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Posts from the ‘Poetry’ Category

Aug 24

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Newspaper+marker=poetry: Poet or not, try this

I’m addicted to making and reading newspaper blackout poems. I learned about them when I stumbled across the book Newspaper Blackoutby Austin Kleon.

Kleon discovered newspaper blackout when he was stuck on his writing. He picked up some newspapers lying beside his desk and started marking out words. In his book, Kleon shows examples of newspaper blackout poetry and explains the “20-year history of folks finding poetry in the newspaper,” then goes on to explain how to do it yourself.

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Aug 23

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Three ways to feed your muse: hunting down inspiration, Part 2

You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.  Jack London

Inspiration comes from many places. Sometimes, it’s a visual image—fog settling over the bay, a blue jay teetering on a phone wire, a dead leaf swirling on the wind. Sometimes, inspiration comes in the form of sound—a phrase overheard, the sound of water rushing over rocks, silence when the power goes out.  But too often, inspiration doesn’t just come out of the blue—I have to go hunting for it.

One of my favorite ways to find inspiration is to read the work of others—poetry, fiction, nonfiction. As a writer, we train ourselves while reading to have different levels of awareness running at the same time. Kind of like having multiple computer programs running at once.

On one level, we’re fully immersed in the story or poem, but on another level we’re noticing language, syntax, the arrangement of words, metaphors, rhythm. We notice how the author or poet uses concretes and abstractions, how she presents her characters or builds suspense.

As you read, notice if the piece grabs you. And, if it does, where does that happen? Be on the lookout for what inspires your muse.

Sometimes, an idea or inspiration will come in the form of one word. One wild word that sparks your muse into action. Read more

Aug 5

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Use word-gathering to become a better writer

Writing a poem or a paragraph is like solving a puzzle. I seek the perfect word not just for its meaning but also for sound and rhythm. In the process, I stumble upon other words that draw my attention and, before I know it, I’m off on an adventure. Words are like gems, sparkly and seductive in their power.

Priscilla Long, in her book, The Writer’s Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft, and the Writing Life, says she knows writers who have worked hard for years that do “pretty good work” but have never made the transition to great writing. The reason? Often, these writers—though hard workers—approach language passively. They only use words they grew up with or use in everyday language. Long doesn’t mean that we should suddenly spout elongated Latinate words but that we should become word gatherers, seeking out words that call to us with their sound, texture, rhythm, or meaning. Read more

Aug 2

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Embrace your day job for writing inspiration

Many of us dream of spending our days doing nothing but working on our craft. More likely though, we must write around jobs and other obligations.

Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent, a teacher, a nurse, self employed, or working in the corporate world, your day job (or night job) can be a treasure trove of writing gold.

I went to a workshop once about finding writing inspiration from the workplace. I didn’t think I could capture anything interesting from my corporate job. But when I thought about it, I realized that the actual work wasn’t necessarily gripping, but the drama can be found in the people and their politics, personalities, and emotion. I’ve found plenty of dialogue nuggets from overheard conversations. And I’ve noted ideas for character traits from my workplace observations. Read more

Aug 1

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Three ways to feed your muse: muse juice, part 1

Ever feel as if your muse is sitting back, stuffing her face with Bon Bons while watching reruns of “True Blood”? How do you inspire her to get off her ever-widening rear end and get back to work?

Check out www.Ted.com, where you’ll find “riveting talks by remarkable people.” Or, as I affectionately call this website—muse juice.

One of my favorite inspirational talks is by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. In trying to answer the question, “Where does creativity come from?” she tells of the time she met American poet Ruth Stone who grew up in rural Virginia.

Sometimes, when Ruth was out working in the fields, she’d feel and hear a poem coming at her from over the landscape—like a “thunderous train of air” barreling down on her. She’d run like hell to the house to get paper and pencil so when the poem barreled through her she’d be ready. Sometimes, she’d almost miss it. During these times, she’d grab a pencil and reach out with her other hand and catch the poem by its tail, pulling it back to her. When this happened, the poem would come out on the page perfectly intact but backwards—the words written from the end of the poem to the beginning.

I love this story because it feels as if it could be true. Read more

Jul 26

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Two reasons to keep a poetry or writing journal

Shortly after Joan Larkin published her latest book of poetry, My Body: New and Selected Poems, I took an afternoon writing class from her.  I’d been writing poetry off and on for twenty years and had developed my own style for writing and saving my work. It looked something like this:

  1. I go for a walk, or do the dishes, or some other activity that requires little thinking. As I walk or scrub, I let my mind and eyes wander. Let them flit over ideas and objects until something seizes my imagination. I ask questions: What does this mean? What could this mean? What if?
  2. At some point, the words start coming. If I’m still walking, I speak into my iRecorder but eventually, I sit down and write out my first draft by hand—usually on a piece of lined notebook paper, but not in any particular journal or notebook. Read more

Jul 12

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Ground your readers and they will follow you anywhere

We know the importance of a good beginning. First line, first paragraph, first page is your opportunity as a storyteller to hook your reader, to get them interested enough to want to read more.

Nelson Bentley, wonderful poet and professor at the University of Washington for 40 years, used to say this about poem beginnings, “Give the readers a place to stand, and then you can take them anywhere.” This same advice holds true for all writing.

In journalism, the fives W’s (who, what, where, when, why) and one H (how) is a formula drilled into young journalists for getting the full story. They are instructed to get as many W’s into the lead as possible. But how do we do this in art without turning it into dry, boring facts?  Read more

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