The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

21:03 Mar 14 2012
Times Read: 777






I know all you aspiring writers out there love a challenge. How about a poetry exercise with Auntie Jo?



I've been reading Sandford Lyne's book, Writing Poetry from the Inside Out and it is excellent. One of his methods for kick-starting the poetic process is called "poetry sketching." Basically, it is taking a group of about 4 words and building the foundation of a poem with them. Artists use sketch books to practice their craft, and this is the same principle, only with words instead of brushes and paint.



By creating a poetry sketch instead of trying to write a finished poem, you may feel more relaxed and the creativity inside you is less likely to hide when it knows we're just having a stroll, not a marathon race. This is the poetry equivalent of picking up a nice stick and making swirling ripples in a pond to see what the shapes look like in combinations of sunlight, shadow, and moon.



There are a few basic guidelines to keep in mind:

1. In using a word-group to make a poem, the words may be used in any order and may be repeated.



2. It is recommended that the poem have at least three sentences so it may have three parts (a beginning, middle, and an end).



3. There may be sentences in the poem which contain none of the word-group words.



4. You may change the forms of the word-group words (silence, silent, silently) and substitute words (river for lake, eagle for crow).



5. You may mix and recombine the word-groups.



6. You may have more than 4 words in your word-group.



7. Sandford Lyne also recommends: DO NOT RHYME!







You can use these word groups or make up a group of your own. Try to choose a group that "tingles" a little at your imagination, maybe beginning to form a picture or a momory in your mind. Remember, you are sketching!



Here are examples done by young students who learned this method:





word group: levee, roux, butterfly, rain



All day the summer rain has made a runoff

A muddy roux beside the levee.

Browns, and deeper browns, and grays,

And all alone, one yellow butterfly.







Word group: trees, roots, death, rain



The trees are crying

So is the girl under them

The roots of both have been torn

A death in her family

And another rainforest gone.







word group: courage, lion, butterflies, father



Like a lion,

My father dozes on the porch.

I was in my room when he came home.

Has he seen the broken window?

Has my mother told him yet?

My stomach’s full of butterflies.

Courage, a lion’s courage –

Do I have it?



Once you have your poetry sketch, you may want to revise it. In a revision, you may want to take away words.





Here’s an example:



I watched the moon sitting in the cloudless sky.

I saw two owls sitting on a branch.

Next to them was a pinecone all alone.

My heart wanted to get out and go home,

But my soul did not want to go home yet.







Here’s the same poem condensed:



The white moon in the cloudless sky –

Two owls on a branch,

A pinecone all alone.

My heart wanted to go home,

But my soul did not.



Or you may want to revise by adding words.





Whatever you decide, enjoy the images you create with words and if you can, share them with me. I'd love to see your poetry sketches.

PRIVATE ENTRY
20:19 Mar 14 2012
Times Read: 781


• • • • PRIVATE JOURNAL ENTRY • • • •

Still Here
07:31 Mar 14 2012
Times Read: 795




Each evening,

My feet find their way

Along the lake shore

Without me.

I am elsewhere

Climbing glaciers with you

In a dimension where I said, "yes."

If all things must exist,

Then I took your hand

And I am dancing in circles

Beside the fire

While you play sweet notes

Into the night air.

Along the lake,

I can almost believe

Almost find my way to you

Before the path ends,

Circling me back

To the beginning again

Where this walk must end,

With myself,

Still here.

20:38 Mar 09 2012
Times Read: 823

I've been candid about my search to rediscover a voice in writing. Never before have I struggled so much for inspiration, will, and word.



I believe this struggle is probably necessary. It is some herald that I must change in some way. Something old must die so that something new may emerge. I have been careful to nourish my soul and to free myself to live, mess up, and take chances.



I expect good things, because it is wise to do so. I am betting on myself.