I collected two new poems from each of you and reminded you of The Claremont Review night next Wed. Nov. 9th at 7 p.m. You may use this night for your literary event or to replace the Patrick Lane reading.
Each day 1, we'll use it as a re-fuelling class where we write, write, write. You will always feel empty after getting two poems edited for submission. Editing is a critical process and sometimes we are too hard on ourselves and we imagine WE'LL NEVER WRITE AGAIN. WHY SHOULD I BOTHER? THESE POEMS ARE AWFUL OR I'M GOING TO GET A TERRIBLE MARK.
That's natural. It means you are true artists. Just acknowledge the fear and let it go.
Homework: Turn the 3 quick-writes into poems. Type them up this weekend and let them sit for a week before you begin editing. We'll do some workshopping after the break.
Today's quick write prompts ARE BELOW for Sena and Ariel or if you want to try them again, be my guest:
We started with a prompt and I called out words to fit in every 30 seconds. To do this one at home, cut out the words and turn them upside down on your desk, start writing and every minute or so, turn one over and incorporate it into your piece. I find writing in prose for these exercises is more conducive for generating material as you can simply fill up the page.
This morning two crows on the roof and the car won't start so . . .
collarbone, canoe, fingerprints, bride, bucket, scar, lip
When you leave, I pick up your shirt (or fill in the blank with another article of clothing) and think of . . .
bookcase, orion, stumble, baseball cards, Bingo, preach, mug
The third one is more complicated to explain.
Choose one of the following titles:
Longing, Loss, Greed,Childhood, Anger etc Some great abstraction . . .
Describe the following in a few short lines (be specific and concrete rather than abstract)
Loss eats _______________ fill in what it eats for dinner
describe an object in detail
choose a letter from the alphabet and give us its history
define it from the dictionary but then say but I believe LOSS is like and describe an archetype (clown, snowman, hero, constellation, etc)
make LOSS afraid of an insect and explain how it happened and then describe the weather on that day
create an uncle and say Uncle Abe always said . . . . or Uncle Abe believes (and create a little story)
describe a brand of clothing Loss likes to wear
pick a church, cathedral or sacred place and describe the silence there
pick a colour and describe its sound
Now, mix and match these descriptions to create a poem. Cut any direct references to LOSS or whatever your abstract title is
For example
Loss
Uncle Harry tells the story best.
Ladybugs bring luck and silence
at Chartres can't sleep, counts
sheep until dawn, the morning
rising through the sound of blue glass.
Uncle Harry is dead, but you know that.
No one is blowing out the candles on his cake.
It's sunny in the graveyard despite our weak knees.
GET THE IDEA? Describe loss indirectly through the imagery and metaphors you create in your quick-write. These journal entries are like streams. Miners come from miles away looking for gold.
Enjoy the sunshine. Keep writing. You'll be glad you did.
