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If you want to grow as a poet, take The Lyrical Language Lab with her. Her website, No Water River, is a treasure trove of poetry for writers, readers, and poetry lovers.
This past month I've played with words during Laura Shovan's 6th Annual February Daily Poem Project. It has been challenging and fun. Each day a piece of art was featured as a prompt for an Ekphrasis poem.
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Schreiber, Mark. “Can I Get an Amen?! ;) #Makered #Innovation Pic.twitter.com/3fOpzhplHV.”Twitter, Twitter, 28 Feb. 2018, twitter.com/MarkSchreiber/status/968998926144757760.
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A few things learned in February...
Ekphrasis poetry seemed difficult...I wasn't sure that I could write a different piece every day. The art prompts offered were all over the map from modern to traditional to fine to inexpensive to sentimental to made by professionals to made by children.
I learned to give myself permission to skip...go back to a prompt later or cheat.
My cheat is haiku I can haiku anytime. And, I'm ridiculous about keeping to 5-7-5 even though there's no rule for that.
Also, I emphasized quantity over quality of work. I just drafted, posted and ran. I tried my best to read others work....but it wasn't always possible. As the month progressed, drafting got easier. I learned that just writing all the time really does prime the pump of creativity.
For the first half of the month, I refused to read any other poems before sketching one...I worried that reading the work of others would dampen my own imagination. But, toward the end of the month, I didn't worry about that so much. I learned to have more confidence in my voice.
Finally, I learned to use powerpoint as a journal/sketchpad. I would paste a snip of the art onto a slide and work with text next to it. It seems easier to do that than work in word or with paper/pencil for me.
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| powerpoint is a great digital notebook |
I'm happy with the results of the month. I'm sharing a draft that surprised me--I don't really know where the words came from. They just showed up.
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| Painting by Patty Gulledge |
Daily writing is as important as daily musical practice. It transforms you from someone who dabbles to someone who produces unexpected gems. Well done, you. I was glad to see you there.
ReplyDeleteLinda I love the lessons you're learning! Quantity over quality is HUGE! (Quality comes from quantity!) And how wonderful, using powerpoint as a digital notebook... some of my favorite poems ever are the ones that have snuck up on my like your buoy poem... part of the joy of writing is when we surprise ourselves. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was both fun and challenging to write each day, I agree, and love the lessons you've shared here, Linda. The surprises of the words that appeared were many, I agree. I do love the connection in your 'buoy' poem, perhaps a surprise to you? Happy Writing in March!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing your take-aways from a month of writing in a supportive community!
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, and yes, to all your take-aways, Linda. Even though I didn't post everyday, I did manage to jot down ideas for most of the artwork shared. Your poem is lovely!
ReplyDeleteI confess, although I've gotten much better about writing daily, it's... uh... not always daily. Your takeaways are exactly what I needed to remind myself of the importance. Practice, practice, practice! Thanks for sharing your journey, Linda, your method (Powerpoint! What a great idea!), and the message of your poem out of the blue—your muse at work.
ReplyDeleteThis challenge sounds like it was such a great opportunity with growth and development - it's wonderful that you were able to build trust in your own poetic voice!
ReplyDeleteIt was so much fun to read your poetry. Like you, I didn't always have the time to get through everyone's poems, but it was such a great experience. I fell slightly short of the 28 in the month, but I plan on going back in and catching those last few up.
ReplyDeleteIt has been a great month of reading and writing poetry together. I know I have learned much from the practice, but I haven't taken time to reflect as eloquently as you have here. I love that buoy poem. I've fallen way behind with reading this week, so I'm glad to read it here.
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of using PowerPoint to journal and to compose. I enjoyed hearing about your increased confidence and progress in your writing. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteLovely post! I, too, have found that regular writing primes the pump. I worry that I will run out of ideas, but I always have more, the more I use the ideas that already came. And what a great idea to use PowerPoint. I will have to try that, since I enjoy writing about photos, too.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you made the most of the ekphrastic poetry challenge last month. Nice buoy poem!! (also like the idea of using powerpoint that way)
ReplyDeleteAt first I though it interesting that you connected the buoy to the Eucharist - then I thought about all those fishers of men, and it made sense! Glad you enjoyed Laura's poetry project, Linda! I wish I could have written more, but I'm fortunate I found the time to write what I did!
ReplyDeleteI loved those last six lines - quite powerful. Thank you for sharing your process! :)
ReplyDeleteLinda, now that I have time to go back and read some PF posts, I am happy that your last Feb. poem is shown here. Perhaps the words flowed so well because you were feeling the spirit of Lent on your shoulders. The last stanza holds a beautiful message and fills my own spirit this morning. The last time I visited my daughter, I realized how close you are to her home. One day we will meet and chat the afternoon away.
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