NaPoWriMo Day 19: Many years ago, “didactic” poetry was very common – in other words, poetry that explicitly sought to instruct the reader in some kind of skill or knowledge, whether moral, philosophical, or practical. Today, I’d like to challenge you to write the latter kind of “how to” poem – a didactic poem that … Continue reading How to (almost) Kiss
NaPoWriMo
The Sound of Home
NaPoWriMo Day 18: Today, I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that incorporates “the sound of home.” Think back to your childhood, and the figures of speech and particular ways of talking that the people around you used, and which you may not hear anymore. My grandfather and mother, in particular, used several … Continue reading The Sound of Home
Authorized Version of the Day
NaPoWriMo Day 17: Today, I challenge you to find, either on your shelves or online, a specialized dictionary. This could be, for example, a dictionary of nautical terms, or woodworking terms, or geology terms. Anything, really, so long as it’s not a standard dictionary! Now write a poem that incorporates at least ten words from … Continue reading Authorized Version of the Day
Unseasonably Hot
NaPoWriMo Day 16: Today, I challenge you to fill out, in no more than five minutes, the following “Almanac Questionnaire,” which solicits concrete details about a specific place (real or imagined). Then write a poem incorporating or based on one or more of your answers. Happy writing! A powerful storm produced piles of agates, three … Continue reading Unseasonably Hot
Click Clique
NaPoWriMo Day 15: Because today marks the halfway point in our 30-day sprint, today I’d like to challenge you to write a poem that incorporates the idea of doubles. You could incorporate doubling into the form, for example, by writing a poem in couplets. Or you could make doubles the theme of the poem, by … Continue reading Click Clique
An effort to make sense out of the essentially senseless
NaPoWriMo Day 14: Today’s prompt comes to us from TJ Kearney, who invites us to try a seven-line poem called a san san, which means “three three” in Chinese (It’s also a term of art in the game Go). The san san has some things in common with the tritina, including repetition and rhyme. In particular, the san san repeats, three … Continue reading An effort to make sense out of the essentially senseless
Just Add “…In Bed”
NaPoWriMo Day 13: The number 13 is often considered unlucky, so today I’d like to challenge you to beat the bad luck away with a poem inspired by fortune cookies. You could write a poem made up entirely of statements that predict the future (“You will meet a handsome stranger”), aphoristic statements (“The secret to … Continue reading Just Add “…In Bed”
Anti-Woman Sentiment in Lit, Art & Tho’t
NaPoWriMo Day 12: Today, I challenge you to write your own index poem. You could start with found language from an actual index, or you could invent an index, somewhat in the style of this poem by Thomas Brendler. Happy writing! Masturbation in women, 66-81; 74-75; 79-80, 91, 99, 125, 134-36, 145-48, 178, 202, 248-50, 261, … Continue reading Anti-Woman Sentiment in Lit, Art & Tho’t
Minda
NaPoWriMo Day 11: Today, I challenge you to write a poem in which you closely describe an object or place, and then end with a much more abstract line that doesn’t seemingly have anything to do with that object or place, but which, of course, really does. I think of the “surprise” ending to this James … Continue reading Minda
The cocktail table tells her story
NaPoWriMo Day 10: I know yesterday’s was a hard one for many of you, although I also was also very touched by the vulnerability and bravery displayed in your poems! But today’s prompt should be a little bit less emotionally involving — a nice chaser for yesterday. Today’s prompt comes to us from Lillian Hallberg. She … Continue reading The cocktail table tells her story
Just L Poetry 