| Twenty-seven poems done. (Actually, since I doubled up one day, twenty-eight.) How did the month go by so quickly? Well, poem-a-day and NaPoWriMo (the challenges) wait for no one, so, prompts! Maureen @ NaPoWriMo.net: "poem of space" / Robert @ Poetic Asides: "problem poem" / Andrea @ Circle the Block: "favorite place" poem. Ready, set, go! Here's what Catherine wrote when she emailed me her piece for today: Here's a "poem" about a space — a garden. Well, Catherine, no need for quote marks around the p-word. This is a real poem. And, it seems, about a "favorite place." So you've mixed up two prompts! Jackson Square After Beignets My poem today — linked hay(na)ku — mixes Maureen's and Robert's prompts: "space" and "problem." Andrea's prompt is in the mix too but in terms of a "favorite activity" more than a "favorite place." Also, there is a bit of back story below the poem. Miracle Woman Here's the promised back story, incredible but true . . . Charlotte, North Carolina: In September of 1999, Joan Murray's main parachute failed during a jump from 14,500 feet. Her reserve opened at around 700 feet, but then deflated. She landed in a mound of fire ants, whose stinging may have helped keep her heart beating. In a coma for two weeks, she was well enough to head home six weeks later. She returned to jumping in July of 2001.May we all be so lucky. Live long and prosper, Joan Murray. Our featured NaPoWriMo blog today was created specifically for this season: A Poem a Day with the motto "Rejecting Perfectionism and Cultivating Awareness." In a self-interview on the first of April, the blog's proprietor Megan Hippler said she is rejecting perfectionism because her "goal is not to publish perfect poems every time, but rather to create something and continue to practice." And why cultivate awareness? Because "the best poems start with honesty and grow from that kernel of truth into powerful works." Megan's poems are sharp, precisely observed, and to the point, with beautiful, precisely rendered imagery. Look for example at "The Burrup Flares" on Day 21: a small seven-liner that makes a trenchant anti-pollution comment. You'll see what I mean if you google pics of "Burrup flares," for example this Getty image. Excellent work, Megan. Thanks for your keen vision and voice. Okay, friends, two NaPoWriMo days to go. I hope you'll leave a comment below. Let's talk. Ingat. |
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Lavender, Filoli Estate, Woodside, CA
2 hours ago
3 comments:
What a great project for the class. Don't stop even after the month is over. I have been doing the same thing for about a month and a half now. It's has been great way for me to heal physically, spiritually, and emotionally. If anything it's just fun to be creative, so keep it up!! ;-))
Oh, splat! What a crazy story! I am just in love with this form. To write a story in so few words -- a lot of novelists could take a lesson from this... I'm so glad you've shared it with us and I like the way you reversed it midway through. "Those fire ants were my Jesus" is my fave. :)
Ha ha. No, novelists need a lot of words to make money! Thanks so much for your comment. That stanza is my favorite too. Keep writing hay(na)ku and let's talk more. On fb?
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