April 2020 is still here... which means...
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 26, 2020
National Poetry Month 2020 Activity Pack Day 26
1) Let's start out with this quick video with spoken word poet Sarah Kay talking about how to approach poetry with people that may feel they don't 'get' poetry from the "Brief But Spectacular" series.
2) TV TIME! First lets watch Robert Bly read his poem "Snowbanks North of the House" at his writing cabin on Moose Lake in Minnesota back in the 1980s.
Some years later, at the same cabin, here is Bly reading his poem "Winter Poem" while playing his Appalachian dulcimer.
And finally, let's take 5 minutes to watch a short video about the life of Pablo Neruda narrated by Ilan Stavans.
3) Now go read one, or preferably all of the following three 'recently' published poems:
“A Sunday Afternoon of Listening to Lionel Richie Sing” by Cheryl R. Hopson in Indianapolis Review Issue 11, Winter 2020.
"Aubade with Ravens" by Jessica Lynn Suchon in The Pinch November 22, 2019.
"Self-Portrait as Land Snail" by Nickole Brown in Bellingham Review November 15, 2019.
4) Go read all of the following three poems that were published more than two years ago:
5) Now that we've read John Ashberry's poem, let's play fly on the wall for a Harvard poetry PhD class discussing that poem.
6) The time machine is set to November 30, 2016 for this "First Line" exercise where you begin with the given line and see where your imagination/pen/keyboard takes you.
