Good Day, Toads! I hope that you all are keeping up with your writing goals this month. There are so many ways that we can go about it. If I am being honest, I have only completed a 30-day writing challenge only once before. More often, I tend to lose my pace within the first few days and if I keep up with it for longer, I just fizzle out by the last week of the month. But that's alright — as long as we are enjoying this practice, we can have some cheat days in between too. Ha!
For the tenth challenge of this month at With Real Toads, I would like you to pick up any book which is lying closest to you right now or pick one from your bookshelf. It can be a poetry collection, a novel, a dictionary, an autobiography, et al. Just pick up the book and open a page at random. Now, read out loud the first sentence of that page. So, this sentence is going to be your source of inspiration today. You can go about it in three ways:
Use all the words of this sentence in a poem
Pick a word or phrase from this sentence for the title of your poem
Use a part or the entirety of this sentence as the first or the last line of your poem
Hope this will be a fun exercise for you. This is something that I do when my addled brain seems to be bereft of any words. Once you have written and published your poem, do not forget to add it in the linking widget down below. Also, visit others who have shared their written word and enjoy the many diverse voices that we encounter and cherish here. Happy Writing!
Good day, poets! This is Anmol (alias HA) and it is my pleasure to be hosting you here at With Real Toads for the (Inter)National Poetry Month. For The Tuesday Platform, share with us a link to one poem, old or new, in the linking widget down below. If you are participating in the Poetry Month marathon or simply seeking inspiration, here is an optional challenge for you, for the 2nd day of this month-long celebration. I hope you get to achieve your target:
Write a poem, lyrical or prosaic, metrical or free verse, short or long, from the perspective of an inanimate object. It may be something in your very room, for instance, a pen stand or a flickering light bulb or that used paper you have been meaning to put in the trash. Let your imagination run free and weave a story or an experiential narration, as if you were that object. Do not forget to emulate what Wallace Stevens has to say about images of metaphors. Once you have linked, do not forget to visit & read others' posts and sharing your words with them. I look forward to enjoying your creative craftsmanship. Happy Writing!
What could be more inspiring than this? We are kicking off April easy and beautifully, friends. Write a poem about love! Or about the seasons changing, love affairs growing old, streams swelled with rain, memories of Simon and Garfunkel in Central Park, or anything else that comes up for you while watching and listening to this perfect, perfect song. Enjoy!
Happy National Poetry Month, Toads! I'm happy to share poetry - both written and spoken aloud - and excited to see what inspiring verses April brings us. Thank you for allowing me to continue to be a part of this rich community of poets, thinkers & dreamers.
Today I'd like to shine a light on children's poetry, because along with music, it is what first sparked a fire in me to read, write, and eventually pursue a lifelong career in the arts. How did it do this? By encouraging me to play, to wonder, to discover, to dream and to express myself. I was a small child, an only child - and when I began school, arguably a quiet and sometimes lonely child. Poems helped me understand a world that was complex and, at times, seemingly un-navigable. They also helped me understand myself, and spurred me to begin writing my own poems.
I know I'm not the only child to feel this way about poetry. Far from it! Indeed, there are many examples of children who have used the power of language (& music, & art, & dance) to become more confident young people. But further than instilling confidence, poetry keeps at its heart an experience of humanity like no other. Through the rhythms & words children hear and speak aloud they experience life at a sensual level. I always thought of poetry as a rainbow of not just colours but feelings, places and people. Today, as I read poems I still also feel and experience them, hear and imagine their images in my mind, taste their words on my tongue & feel their rhythms in my chest.
As a writer, I'm often drawn back to thinking of how poetry makes me feel when I'm contemplating the blank page. We all get stuck sometimes, but it is the magic and wonder of poetry that has the power to spur our writing on. Listen to this beautiful spoken-word performance by young Asha @TedXKids -- "Pick up the Pencil."
Do you ever think of your favorite poems or poets from childhood? Did they inspire you to begin writing or do they inspire you to keep writing today? I am going to guess that the answer for many is yes! As a mother, I now love sharing classic poems with my children from Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Dr. Seuss, Edward Lear - as well as poems from contemporary poets. The poetry book that became my favorite in middle school, and certainly inspired me to write - is Hey World, Here I Am! by Jean Little.
In April of 2016, to celebrate National Poetry Month, I published a short collection of poems I wrote as a child - Canvas of Imagination: Poems. Because I love sharing poetry aloud, I recorded a playlist of some of them on Soundcloud. My hope is that they inspire other young people to read, write and share poetry. I've also recorded some of my favorite children's poems from Shel Silverstein & Roald Dahl, and will certainly be adding more in the future. If you'd like to listen, go to: https://soundcloud.com/stacie-eirich/sets
Children's poetry remains my favorite literary genre to read and perform. As much as I love the tactile experience of holding and reading a book, the chance to act it aloud is thrilling! There are some wonderful collections available that encourage you to listen to & perform children's poems aloud. One of my favorites is by children's poet laureate Julia Donaldson - aptly titled Poems to Perform.
Here is a fun poetry performance video from CBBC kids. It just makes me smile! :-)
For today's poetry writing prompt, I'm challenging you to write - or speak - or act! - or sing! - a poem that harkens you back to your childhood imagination. It may be of any theme or form you choose, but it must be as creative as possible. (And no, it doesn't have to rhyme!) I hope it will be magical or whimsical, quirky or funny, colourful or even nonsensical! Create the kind a poem a child would love to read, hear or act out. And most important, have fun & love what you are creating. :-)
Thank you for reading, participating & visiting Imaginary Garden with Real Toads today. It's been my pleasure & privilege to add my voice to this community. Have a fabulous National Poetry Month! -Stacie
