Poetry Society of Michigan – Page 16 – Poetry Society of Michigan

Prompt: Poetry of Place

Published on September 29, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Write a poem using a real place in your life in an important way. PS Make it really good!! (From Writing Poetry by Barbara Drake) The real good part is mine EK

Hey Good Lookin’ / Mary Merlo

Published on September 23, 2020 by Editorial Staff

From the Spring issue of Peninsula Poets.

Prompt: An Updated Myth

Published on September 22, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Write a poem that modernizes a classical myth. Rewrite the old myth in modern terms. For instance, Sisyphus is doomed to push a car up a hill forever. You may make yourself the classical figure if you like. (From The Mind’s Eye by Kevin Clark) Don’t forget: Poetry Society of Michigan is looking for poems that have turned out well from these prompts for a reading. Send to mme642@aol.com.

Here’s a clever example from the pages of Third Wednesday Magazine. (by permission from the editors).

Prompt: A Family History Poem

Published on September 22, 2020 by Editorial Staff

From Writing Poetry by Barbara Drake: Write a poem that teaches the history of your family to those who come after you.

Prompt: An Ekphrastic Poem

Published on September 14, 2020September 14, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Ekphrastic poetry: sounds complicated. It’s not. Ekphrastic art pays homage to another art form. In the case of poetry, we write a poem, taking our inspiration from a work of art. Use a painting or a photograph.

Do not spend any time describing the work of art. Enter it. Become part of it. Use details but let your imagination run amok in the art work. There is no right answer but your answer. – Elizabeth Kerlikowske

Below is an example from The Ekphrastic Review by one of our PSM members.

Autumn Haibun / Patricia Barnes

Published on September 10, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Prompt: Color

Published on September 10, 2020 by Editorial Staff

From The Practice of Poetry. Write a poem in which the name of a color is frequently repeated throughout the course of the poem. Consider symbolic associations (blue=sadness) as well as personal associations. (green=the phosphorescent algae on our little lake). Get the color into the title of the poem.

I Thought You’d Like to Know / Joe Kelty

Published on September 8, 2020September 8, 2020 by Editorial Staff

A member poem from the Spring issue of Peninsula Poets.

Poetry Society of Michigan 2020 Contest Winners

Published on September 6, 2020September 6, 2020 by Editorial Staff

Category 1: Margo LaGatutta Memorial Award
Judge: Daniel Edward Moore

1^st Rust Belt Randy K. Schwartz, Ann Arbor, MI
2^nd All Night the Rain Kristin Brace, Ada, MI
3^rd November Jack D. Ferguson, Auburn Hills, MI
HM Rock, Paper, Scissors Ellen Lord, Charlevoix, MI

Category 2: Chancellor’s Prize
Judge: Laurence W. Thomas

1^st Window Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
2^nd Good Fencing Lorraine Jeffery, Orem, UT
3^rd The Poet Goes Prospecting Randy K. Schwartz, Ann Arbor, MI
HM The Staunch Listener Inge Logenburg Kyler, Eaton Rapids, MI

Category 3: Founder’s Prize
Judge: Dennis Hinrichsen

1^st Midland Nancy Cook, St. Paul, MN
2^nd Water, Water Everywhere… Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
3^rd Jack Pine Savage Ellen Lord, Charlevoix, MI
HM October, Southeast Michigan Dawn McDuffie, Detroit, MI

Category 4: Barbara Sykes Memorial Humor Poem
Judge: Elizabeth Kerlikowske

1^st Poem in Which the Poem Works Very Hard… Kristin Brace, Ada, MI
2^nd I Explain to My Great Grandpa Lorraine Jeffery, Orem, UT
3^rd Sounding the Alarm Lynne Fernandez, Farmington Hills, MI
HM Transformation Marilyn Churchill, Ann Arbor, MI

Category 5: George Dila Memorial Prose Poem
Judge: Phillip Sterling

1^st A Man and His Game David James, Linden, MI
2^nd pang Diana Hart, Kalamazoo, MI
3^rd Dear Therapist, Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
HM Velvet Ear Jill Doster Marcusse, Grand Rapids, MI

Category 6: Nature
Judge: Jerrold Narland

1^st Lucky 13 Terry Jude Miller, Richmond, TX
2^nd Backyard Nature Sue Yurick, Rockford, MI
3^rd Winter Snowfall Cynthia Weber Nankee, Canton, MI
HM Lost Mountain Lori Goff, Walled Lake, MI

Category 7: Love
Judge: Diane DeCillis

1^st Alien Lover Dawn McDuffie, Detroit, MI
2^nd Redolent Diana Dinverno, Troy, MI
3^rd Autumn Garden Jack D. Ferguson, Auburn Hills, MI
HM Falling Christian Belz, Berkley, MI

Category 8: Pandemic
Judge: Terry Jude Miller

1^st Counting Marie Davids, Ferndale, MI
2^nd Maybe Eric Greene, Royal Oak, MI
3^rd Languor Garrett Stack, Rockford, MI
HM Monthursday, Frisunday, April? Carla Dodd, Waterford, MI

Prompt: Family History

Published on September 5, 2020 by Editorial Staff

From the Schakal/Ridl book of yesterday:
Look at some poems by Rita Dove, specifically ones were she writes about her family. Using the history of your family, write a poem depicting one or more of the people you learned about.