NaPoWriMo Day 3

The challenge of MONDAY hits most of the global population of NaPoWriMo, as it is my writing day – I have, no excuse! Here we are at nearly 5pm and I have not started. My challenge will kick in tomorrow when I am back at work and not able to give NaPo any consideration until I come home from poeting in the late hours. Still… today there is no barrier other than myself.

DAY 3:

http://www.napowrimo.net/day-three-3/ 

I will start with the official site who today feature an incredible (dark) poem from the recipe prompt yesterday. http://notesfromabinbag.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/recipe-to-make-fox-lass.html

The interview is with Monica De La Torre http://marfapublicradio.org/blog/west-texas-talk/lannan-poet-in-residence-monica-de-la-torre/

Three of her poems can be read here http://bombmagazine.org/article/2872/three-poems

Today’s prompt is to write an elegy (memories of 52 come flooding back to me)! It might be the death topic putting me off completing my poems today as Carrie Etter’s prompt mentions writing about seeing a person who resembles someone who is dead… my way in might be to write about The Doors Alive *the Willy days, they have changed frontman since!

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Elsewhere Jo Bell posts Walt Whitman, a poet I only discovered last year and fell madly in depth with. https://belljarblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/03/dead-men-talking/

I spent some proper time at the Poetry School today, who suggested a list poem. Lots to read and mull over.

Off to find my way into the writing and will update this post once I have.

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I found my way in. The Naponet prompt of writing an elegy I decided to research a historical figure. Maybe I can use it for National Women’s Month 2018. I wrote it out longhand in the notebook I have started using for NaPo – this longhand writing is part of making this challenge special and enjoyable. Sets my mind to workshop mode. However, I am so used to writing straight to the screen that I find it difficult to edit on paper. This poem has been redrafted and will be the first one I type up to play with, is perhaps the first one I consider to be a real poem. Or a poem of use, that is to be shared at some point in the future.

The 2nd prompt of Carrie’s I decided to write about one of my favourite bands, The Doors. The first time Mr G and I went to see The Doors Alive and I met the frontman, Willy… I certainly saw more than a resemblance to the late Jim Morrison. This poem would not be emotionally strenuous to write (grief wise) and again might become something that is shareable in future.

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The Poetry School have posted a LIST poem prompt which I have yet to tackle. I am not sure I will ever have time to read everything on the Poetry School site, there are so many poems being posted. Hopefully we will still have access to read after April’s month of writing.

I am now breathing a sigh of relief – I got through DAY 3 and looking forward to a late write tomorrow night.

Happy NaPo!

NaPoWriMo Day 2

I wrote my NaPo poems on the day in between organising and writing my Poetry Ballroom set and attending the event in the evening. More about the Poetry Ballroom will be posted soon.

DAY 2 http://www.napowrimo.net/day-two-4/

Day 2 started with a read of the crow poem (Kay Ryan prompt) https://thoughtsofwordsblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/01/crow/  it has made me consider revisiting this prompt again and this time using an animal.

The interview was with Dawn Lundy Martin. https://www.loc.gov/poetry/interviews/dawnlundymartin.html

Read Last Days here here

The prompt (as I mentioned on my previous post) was a poem in the style of a recipe. I managed one called Ancient Recipe which starts with the line ‘For 2-3 people’, it is a poem about attempting to conceive. It started life as an Ancient Roman recipe involving boiled eggs. The end-line:

‘Escape your shells,

go deeper.’

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I really enjoyed reading the comments on Carrie Etter’s group, knowing that we are all in the midst of writing for this challenge, a shared joy and sometimes frustration. I always find the first few days are less troublesome than the slow crawl through the treacle of the month to come. I am hoping it remains enjoyable for me though – otherwise what is the point?

Carrie’s Day 2 prompt was to write a Pantoum.  The first time I attempted this style was two summers ago and I got hooked. I have not written one since and I was slightly nervous about it. I wrote 4, none of which I was particularly happy with but then suddenly something came into my head, something that needed to be written about. A memory that resurfaced during Kim Moore’s workshop at Verve Poetry Festival in February. It is dark.

‘Shadows play tricks on dream-waking eyes… her scream came only as a whisper.’

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I also discovered that Jo Bell (never far from the action) is giving us daily NaPo blogs for reading. She includes a link to 30 of her own prompts as well as in depth analysis of a poem a day.

As always, Jo offers the good advice that writing well comes from reading well.

https://belljarblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/01/a-little-support-for-napowrimo/

Every day this month, I’ll post a poem for you to read and think about.

https://belljarblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/02/mind-the-gap-reading-what-isnt-there/

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I also managed to dip into the Poetry School and read the prompts left for NaPo there. I didn’t want to read the poems before I have had a chance to work on the prompts. I envisage a daily read at the PS, with possibly posting some Napo Poems to the discussion, not many though. I have 2 I would be happy for anyone to see in the present state (the poems, not me… although the amount I have had on in the past week, I possibly look a state too!) – we will see.

 

NaPoWriMo Day 1

As we are a participating blog, I thought it sensible to keep up to date with NaPoWriMo. So far it has been a busy weekend with an event in a neighbouring County and the Poetry Ballroom. I have managed my writing time but am only just now finding a space to blog about it.

Unlike previous years (where I have more or less gone alone), this year I am in several groups and have even joined in at The Poetry School. I am using prompts from various sources to kick-start the writing. So far I have managed dual prompts from www.napowrimo.net and prompts from Carrie Etter, from her Facebook group – where we are not sharing poems (that is what the Poetry School enrolement is for), instead we are discussing some of our favourite poems and how it feels to be embarking on a crazy month of a poem a day. Carrie added a page of 30 prompts and poets have been dipping into them in random order. Out of 7 poems written so far I have 4 that I shall keep to edit and mould later in the year.

I do a draft/edit/rewrite – move on – 30 in 30 days is a pace of a thing but generally you get a sense for the ones to revisit and no writing is wasted time (in my opinion). I enjoy the challenge of this craziness and also carving out some daily writing time.

For the first time since discovering this challenge (2014), I am writing longhand in notebooks. That in itself makes a change to my normal practise.

DAY 1: SATURDAY

http://www.napowrimo.net/day-one-it-begins/ 

I wrote Day 1 in the early hours of Day 2, I learnt a few years back that when you are busy FORGIVE yourself for not writing to deadline, the world will not collapse.

The main prompt at Naponet was a Kay-Ryan-esque poem: short, tight lines, rhymes interwoven throughout…

I negated mentioning animals and I think my sharp philosophical conclusion may have to be added in later edits, in was in the style as far as line/rhythm. A poem about our house, more honestly the state of our house my lifestyle has created.

I think ‘Home’ works as a complete poem but looking to post a flavour here (as blogging it in full is considered publication), I cannot choose lines that will give you much taste at all.

This year’s links from NaPo are all interviews with a poet, whether you are joining in writing this year or not I would urge you to check out the links and interviews found on the official site. Spend the month reading instead.

Today’s interview came from the Paris Review and is with Kay Ryan https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5889/kay-ryan-the-art-of-poetry-no-94-kay-ryan

All Your Horses By Kay Ryan https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/detail/57401

The featured participant for DAY 1 was http://www.gloria-gonsalves.com/glopowrimonapowrimo-early-bird-spring-wedding/ with a special Early Bird prompt (Haibun) inspired by wilting tulips in her writing space.

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My 2nd effort came from Carrie Etter’s first prompt, I am tackling hers in order. I wrote about a badge collection that I had almost forgotten collecting, lots of childhood memory resurfaced.

Day 2  suggested using a recipe for inspiration, I found an Ancient Roman recipe and rewrote it as a couple attempting to conceive. An interesting exercise.

Over at The Poetry School the prompt was to write a long thin poem.