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Sunday, April 9, 2017

Twitter Me a Gothic Poem

Greetings, dear Toads. I’m in complete awe of those of you who are publishing one poem a day in April. I did it once, and the memories are enough to leave me exhausted. Your drive rocks.

I want to mix things up a bit. Let’s craft poetry that might inspire cackles or cringes. For today’s prompt, I invite you to write a new 3-stanza poem, where each stanza contains 140 characters or fewer and follows these guidelines: the 1st stanza will be a tweet from one of the thirteen writers listed below. The 2nd stanza will be a reply to the first tweet, by a different writer from the list. The 3rd stanza will be your reply/input/commentary to the exchange between the two writers. The stanza-tweets should be written in the chosen writers’ styles. And the completed poem should read as one piece.

I really hope we can have lots of fun with this one. I mean, how can one not laugh and weep at the thought of Poe, Coleridge, Stoker, Plath, or Lord Byron on Twitter?

Sylvia Plath
Edgar Allan Poe
T.S. Eliot
Edward Gorey
Charlotte Brontë
Lord Byron
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Bram Stoker
William Blake
Ann Radcliffe
Sheridan Le Fanu
Lord Tennyson
Mary Shelley

“Edgar Allan Poe in a moment of writer’s block”, by Gary Larson
(I know this image doesn’t quite go with this prompt,
but it made me laugh so hard that I couldn’t resist sharing it.)

Please delight Mr. Linky with the direct link to your poem. Visit other Toads. Have a blast. 


17 comments:

  1. What a great prompt! I can't sleep so I blame mine on insomnia. :)

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  2. Well, Magaly, I don't tweet (though I did establish an account, once,) but I am curious to see what transpires.

    Plus, The Far Side. ~

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  3. Well this was a challenge...not sure if my language is tweety enough but then I claim ignorance as would my chosen poets.

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  4. I am also not a tweeter, or social media user, but I love the concept of writing from the perspective of a favourite poet, and establishing the conversation. I think this will give rise to many interesting poems.

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  5. Loved the prompt, Magaly ❤️ hope my poem does justice to it. Happy Sunday everyone❤️

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  6. I've been away at a conference so I missed some of the prompts and am desperately trying to catch up with all sorts of things, so I was delighted to see your prompt, Magaly! I'll see what I can come up with this morning.

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  7. @Susie, your insomnia writes fantastic poetry.

    @Grapeling and @Kerry, I'm not much of a twitterer (is that a word?) either. I have an account that is automatically filled with my links. But, the truth is that I cannot keep up with the pace of the conversations--so many and so fast!

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  8. Everyone, I've enjoyed what I've read up to now (a lot). Keep them coming!

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  9. Well! I tweet and do find it useful to try writing stanzas within the 140-character limit. For me, it can help make my poems longer, if you can believe it! Trying on these voices, not so easy but totally fun. Thank you, Magaly!

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  10. Oh! i read your poem today at the pantry and didnt realise it was a prompt Magaly

    Happy Sunday

    Will be back with my response


    much love...

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  11. I so enjoyed writing to this prompt!

    Dear Magaly, the word is tweeter. However, these days I too only use it to link to my poems, and to petitions I sign. I don't know how people ever manage to keep up with what it has become since the early days.

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  12. Holy guacamole, that was hard. And FUN. Thank you!

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  13. This was great! I am so new at real poetry and some of the poets listed on the list. I spent six hours today reading poetry. It was great! I hope I got the Challenge correct, either way it was a great day! Thank you!!!

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  14. They are all wonderful beyond belief – and Susie, you totally rock!

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  15. Thanks so much for playing the poetic Twitter game, everyone. I had so much fun reading your responses.

    @Susie, I'm right with Rosemary--I'm about to go back to your poem, in order to roar a bit before starting today's physical torture (I mean, physical therapy). Goodness knows all is better with a poem and a great laugh.

    Happiest Monday, everyone!

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  16. I absolutely love this prompt!

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