Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Out of Standard with Izy


Bat Papi, by Mr. Brainwash, image copyrighted, though art belongs to us all!



Greetings Garden Dwellers!

Welcome to the second edition of Out of Standard.  On the first Wednesday of each month I will set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme.  You will be called upon to find new places in the everyday, but there is a twist: in order to complete each challenge, you will also be asked to share something about yourself with the IGWRT community.  
Today’s challenge falls of July 4th, a holiday to some, Wednesday to others.  No matter which continent or country you pledge allegiance to, I think we can all agree it’s time for a wee bit of holiday.  
This month’s challenge will be: the parody, a holiday from yourself.
par·o·dy/ˈparədē/

Noun:
An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
The challenge:  write a poem which parodies your own style, structure, or tone.  Go ahead and have some fun, take the opportunity to not take yourself seriously, at all.  Take a moment to point that internal editor towards the page.  You may pick a particular piece of yours to parody, or go wide and go for an all encompassing work that touches on several points of your efforts.   Also, like every challenge, your poem must by newly written for this challenge and not one previously written which conveniently fits the theme. 
Go now, my toads, and bring me back something startling, cynical, lighthearted, and new.
Viva la 











19 comments:

Kerry O'Connor said...

This is an excellent antidote against hubris, Izy! I hope we can have some fun with it, and also perhaps pinpoint areas in our own style which could do with a little rethinking. A valuable exercise.

MariaAna said...

nice one.. a time to make our brain cells work..

Fireblossom said...

You are pure evil, Izy. It's why I lubz ya. ;-)

Helen said...

Always nice to take a walk on the wild side ...

hedgewitch said...

Some say my style is *already* a parody, but I'll see what I can do. I have some lugubrious rejects that might work if surgically enhanced. Great prompt, Izy.

Kerry O'Connor said...

Thanks for your spam MariaAna. Goodbye.

Hannah said...

Oh, this was fun!!! I think I need to go over the top a little bit more though...I almost like what I offer!! I can't wait to read Toads picking upon themselves!! Fun, fun! Smiles to poetic peeps!!

Ella said...

Damn, I have to reveal more warts, to y'all lol
Fun prompt..poking fun at one's self!
I can do this...

Isadora Gruye said...

Thanks to those who have posted so far....I have just finished and posted my parody. I found the exercise to be refreshing, hope you all have some fun with it!

Kerry O'Connor said...

I have long had the idea of beginning a second blog for my more experimental pieces and writing exercises; a place where I don't take myself too seriously. I have decided to launch it today in the spirit of Izy's challenge to self-parody our own writing.

Please follow the link to "Skywriting" and let me know what you think.

I have transported a few of my more recent experiments, so that it will look a little lived in.

Susan said...

Parody. I've written some good ones: of Poe, of Andrew Marvel, of Adrienne Rich. Do I see myself well enough? In some subject matter possibly. Commentary is welcome. Hmmm.

Susie Clevenger said...

Well, what better way to make me snicker than to make fun of myself.

Susie Clevenger said...

Well, I don't know if mine is a parody...so chalk it up as learning. :)

Kerry O'Connor said...

I wrote an Izy poem, and I lay down the gauntlet here for others to do the same.

Anonymous said...

This is a great prompt and, yes it is a great tool against hubris. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that I'm beset by hubris, but I have been beset by a minor ( I think in the end) family catastrophe, which made this kind of fun type of exercise just seem impossible, given the difficult mind set that descended over the last couple of days. But then I happened onto something rather accidentally that is not quite right, but kind of works. (I confess that the poems are not new, but the presentation is completely new and something particularly novel for me. ( I do understand your rules though if you decide to delete the link.) Thanks. K .

Mary B. Mansfield said...

This is such an intriguing prompt...not exactly sure where it's going to take me yet, but there just might be a sliver of an idea brewing in my brain.

Karishma Shetty said...

Aww! This one has been hard. I don't quite know if mine qualifies as a parody, but I couldnt not give this one a shot. Thanks Izy and Kerry :)

Margaret said...

I think this was the hardest thing I have ever done. Yes, my poem is short... but I nixed countless others and pulled out much of my hair :)

Mary B. Mansfield said...

Better late than never I suppose! Something about your prompts brings out the evil in me, so I thought perhaps it was time to return to the lair...still not planning world domination (yet!)