The day after, coming to a close. I'm relieved the election is over, relieved about the outcome. Tired, as it took a long time to wind down last night. I spent half the day working on choreography, and half-listening to the election aftermath on NPR. The markets were down again today. So many people are dancing in the street, and here I am, feeling a little blase. (Can't find the accent mark...) I don't know why I'm feeling that way, except that I often do after something exciting happens.
This will be short. I still have a poem to write. I've written three so far, so I must be a day behind! I thought I was all caught up. Shoot! No--wait, I've written four. I'll have to look. But, I still have to write today's. I'm not sure what the theme will end up being. It'll probably become apparent as I go along. Looking at Robert Brewer's Poetic Asides blog I am realising that he is giving a prompt for each day! Today's prompt says:
"Today, I'd like you to write a poem that sets a scene. In other words, one that pays attention to the details of the scenery and uses those details to heighten the effect and meaning of the poem. For instance, if you were to write a poem about the election results last night, don't drown it in abstractions and ideas. Instead, focus on the setting of a rally and let the details describe whether the particular candidate won or lost."
This is yesterday's (4 Nov.) prompt, just so I can get in the groove:
For today's prompt, I want you to write a "soap box" poem on your theme. If your theme is food, have an asparagus campaign for less discrimination against veggies. If your subject is parenting, maybe make a case for having one hour or less of TV each night in favor of playing board games or doing a family activity. Regardless of your theme, today is the day you can pull out that soap box, dust it off, stand on it, and take a stance on an issue (or several issues--heck, this could turn into someone's theme).
3 Nov.
Okay, this prompt may be a little out there, but it's inspired by a few albums I've listened to (and loved) over the years. They'll have kind of a foreshadowing or refrain piece that shares a snippet of a song to come later on the album. And I want you to write a foreshadowing piece for a poem that you will fully compose later this month (Day 20, to be precise).
This piece should be short, sweet, and hint at some bigger picture that ties into your theme and the poem that you'll be writing on Day 20. You should think of it almost as a puzzle piece that doesn't become 100% clear until the accompanying poem is read later on in the collection.
2 Nov.
...the second prompt, which is to write a declaration poem: that is, a poem that makes a statement about your theme. A good way to attack this poem may be to write it in the voice of an imagined person or a real person who is not yourself.
For instance, if your theme is food poems, you could write a poem in the voice of Rachel Ray, who makes a declaration about the importance of food. Or if your theme is dysfunctional families, write a poem in the voice of Jerry Springer or Dr. Phil. Or, well, you get the idea.
(And remember, if you're not feeling a particular prompt, don't be afraid to steer yourself in a different direction. After all, our main goal is to have 30 poems at the end of the month.)
1 Nov.
Let's get into today's prompt. For today's prompt, I want you to look at your theme and write a "hook" poem. This is a poem intended to hook your reader on your theme. Think about the beginning of poems like "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "Howl." This poem gets right into the meat of your theme, and pulls the reader along. Think of a dramatic situation involving your theme and start there (in medias res). Totally.
Okay, I've got my work cut out for me. Not to mention finishing Chapter Seven in AW! I'm just beginning the section on jealousy...
--TKC
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