OctPoWriMo Day 25: Celebrations, Good Times and Poetry

To begin: we are going to take a moment to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n.

Think for a moment about the important rituals, holidays and other significant celebrations in your life. 

How about three inhales and three exhales and just open your mind and heart to YOUR holiday or special day.

Today marks a very important day to me: in two months my daughter, Katherine, will turn twenty-two years old. 

I swear, I don’t know how my children grow up and I continue to look and feel as young as when they were little – but nonetheless, December 25, 2013 marks the start her being twenty-two. I’m sort of nervous because I got married at twenty-three. Youch.

For many people, December 25 is an important holiday.

For others, there are other significant dates and times to get through: my younger daughter abhors Thanksgiving, which for the United States is in the end of November. I’ve decided I will create a special party the Sunday before that holiday and have people bring a variety of foods and we start crafting a new sort of Thanksgiving Emma can love.

I have sort of been a lousy holiday person since the many loss experiences I have had and the impact those losses had on my holiday celebrations. I tend to have somewhat grief filled holidays. 

I rarely talk about it.

I rarely write about it.

What about you?

I thought today would be a grand day to write a poem about whatever special day you want to write about, be it a birthday, an anniversary, a festival, an opening night. Be creative and surprise us with your words.

Word Prompt: Celebration

Sentence Starter:    My next celebration will be….

Poetry Prompt Day 4: Poet: Be Gentle with Yourself

 

First – I wanted to give you another hearty "Welcome!" to OctPoWriMo2013. It is a delight to be writing alongside you for this unique poetic event in October 2013. Remember, you and your friends may join us at any time. Just hop in and begin writing… and then link up to your daily poem.

 

Second – I wrote a Poetry Writing Tip early in September that was titled "The Poetry Tip I Never Got (But Oh I Wish I Had)" with a theme that went something like this: “Be gentle with your poetic self and forgive yourself now for any perceived short comings lurking in the hallways of your poetry yet to be written.”

My hope is you will remember this – as I hope I remember this – during those moments of doubt which may pop up for some of us during October.

This brings me to our first opportunity to write together on the same theme: Be Gentle. Even more focused is Be Gentle with Myself (or you may use Be Gentle with Yourself.)

Some thought questions to get you started:

What does it mean to you to be gentle?

Who are some gentle people?

What animal is the most gentle?

How do you feel when you encounter someone who is gentle toward you?

Coupling with “I remember….”

I remember my gentle teacher…..

I remember my gentle heroine…..

I remember being gentle with….

Your personalized 'I remember'....

Sometimes I wish someone would show me gentleness by…..

Some of you will immediately begin to write a poem – this is fine.

Some of you will start with some free writing – this is also fine.

Some of you will sit back in your chair and look out the window, pondering – this is another example of a fine way to go about birthing a poem.

I encourage you simply to begin. Perhaps carve out fifteen minutes to read the poems others have posted (if it isn’t early in the day!) and then allow your gentle spirit to coax your pen, pencil or fingers on the keyboard to flow along with the words that want to be sculpted into your poetic take on Being Gentle.

 Some additional inspiration for you:

Quotes: “All those writers who write about their childhood! Gentle God, if I wrote about mine you wouldn't sit in the same room with me.”          

                                     Dorothy Parker

“Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere.”

                                             Emma Smith

Word Prompt: Gentle or Being or Being Gentle

Sentence Starter: The gentleness of touch reminds me…..

I look forward to reading your poetry, whatever theme you choose!  

                               -- Julie Jordan Scott

Poetry Prompt Day One: Rhyme and Season

Here we are! Welcome to October and the OctPoWriMo Poetry writing challenge 2013.  Fall is my favorite season. The air is crisp and cool, the leaves are changing to gorgeous hues, crunching beneath our feet and there seems to be a quiet in the air.

For the first writing prompt, picture yourself on a park bench in the midst of a full blown Autumn day. Perhaps you're wrapped in a warm sweater, drinking hot cider - you have a notebook and pen and it's just you and your thoughts. Look around, what do you see, hear, smell? If you can actually go to a park, so much the better, although I realize it's still early in the season. But if you can just close your eyes and imagine...think about what you love about Fall...and see where it takes you with your poetry.  Poets such as Blake, Keats and Shakespeare have been inspired by the season; there are so many sensory and tactile elements to Autumn that inspire the romance of poetry.

Writing Prompt: Imagine yourself in the midst of an Autumnal setting. Using prose, describe what is all around you; what you see, hear, feel, smell, touch. Tell us about the glory of the season.  It need not rhyme of course, just put yourself in the setting and through your imagery, take us there too. 

The prompt is only a suggestion or stepping off point. If you wish, write about anything that inspires you and link it up below. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with. We're in for an inspired and creative month! 

Poetry Ripped From the Headlines

Did you know that one of the methods John Lennon used to come up with song ideas was to peruse the newspaper and take headlines, phrases or entire sentences and work them into his material? One instance in particular is the song "A Day In the Life" wherein lies the lyric "I read the news today, oh boy...". What follows is a near verbatim recounting of the day's news, tweaked and reworked creatively to weave a musical tale that to this day conjures so much imagery for me.

Another of his songs with the Beatles, "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite" was taken from a poster announcing that the circus was coming to town. Again, some of the lines were taken straight from the poster, but reworked to enhance the story.

What does all this have to do with poetry, you ask? Plenty! I use this same method in writing songs when I'm stuck and need an idea or an interesting line. It's sort of like using word magnets or words cut out of newspapers or magazines, but in a longer form. And if you go a bit further with it and mix some of this story with some of that, what you come up with is sometimes very interesting and whimsical or even poignant.

Is it plagiarism? No. Because you are taking artistic license with the medium and not using the piece in its entirety, it's a bit like found objects in visual art. You're using found word imagery and piecing it together to create something new and entirely from your own perspective in your own voice.

Sometimes with poetry, unless you have a definite inspiration, a reason to pick up the pen and begin writing prose, it can be difficult to know where to begin. When you use found word imagery from a newspaper, what you can come up with can be topical, funny, absurd, thoughtful and of the times.