Tag Archives: Kay Ryan

NaPoWriMo 2022 ~ Day 23

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Read the full post here.

Today’s featured participant is Jane Dougherty Writes.
Our featured online magazine today is Peach Mag, among the work that they’ve recently published, I’ll point you to Ai Li Feng’s “echolocation” and Bob Sykora’s “Crying on the Exercise Bike While Watching The Great British Bakeoff, February 2021.”



Today I’d like to challenge you to write a poem in the style of Kay Ryan, whose poems tend to be short and snappy – with a lot of rhyme and soundplay. They also have a deceptive simplicity about them, like proverbs or aphorisms. Here’s her “Token Loss,” “Blue China Doorknob,” “Houdini,” and “Crustacean Island.”


Morning questions by Jane Dougherty – a poem packed with ponder and wonder.

Deep night time dark is full of song,

I loved the beginning of echolocation by Ai Li Feng.

The faint scent of fabric softener in every fold


of sky.

In my dreams, I am not afraid of light,
and every truth that it forces me to tell. What I mean to say is that the dark


allows us to be anything, even beautiful.

And what a cracking title Bob Sykora‘s poem has Crying on the Exercise Bike While Watching The Great British Bakeoff – talk about specific! A powerful example of using repetition well, an enticing cascade poem.

The cake turned out poorly.

Someone is going home. The layers

crumbled.

I pedal faster and get nowhere.

Crumbling. Overcooked. Crying,

Because next week your baking

won’t be judged. Because the cake

was perfect when you practiced.

PROCESS NOTES

Coming to today’s prompt very late and tired. So we will see what happens.

Write in the style of Kay Ryan – “Token Loss,” “Blue China Doorknob,” “Houdini,” and “Crustacean Island.”

First I had to read / listen to the example poems. I had my subject in mind at least – just had to attempt the write. I may have to revisit to get the wordplay but used short clipped lines and wrote more in the style of Kay Ryan than myself.

Sleep-smiles
come
when you’re
dreaming
of angels.

Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

NaPoWriMo Day 1

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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/ napo2017button1

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

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The featured participant for DAY 1 was gloria-logo-02http://www.gloria-gonsalves.com/glopowrimonapowrimo-early-bird-spring-wedding/ with a special Early Bird prompt (Haibun) inspired by wilting tulips in her writing space.


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 napo2017button2 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.