Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Color Analysis

PURPLE

Off you go, then. Responses in the comments.

Labels:

Saturday, April 12, 2008

About the Prompts

We're going to enter these as we see fit, as one comes to us, as we have time. There will be no end date on the entries, no time when the comments for something will close. Which means that you can use whatever prompt you wish and respond at any time.

Creativity doesn't have an expiration date.

And neither do these posts.

For the most part, the prompts will be ideas out of our own heads. When we adapt or present a prompt by somebody else, we'll say so. Karma's a journalist and Sally teaches at a university. We believe in intellectual honesty and giving people credit for their work.

On the other hand, the world is a finite place and there may be an idea that we have that is similar to somebody else's. Feel free to make note of that in the comments, with a link, if possible. You can never have enough creative prompts, so we're happy to share the love.

National Poitrey Month

April, for those who didn’t already know, is National Poetry Month. In honor of that fact, and also because I want my students to realize that they can do ANYTHING, I gave my second annual “Anybody can write a poem” lecture. Thanks and apologies to my friend Kate, who taught me this approach.

Open a book.
Find a sentence that’s about ten words long.

(I’ll use a sentence from Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent, the book we’re discussing in class right now. Below is the first thing that caught my eye when I randomly opened the book.)

I felt momentarily overwhelmed by a sense of healing and possibility

Now free associate and riff the first word in that sentence until you run out of thoughts. Then move on to the next. (You can skip articles & conjunctions if you want to.)

I - me, we, she, him, he, us, human, possibility, imagination, appeal, feeling, wow
Felt - gossamer, silk, wool, fabric, cotton, warm, thick, arts & crafts, glue, fading, kids, stockings
Momentarily - now, immediately, immediate, pink, vital, orange, life, necessary, picnic, tablecloth, ants, weird
Overwhelmed - too much, drowning, sinking, under pressure, inadequate, wrong, useless, stupid, not measuring up, worthless, unworthy
By - near, here, there, nearby, nearly, almost, maybe, possibility
Sense - intelligence, wit, notice, think, brain, perception, keen eye, humor
Healing - reiki, doctor, physician, wellness, health, whole, holistic, sunshine, vacation, beaches, rest, recuperate, recovery
Possibility - what if, maybe, imagine, could, might, may, spring, renewal, imagination, anything, limitless, wonder

Next, pick out those words from the list that catch your eye and strike your fancy. Use them as the prompt for a short poem about anything. (I’ve italicized my word choices here.)

The Possibility of String
Watch a child with a stick or a stone or a piece of string.
See how the simple object can become anything, anything at all.
A gun
A sword
A hoe
A pointer
A pencil
A puppet
A person
A hopscotch marker
A snake
A rope for tying up bad guys
The stem of a flower
A game
Anything, anything at all.
The possibilities for a piece of string (or a stick or a stone) are endless
In the mind of a child.
So where does it go, this sense that anything can happen?
How, when and why do we lose the wonder?
Do we kill it off to fit into the grown up world?
Or does it slip from our slackened fingers while we pay attention to something else,
Like a piece of string?

Post the sentence you used (and the source) along with your poem in the comments. You don’t need to include the word lists.

Labels:

Friday, April 11, 2008

Leftovers!

List seven things that are in your refrigerator right now. Be sure to included at least one item from the door.

(Looking forward to seeing this stuff served up in the comments.)

Labels:

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Time Passes

So. Almost a year later and here we are again. I have renewed my commitment to this playful little corner of the web and will be paying better attention to what goes on here.

That in mind, here's your first/next assignment:

What one thing stands out to you as you look back on this year?

(Respond in the comments as usual, please.)

Labels: