some of you :D

Ok, Write on !!
while I give another shot to this level of Candy Crush ;)



~ Nimue

Image source