Prompt–Sunday, March 4
At the Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference in Chicago last week, I went to a session Thursday called, “The Image, Written: Using Photography and Mixed Media to Teach Creative Writing and Composition Writing,” given by Rachel Somerstein, Alden Jones, and Lorraine Doran. One of the creative writing prompts was to pick a photo and start a poem with “When I look at you.”
Here’s the photo I chose:
And my poem.
When I look at you,
I see two brothers, not
yet grown to love
beyond family
and friends.
When I look at you,
I smile and remember
your births, your hands
clinging to mine,
your smiles every
morning.
When I look at you,
I hope you find
what you’re searching
for in the sunset
as shells crack
underfoot.
AWP
The Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Chicago was amazing. From Thursday to Saturday, writers, editors, literary magazines, and presses came for professional development and networking.
It was my first AWP; I ran to sessions, explored the book fair, and of course, bought some books. I learned a lot from the sessions I attended and discovered new books.
It was sad to say goodbye this year. I can’t wait for next year in Boston.
The Finger Painter
For the record, this is the first time I’ve used a canvas and paintbrushes with tempera paint.
A Hundred Poems
Reading a short story a day took a short vacation. It’s not a habit yet, but it’s one I would like to have. I’ll keep trying.
Whenever I write poems, I write down the numbers and keep track of how many I write. I’ve done this since 2010. In 2010 I wrote 254 poems, and in 2011 I wrote 751 poems. As for 2012, I’ve written 166 poems so far. Keep in mind that I mostly write short poems, but I have written some longer poems I’ll revise later. I used more pages of Janet Holmes’ “The Ms of M Y Kin” to create poems Saturday, and I wrote a total of 15 poems in one day. I don’t usually write so many and surprised myself.
My poetry project on hands turned into a poetry project on the body.
Saturday and Sunday I performed in a Reader’s Theatre. I was Karintha in Jean Toomer’s “Cane.” You should definitely read it if you get the chance. It’s one of my favorite books.
Prompt–Sunday, February 26
Write a poem (or a piece of fiction or a combination, whatever you would like) ending a line with an “–no.”
Here’s what I wrote.
I hope to be yours–no
way to become one now.
I hope to be me–no,
I’ve never really been true.
I hope to be free–no
way to tell when.
I hope to stay here–no,
just part of the present.
A well-balanced meal
I made fried chicken for the first time today.
And of course I had to have green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole. Thanksgiving in February.
The poetry project on hands is going well. Funnily enough I’ve injured my hands every day of the project including but not limited to: scratches, bruises, burns. I have also sliced my finger on a sharp edge.
These experiences have generated several poems, let alone my history with hand injuries.
Paczki
I’ve used this recipe three times to great success: How to make Paczki
Since today is Fat Tuesday, I made some.
And after waiting, it’s time to move on to the next step.
The paczki are cooked and sugared and ready to eat.
Enjoy your Fat Tuesday! Eat paczki.
Prompt–Monday, February 20
A friend of mine gave me a copy of “The Ms of M Y Kin” by Janet Holmes, which is a book of cross-out poems from some of Emily Dickinson’s poetry. A cross-out poem is, by my definition (since I couldn’t find a definition in either of my poetry dictionaries), a poem created by blocking out or crossing out text to create a new poem.
Austin Kleon made cross-out poetry with “Newspaper Blackout” (http://www.austinkleon.com/newspaperblackout/) and Tom Phillips made cross-out poetry with “Humument” (http://humument.com/). I started cross-out poems last semester with an old mystery novel I bought at Grounds for Thought.
So my challenge to you today is to do the reverse of cross-out poetry: add words to Holmes’ cross-out poem.
The Ms of M Y Kin by Janet Holmes
Here’s what I came up with:
Suzanna’s Cross-out Fill-In poem
You’re more than welcome to focus on a few of the lines and you’re not required to use all of the lines.
Poetry Project, Short Story a Day
The Poetry Project is over as of today. I learned a lot by mining the bracelets “I love you” and “I know” every day for two weeks. Though I am surprised it took a week for fear and logic to enter the poems. The project was a success because there are some poems I would like to continue working with, and perhaps continuing to do two-week poetry projects will help explore other topics. For my next poetry project, I will focus on hands.
I’ve also read a short story every day since Feb. 15. If you haven’t subscribed to One Story, you should. I have a subscription on my Kindle, so I read “Open Season” by Paul Griner. Here’s his website: http://www.paulgriner.com/. Griner’s novels are on my to-read list. And I’ve started one of the short story collections I’ve been meaning to read for a while.
Suzanna and Writing 