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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Words Count With Mama Zen

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Despite my yearly resolution not to make New Year's resolutions, this year I have resolved to learn how to use Twitter.  And you, dear Toads, are getting dragged along with me.

Today, we are writing Twitter poems.  Despite the techy name, a twitter poem is just a poem brief enough to fall at or below Twitter's tweet limit of 140 characters.  Sounds easy enough, right?   Here's an example by some guy named Billy Collins:
 
Twitter Poem
 
The poem creates a space.
It hides in a tent in a forest.
Making its own bed it falls asleep in the dark,
wakes up under a lamp or the sun. 

 --- from The New York Times Week in Review

You know, that guy may have a real future in poetry . . .

So, what do you think?  Are you ready to give it a try?  Your assignment is to write a poem of 140 characters or less.  Feel free to do as many as you want and even chain them together if you like; just make sure that each stanza is 140 characters or less.  Have fun!

Editorial Note:  There are lots of character count thingies online.  I like this one.

Boring Editorial Note: Billy Collins' "Twitter Poem" is reproduced under fair use for non-profit, educational purposes only.  No infringement of copyright is intended.

27 comments:

  1. I do not Tweet. But for you, I will do this terrible thing.

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  2. Since you gave a shout out to one of my favorite poets, I'll give this a try for you!

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  3. I'm with FB on the conscious choice never to tweet a single character - but I do like the challenge of 140 characters (including the spaces) and if Mr Collins is a sport about it, who am I to be a naysayer?

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  4. Sometimes, the fewer words, the better. I'm not tweeting mine, though. :_)

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  5. Not tweeting, but I shall have a go, as it's so challenging to write briefly

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  6. i'm on my way out for some work travel, maybe i can just link yinz to my twitter feed instead?
    @runaway_tweets
    joking, i'll write something, but i really am hitting the road. and that really is my hangout on the twitters.

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  7. I am a twit, though I don't tweet. But, what the hey, I tried one ~

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  8. I've written many twitter poems before.

    I'll come around in a minute with some new stuff.

    For the time being, Let me share a silly link for twitter poetry ideas?

    http://twittermagnets.com/

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  9. Twitter Poetry.. I love it.. I do it everyday. Thanks for this challenge!

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  10. I am a fan of the conciseness Twitter demands. Each word has value.

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  11. I don't know tweeting from nothin', but here is a tweet-length poem for you. Perhaps if you walked me through the steps? Can that be done in 140 characters?

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  12. Tweet, tweet.

    So are we supposed to put these up on twitter too? I have an account but I don't actually know how to use it.

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  13. Thanks for playing, guys! I'm in the midst of a computer tragedy, but I'll be around as soon as I can.

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  14. Hi Mom Z. ~~ Before this post theme has run its course I might decide to open a Twitter account. I have been thinking of it, with perhaps just one 'friend', the Pope. He has inspirational and uplifting messages with his tweets.
    ..

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  15. I liked the challenge even though I'm not a tweeter.

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  16. My daughter has threatened me if I get on twitter - I told her I just might now. :)

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  17. Hey MZ--my challenge was somewhat magnified by doing all on iPhone . How's that for modern-- ha? K. Manicddaily

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  18. I am on the twittersphere...so I am familiar with limited character count. Thanks for the challenge MZ!!

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  19. love that twitter comic strip.
    will have to pick up The New Yorker

    gracias MamaZen

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  20. Wow! So many tweets!!

    Thanks for a great challenge, MZ.

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  21. Seems pretty challenging to write poem with so few words. Thanks for posting the challenge. I wish all of your fellow bloggers luck.

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  22. I must say that is the first tweet I have ever written. Thanks for the great opportunity! I just love writing these prompts :)

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  23. I think I could do this. Not right this minute, but I'm already a day late, so an hour or more won't make much difference. Nice to be back in the Garden.
    K

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  24. A sweet tweet Mama Zen! I think I can manage this one. Snowbound with cabin fever and noise-translation I am going nuts!

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  25. I love the constraints of the tweet! I had enough space to add a pic too.

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  26. Ha ha. Maxine. Ya gotta love a poet like her. :)

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