Monday, September 20, 2010

Poetry Stretches

In the midst of crazy days, I've been reading more poetry ~ and beginning to write more too. It's helping to keep me sane!

One of my favorite stops for poetry stretching is the Miss Rumphius Effect. Each Monday you'll find a new "stretch" for your poetry writing muscles. Even when you don't have time to play, it's always fun to check back in and see what others have written.

That's how I found this wonderful poem by Jane Yolen, which she submitted for last week's poetry stretch. The challenge was to write a poem consisting entirely of questions. If you're a fan of Charlotte's Web, I think you'll find this just delightful!

And wouldn't it be fun to take this for a model and write a series of "questions poems" from the perspective of some of your favorite literary characters? I may give it a try. If you do too, I'd love to have a look.

2 comments:

Erin said...

I did indeed find that Wilbur poem delightful! And a great prompt. I'll have to think about that...

Beth said...

Me too. Oi, but I am desperately needing writing time these days...both review writing time and just plain ol' let-the-creative-juices flow time.

I've been in major poetry mode since finishing a Billy Collins collection last week. I've been mentally working on a review (in the shower the last couple of mornings!). Went over to Eps to see if anyone else had reviewed the book -- and saw you had! Why does this not surprise me? :)

Even the church fathers I'm reading so much of for my class right now are beginning to sing to me in poetic kinds of voices. I spent lunchtime reading Clement of Rome, and I swear you could set some of his passages to Bach.

So tell me...how does one live the life of a poet in the midst of overwhelming crazy-busy days?