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Posts tagged ‘poetry’

May 31

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Trust in randomness and mine your subconscious with this writing exercise

Poet and teacher May Swenson said, “The best poetry has its roots in the subconscious to a great degree. Youth, naivety, reliance on instinct more than learning and method, a sense of freedom and play, even trust in randomness, is necessary to the making of a poem.”

In the spirit of being random, turn up your observation skills and as you go about your day, note 12 phrases or words that strike you. You might see something in an e-mail, a text, or an overheard conversation at the tea shop. Use them to spur the writing of a poem or flash fiction.

For inspiration, read Earth Your Dancing Place and other poetry on Poets.org, the website of the Academy of American Poets. Learn more about May Swenson.

May 16

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The yoga of poetry

In her wonderful book, Saved by a Poem: The Transformative Power of Words,poet Kim Rosen writes about the different ways in which we can experience poetry–intellectually, emotionally, and even physiologically.

In a section of her book called “The Yoga of Poetry” she explains that the word yoga means, “to bind, join, attach and yoke, to direct and concentrate one’s attention on, to use and apply. It also means union or communion. It is the true union of our will with the will of God.”

Rosen, also a spoken-word artist, explains that memorizing a poem can be a yoking or union of ourselves with the larger meaning of the poem. She says that if we choose a poem we know will take us beyond our comfort zone, the yoga of joining our consciousness to the consciousness inherent in the words of the poem will stretch us from the inside out.

The words of the poem enter our body as well as our mind. She says, “It affects your lungs, your pulse, and the tones and textures of your voice.” Read more

May 7

Add poetry to your writing repertoire

April may have been National Poetry Month but poetry is a mainstay in our writing life here at OneWildWord. Writing and publishing poetry or short stories is a great way to build up your artist resume while working on longer manuscripts.

Below are three of our most popular posts on different aspects of writing poetry. We hope you enjoy them!

How do you know when your poem or story is done? In this post, Carly shares her thoughts and those of poet Mary Jo Bangs on when a poem feels “done.”

Queen of the list: How I transformed compulsive list making into art is about creating lists to use in your prose or poetry. If you have a compulsion for list making, why not turn it into something useful?

This post answers the question, What makes a good metaphor? And how do you know when a metaphor is working?

Apr 8

How your audience can feed your writing soul

This weekend, my writer’s soul was nourished and fed. I gave a poetry reading at our local artsy coffee house, the Poulsbohemian, with two other poets—author and teacher Bob McAllister and Bill Mawhinney who runs the Northwind Reading Series in Port Townsend.

I was honored to read with these two prolific and treasured poets and they’re part of the reason I had such a great experience this weekend. But there was another reason the night stood out for me as the best reading I’ve ever given—the audience.

When I read, I like to take turns reading from my pages and glancing around the room at the faces in the crowd. My intent is to tune into their energy and take them for a ride with me. My goal is to entertain and move my audience.

Last night, I have to admit I was a bit tired when I arrived. But as soon as I started reading, I could literally feel the audience’s intent—they leaned forward, their eyes were open, they followed my words and wanted more. It felt as if they had all dialed into the same static-free channel at the same time. I’ve given readings before but this was the first time I felt the audience was really hungry. Read more

Apr 4

Three posts to celebrate National Poetry Month

In honor of National Poetry Month, I wanted to share three previous posts on the subject of poetry:

What I learned by reading poetry in front of the Rotary Club is a fun post about my evening out with other poets at a local Rotary Club event. 

In Improve your writing craft with this assignment from author Ray Bradbury Carly shares my all time favorite tip from this amazing man. Hint: this advice is not just for poets.

Three poetry sites to inspire your muse is a post that lists three websites I subscribe to and why.

Enjoy!

Feb 28

How one award-winning writer finds story ideas in unlikely places

I find that the oddest moments or most unlikely observations have a way of providing material for stories and poems.

In an interview with Amy Purcell, who won first place in The Writer magazine’s Short Story Contest, she says she loves nature, is an avid reader of National Geographic, and often tears out pages about subjects that could serve as metaphors. She uses imagery of bees in her award-winning story, Home Repair, which was inspired by a trip to Home Depot. (See the February 2013 issue for more details, including winning entries for second and third place).

Random interactions often reveal details and nuances of people that I find I can use in poetry. Last summer, a landscaper who was sleuthing the source of a leak in my yard’s irrigation system inspired a poem about the hardness of life. Read more

Jan 24

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Generate writing ideas with online photo galleries

In my last post “Overcome writer’s block and generate new ideas with tarot or picture cards,” I wrote about how I stumbled upon the benefits of using tarot cards to inspire my writing.

I’d like to share another great source of inspiration I discovered recently. Sometimes, Carly and I will go to Shutterstock or iStock to find photos for our blog posts. Recently, we purchased a large number of photos, and I helped find pictures for our blog. What I discovered was a plethora of inspiration!  Read more

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