Poetry Prompt Day 30: Writing about the Hard Stuff

Image by Brandon Olterman 

Poetry can take us so many wonderful places. It can be beautiful, sweet, loving, and gentle. But that's not where I want us to go today.


On this, the eve of Halloween, I want us to play in the dark. Words have power. YOUR words have power. Take a moment and let that sink in.

YOUR         WORDS          HAVE          POWER.

In my own writing, I often take on difficult subject matter. I throw open the closet doors, drag out the skeletons, polish them with words, then prop them up on the porch for the world to see. There is incredible freedom in exposing darkness to light. Through poetry (and other forms of art) we can shed light on the dark places in our world and, in doing so, ignite small fires for change.



"A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep."      ~ Salman Rushdie

"Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes."      ~ Joseph Roux

"A poem begins with a lump in the throat."      ~ Robert Frost


There are so many possible topics to consider here: child abuse, bullying, violence, addiction, terrorism, discrimination, pollution, eating disorders, mental illness, diseases, etc.

Be brave. Go into the dark. Choose a subject and expose it to the bright light of your words.

Here are some examples of issues exposed through dance to further inspire you:

Addiction - choreography by Mia Michaels




Bullying - choreography by Bonnie Story



Breast Cancer - choreography by Tyce Diorio



Child helping parent - choreography by Travis Wall

OctPoWriMo Poetry Prompt Day 24: Go Back and Go Back Again

One of the things I love about being in a part of a community like here at OctPoWriMo, we know we can reach out to one another if we need help. When I was getting ready for my surgery I was a mess, an absolute mess - and Morgan was gracious enough to recycle a post I had written last year.


Even if you wrote something last year, I bet there is another poem waiting to be written from your 2013 perspective. As Heraclitus said, "You can never step in the same river twice." In this case, "We can never step into the same poetry prompt twice."

It gives me great pleasure to reintroduce this poetry prompt from Morgan Dragonwillow:



Enjoy!

As you continue to write poetry day by day, you may discover some resistance to going deeper still. You may feel a wall erect in front of you and think you are just blocked. Most likely fear is rearing its head.

At a time like this the best thing you can do is write through it. Allow yourself to write whatever is coming up for you and know that what you are writing you don't have to post. You don't have to but after you are done, read it again, and maybe there will be something within it that you want to share. The important part is to give yourself permission to just write all the thoughts that are swirling in your head even if you never do share it with another living soul.

Me before the world told me I couldn't be me.

This poetry journey is for you. It is to help inspire you to get your words down onto the page and to help you remember who you are at your core; all parts of you.

Poetry 101

I realise that some of us have been writing poetry for a while but some people might be starting out and find themselves wondering where to begin.  An exercise I was given on my Open University Creative Writing course is a good place to start.

What you need to do is go outside and describe something that catches your eye.  Now I have just got back from a holiday in Norway so my example is of a Norwegian fjord.

'A pulsing foaming carpet of blue framed by trees with sunlight sparkling on the water.  The only sounds are the screeching of gulls and the water slapping the shore.'

Now if I take what I've just written and just break up the lines and maybe take out a word or two, lo and behold, something approaching a poem emerges.

'A pulsing foaming carpet of blue framed by trees/sunlight sparkling on the water/the only sounds are the screeching of gulls/and the water slapping the shore/the waves roll out towards a Viking sea.

Okay, I added the last line for effect but I hope you get the general idea.  Don't think of poetry writing as hard.  Just be prepared to mess around with words and don't worry about making mistakes.

What Poetry Tools do You Have - Tip One

Getting your tools together for OctPoWriMo: 31 poems in 31 days of course is the first thing for you to begin to look at. Now you really only need a pen/pencil and paper to write a poem but let's take a look at some of the possibilities.

OctPoWriMo 2013 CoContributors

Do you like writing and reading poetry? Would you like to help inspire and support other poets?

I am looking for several creative and supportive individuals that would like to contribute tips and prompts blog posts, help to visit and add comments on the participating blogs, and share updates/posts/blogs on social media. 

If this sounds like your cup of tea, please contact me, Morgan Dragonwillow, by emailing morgan underscore dragonwillow at hotmail dot com or you can contact me through Twitter ( @MDragonwillow ) or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mdragonwillow.writer 

Yes it is over four months before we begin the next challenge but I am looking forward to this event being an extraordinary experience.

I look forward to chatting with you.