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Thursday, February 7, 2019

Thursday- Finding a Moment

Toads!  Manicddaily, Karin Gustafson here, wishing you all well. 

I had a hard time thinking of today’s prompt in part because I have had a hard time lately thinking about poetry.  I wanted the prompt to be something to goad me as much as you, but not through a search of old poems that I might use.  I wanted a prompt that would force me to write something new.

So, here it is:  I’d like you to write about this very moment.  That is, the moment in which you are sitting down (or standing up) to compose your poem.  Ideally, I’d like you to write about that very moment in rhyme or meter--that is, with some element of musicality.  

You can write the merest impression of this moment, or you can tell its fuller story.  This impression or story can, of course, include other moments--moments which led to this moment, or that come to mind in this moment.  Or, you can stick with what feels absolutely present right now. 

In other words, your poem can be a wide-angle lens, or a telescopic; a mirror, a window, a keyhole.   

To get you thinking of the layers of the moment, I include here two time-lapse videos made by a drawing/painting app that I sometimes use.  The one above is the video that resulted from my illustration of my newest (soon-to-be-published) children’s book, called “Baa Baa Briar!” and the one below ifsfrom a book I’ve just published called “Little Dog’s Thirst for Adventure.”  (I hope the uploads work!)   (All rights reserved.)



Note that the fact that you are writing about this very moment does not mean that you can not revise.  You can and should revise before posting, especially for musicality. 


See you on the flip side. 


10 comments:

  1. Hope this is not too abstruse--I've finished mine but want to look over a bit before posting, probably tonight!

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  2. It will be fine, Karin. I picked up on the words, "something to goad me" and took off this morning but didn't finish yet. I liked the animation, would you like to do that for a living? Your calling might be cartoons. That would probably more enjoyable than working on assembly lines like I did for three years. Pretty subtle getting your pooch in the first set.
    ..

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  3. Hi Karin and all the real Toads! Thursday has come around quickly. I took this prompt literally, Karin, which I hope you don't mind, but it's been a long, tiring day and I'm all alone this evening except for the cats, one of which is out at the moment. I'm interested to see what everybody's moments will be like.

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  4. I put in my usual morning walk. Interesting prompt Karin. It was fun!

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  5. thanks for the prompt, it is fun to look at the beginning of the day...how is it the same, and how is it different...what work comes?

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  6. i so enjoyed your process videos, Karin. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Thank you! Love your videos. I just wrote from my moment of not knowing what to write.

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  8. Those videos are amazing! Joining in today. Thanks for a thoughtful prompt.

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  9. I love the prompt, Karin, and enjoyed your sweet videos. I hope to write something in a bit. Am having a very slow start this morning.

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  10. Thanks all for looking at the videos! And for your lovely poems. k.

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