Poetry – Page 12 – Poetry Society of Michigan

The 32 Most Iconic Poems in the English Language

Published on August 13, 2020 by Editorial Staff

From the Literary Hub: The 32 most iconic poems in the English language. (with links)

Prompt: Song or Literary Work

Published on June 26, 2020 by Editorial Staff

From Western Wind, an Introduction to Poetry edited by David Mason and John Frederick Nims.

Write a poem alluding to a song or literary work that only someone of your generation would know. Can you make your poem comprehensible to readers of other generations?

Prompt: Syllabic Verse

Published on June 22, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Syllabic verse: count syllables. It can help shape the poem. I had a poem yesterday that was doing nothing, so I thought maybe syllabics would help. I counted the first line: 12 syllables. I counted the second: also twelve. The first four lines were all twelve. This was educational. It’s a better poem now. Like rhyme, syllabics force you to reconsider your word choices. Try it with a floundering poem, not that you have any of those.

Prompt: “I Put a Spell on You”

Published on June 21, 2020June 21, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Eye of newt: Write a spell to make something happen or to change something. Be sure to use lots of relevant details to help the casting.

Prompt: The Intstruction Manual

Published on June 21, 2020June 21, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Pretend that when you were born, you came with an instruction manual for your parents. What would it say?

Prompt: Russell Edson Poems

Published on June 20, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Read some Russell Edson pieces. Then write one of your own.

Prompt: from “A Poetry Handbook”: Mary Oliver

Published on June 20, 2020June 20, 2020 by Editorial Staff

From A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver: Read Elizabeth Bishop’s The Fish. Write a poem using lots of specific descriptions: metaphors, similes, and details (which Oliver calls “texture.”)

Poetry Prompt from Elizabeth Kerlikowske

Published on June 19, 2020June 19, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Reading poetry can be good in hard times. Writing poetry can be better. How else do we figure out what is truly on our minds unless we set it down on the page? Because we are not seeing many people now (I have seen four people other than my husband and the mail carrier since early march) it is more important than ever that we communicate, even if it is with ourselves.

Sometimes I sit in front of the keyboard with nothing on my mind, and not in a good way. There’s actually too much spinning in my brain and I can’t seem to pluck one thought out of the mess to explore. So I use writing prompts from old textbooks, from books of prompts.

From now on, I’m going to post a prompt each day for you. I’ll tell you what book it’s from. At some point in the future, we can read each other’s when we meet again. And about prompts, do it even if you hate it. The point is not to write exactly what the prompt suggests, but just to write.

Today’s prompt, May 19, 2020

The Negative Inversion (from a hand-out I got somewhere)

Take a poem by someone else, place it on your desk and add a blank piece of paper beside the poem.

Go to the first line. On the blank paper, write the opposite of that line. For example, How I love thee? might become Why do you hate me? It’s kind of fun deciding what is the opposite of The Red Wheelbarrow: the blue LeSabre? the gray mitten?

Do this with each line. You may find yourself wanting to write something else, so go with that. After you run out of steam, go back to the prompt poem. Revise as needed. Keep surprises. Check the diction. Make it better.

Now you will never have a day when you can’t write anything! Enjoy.

Elizabeth Kerlikowske