13 ways of looking at April 2020 and here we are, still in...
You will have a change to write poetry even if you've never done it before—the writing prompts aim to demystify the process of writing a poem. This will not take the place of the 2020 Writing Exercise Series, but will be in addition to it, so there will be a bounty of poetry to feast your eyes upon.
So. Let's begin.
April 13, 2020
National Poetry Month 2020 Activity Pack Day 13
1) Today let's begin with a little Naomi Shihab Nye. First watch this short video of her reading her poem "How Do I Know When a Poem Is Finished" which was part of "Dear Poet", the Academy of American Poets' educational project for National Poetry Month 2015.
Now check out this little talk she did about teaching poetry but more specifically, about demystifying poetry, and how to help others do that for themselves.
And finally, watch this video of Naomi Shihab Nye talking briefly about her poem "Kindness" and the pretty crazy story behind its composition, she says she didn't write it, she was the poem's secretary, as she felt it wasn't so much of a creation but... well, just watch the video, it's insightful and under five minutes, what else are ya doing for five minutes that's so important?
2) Now it's TV TIME! First let's start with this somewhat 'dramatic' reading of T.S. Eliot's poem "Silence" by none other than Thorin of The Hobbit fame, Richard Armitage.
Now check out this animation by the folks over at Poetry Reincarnations who make animations from a still image for old poetry recordings that don't have video recordings available of the poet reading. A little creepy, but mostly cool, watch this Dorothy Parker reading of her poem "One Perfect Rose"
And finally, listen to Thom Gunn talking about how he had a 2-lined poem used in a "poetry in public" sort of ad campaign which resulted in a funny graffiti addition, then reading his poem "The Home"
3) Now go read one, or preferably all of the following three 'recently' published poems:
"5 Minutes Til a Quarter After 5" by Jeffrey W. Peterson in Madcap Review Issue 12.
"The Roadtrip Began with a Monumental Act of Destruction" by Adriana Rewald in Toho Journal Fall 2019.
"Salutations" by Christopher Rose in Pank 2019.
4) Go read all of the following three short poems that were published more than two years ago:
5) I love word scrambles and anagrams, so sue me. Today's game is again Poetry Anagrams. See if you can unscramble the words/phrases, or at least come up with wittier questions which could result in the given anagram.
(What I really don't want to do should I ever meet Mr. Tyson)
R I L E M I K E
(A very small preying bug is a...)
M I C R O M A N T I S
(The collaboration of Dalai Lama and Matthew McConaughey on the track would surely be a)
Z E N R A P D U O
(In the future technological age the Pope will beatify...)
E - S A I N T S
(The to do list of Ice-T's new neurologist)
I M E E T , B R A I N M A P I C E - T
(When a pole vaulter slices their hand during a jump they've been)
P O L E C U T
I'll include the answers in tomorrow's poetry game if you want to make sure your answers are correct, or figure out that one you just couldn't get.
