Out of Standard: Gimme (fallout) shelter

Greetings Garden Dwellers!

It's time for the Out of Standard, where you'll dig into the farthest reaches of your imagination to create something unexpected. 

Gimme (fallout) shelter
To level set, a fallout shelter is a building or other structure designed to protect people from radioactive fallout after a nuclear explosion. Here in the states, they were quite popular in the 50's-60's during our cold war with Russia. 

For this prompt, imagine you are living alone in a fallout shelter.  Write a poem that encompasses you daily routine. 

While this seems pretty specific, there is lots of room for you to play. A few considerations:

• Why are you living in the shelter? Has there been a disaster, or are you just paranoid? 
• How big is your shelter?  Did you build a huge, underground facility with plenty of space or did you dig a small hole in your backyard?
• What sort of things have you taken care to stock? Do you have a room full of nutrient-rich canned goods, or did you decide to stock Twinkies and cakes?
• What sort of routines have you decided to skip now that it is just you?

That's it. The platform is yours. The mic is warm.

Keep in mind

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

Out of Standard - This is the end????

Hiya Garden Dwellers,

Welcome back to the out of standard where I lay at your feet a challenge to shake you out of the ordinary. And today, I’ve thrown in some extra fun.  

This is the end????

From time to time we fall in love with a great story, but the ending just doesn’t satisfy us. 

Your challenge: create a poem that rewrites an ending that let you down. It could be from a book, song, video game, TV show, movie, or any other medium. Just give us the ending you would have wanted.   

That's it. The platform is yours. The mic is warm.

Keep in mind

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

Song prompt - The News from Your Bed

Hey Muddy Buddies,


Welp...it's midweek, almost mid month. On the North Plain winter has cooked up a late spring snowstorm. I am fighting every urge to build a pillow fort and stay under covers for the rest of the year, and I know some of you feel that way too.

Todays prompt is for my pillow fort folk.  A little jam that may get us grooving out of our funk, hopping out of our padded palaces, and push words on to the page. Non-pillow fort folk, you can also welcome to participate or bring us cookies.

The song
Bishop Allen is an indie art school band with a few big hits under their belts. Their mostly acoustic sound is bright, melodic, with a sprinkle of self doubting franticness. Their song "The News from Your Bed" is an homage to how much fun you can have without leaving the flat - sort of. Give it a listen.

The prompt

Write a poem using a phrase or line of lyrics from The News from You Bed. If you didn't like the song or find it particularly inspiring, feel free to write a poem about the news from your own bed (or pillow fort). 

Go now Garden Dwellers and bring us back something shiny and new. 

What We Do in the Shadows - a Friday Film Prompt

Viago: “Deacon, you’re a cool guy but you’re not pulling your weight in the flat.”

Deacon: “Well, I’m glad to hear that I’m cool.”

Viago: “This is not a flat meeting about how cool you are.”

Alright, folks!  Let’s keep this prompt-a-day craze rolling right into the weekend with a bit of fun. 

The Film - What We Do in the Shadows

Don’t worry, you don’t have to see the film to participate (though you really should watch it because it’s 88 minutes of sheer delight). Allow me to summarize (without spoilers). What We Do in the Shadows is a fake documentary (or mockumentary) about 4 vampires sharing a flat in New Zealand. It follows their struggles with  issues like enforcing chore charts, proper feeding etiquette, and how to prepare for a night on the town when you can’t see your own reflection. 

Here’s the official movie trailer that will give you a small taste of its brilliance.

The prompt

Write a poem about a supernatural creature who is a troublesome roommate. Maybe it’s a werewolf who only takes the trash out during a full moon. Maybe it’s the lochness monster who forgets to lock the doors. Maybe it’s a vampire who can never go to cool places because she isn’t invited in. The only limit is your imagination. 

So go now, my muddy buddies and bring back something shiny and unexpected! 

Your lesser known cryptids....

Hiya Garden Dwellers,

Welcome back to the Out of Standard where I lay at your feet a challenge to shake you out of the ordinary. And today’s prompt is a little more on the wild side than usual.  

Getting comfy with less popular cryptids

A cryptid is an animal presumed to exist by people, even though there is no valid scientific evidence to prove it is real. And oh sure…there are a few that come to mind right away: bigfoot, the lochness monster, yeti, chupacabra.  Those cryptids get all the attention, all the fan fare. 

So today, we are going to dive a little deeper and our pens will get a little weirder. 

Your challenge: Choose a lesser known crypid from this wikipedia list (one you did not know existed) and write a poem about it.  

That's it. The platform is yours. The mic is warm.

Keep in mind

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

Creature Feature - Out of Standard

image copyrighted. Isadora Gruye photograph.

Greetings Garden Dwellers and welcome back to the Out of Standard.
Here I will call upon your highest poetic powers to go beyond the ordinary and conjure up something unexpected. Today's challenge.....

Creature Feature
Pictured above is Cut Face Cove. It's home to the most haunted shores in northern Minnesota.  Some claim ghosts of fishermen wail along to its lapping water. Other's speak of sea monsters. Some still insist on werewolves. Your job: conjure up a monster that lives here and write a poem about it. Here's the catch (this is suppose go beyond expected, right?)...you'll have to follow the recipe below:

You monster must
1. Be dressed in something unexpected.
2. Have a favorite song to sooth it's rage.
3. Know only one word.
4. Be very afraid of something commonplace.

So go now, my muddy buddies and bring back something frightfully delightful.

Out of standard: Fear into farce

The world's largest duck visit's canal park. Image copyrighted -Isadora Gruye photography. 

Hiya Garden Dwellers,

Welcome back to the out of standard where I lay at your feet a challenge to shake you out of the ordinary. July’s prompt will ask a little more ….  

Fear into farce

So, we all have that one unfounded, completely unjustified fear. A nightmare scenario that we know will never ever…ever….ever really happen, but it plagues us nonetheless. It bubbles up when alone in the dark or when falling asleep at night. 

Mine? Badgers with switchblades. 

Your challenge: take your personal unfounded fear and write a poem about it taking a comedic stance. 

That's it. The platform is yours. The mic is warm.

Keep in mind

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

A list with a twist

Image copyrighted. Isadora Gruye Photography. Reprint only with permission. 

Greetings Garden Dwellers!  

I’m here with an Out of Standard challenge to keep the momentum going as the end of April approaches.

Today, we’ll visit a common form called the list poem, and we’ll put a teeny twist to it just to keep things interesting.

What is a list poem? 

A list poem is simply that. A list or inventory of items, people, places, or ideas. They often involve repetition.  

From Walt Whitman to Dr. Seuss, poets have used the list format as a way to break free of traditional expectations and conjure forth some powerful work.

Your challenge…

Write a list poem of five.  Five of anything.  Five things you need at the grocery. Five people who got exactly what they had coming. Your five favorite things overheard on the street. Five things you haven’t been able to throw away.  You get the point.  The mic is warm.  The stage is yours. 

Eulogy for a stranger

Greetings Garden Dwellers and welcome to the Out of Standard, where I set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme and find new places in the everyday. 

Today's prompt will encourage you to connect to the world swirling all around you. In specific, your own kind.  

Eulogy for a stranger

Pick one stranger you encounter today and write their eulogy. Imagine their triumphs, the funny little stories that you would want to share with their family and friends. The defining moments that you want to highlight based on only your initial assessment. 

That's it. The platform is yours. The mic is warm.

Keep in mind

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

Writing Unseen

Greetings Garden Dwellers and welcome to the Out of Standard, where I set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme and find new places in the everyday. 

Writing unseen

Today’s prompt is fairly simple.  

Write a poem about something you can’t see fully. Whether it’s the sea monster draped in darkness or just the silhouette of a lover blotted out by the sun, we are all intrigued with the details that exist but escape our sights. 

That's it. The platform is yours. The mic is warm.

Keep in mind

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

Out of Standard - Photo Finish

Blue bonnet carrier pigeons

Greetings Garden Dwellers and welcome to the Out of Standard, where I set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme and find new places in the everyday. 

Photo finish

For today’s prompt, I am going to provide you with images, and you get to write a poem around them.  

But

This wouldn’t be the out of standard without a teeny, tiny twist. Under each photo is an phrase that doesn’t exactly match the photo. Your challenge is to write a poem inspired by the photo, while using the seemingly nonsensical words. 

The photos are mine, and you have my permission to repost them at your blog (if you are into that sort of thing). 

Keep in mind

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.

That's it. The platform is yours. The mic is warm.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

Rag and bone pancake thickener

Every hagfish's impossible dream 

New Banana Town - population: you

Smoke and mirrors and electro-shock therapy

Red carpet kittens

self care wasabi peas

Over // Under // Through

Papers Please. Copyright - Isadora Gruye Photography. 

Greetings Toadlings, 

Congrats to all of you participating in the neck-breaking, poem-a-day marathon for National Poetry month.  Today's challenge is all about challenges, and how we rise ...or er, don't or whatever. 

Over // Under // Through

We've all got a lot of borders to hop, a lot of walls to climb, a lot of checkpoints to dodge. Write a poem detailing how you get by. This is also the theme for the opening issue of Nice Cage. If you are interested in submitting your work, please check out the submission guidelines and past issues at our home page.

So go now, my muddy buddies and bring us back something shiny and new!!!

Out of Standard - Signs of the time

Greetings Toadies!

I am ever so happy to present the mid-week prompt for our Poems in April promptkrieg. For this prompt we are going out of standard. I am going to challenge you to find new places in the everyday and sully the page with the unexpected. At this point in the month, your poem muscles are warm, limber and ready for the long haul.

Signs of the times

The prompt is simple: find an image of a protest sign and use that phrase in a poem that is not political.

In case you don't want to find your own image I have supplied some below from different eras and different causes. Feel free to use them as poem fodder. However, do also feel free to find your own picture which means something to you....or even use a picture of yourself holding a protest sign.

So go now my muddy buddies and bring us back something shiny and new! 

Out of Standard: Multiple Choice

My view from Cafe Vesuvio (where the beats wrote), across the alley the fabled City Lights Bookstore.  Photo taken on 1/5/17, San Francisco.

Greetings Garden Dwellers and welcome to the Out of Standard, where I set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme and find new places in the everyday. 

In the current political climate of my America shaped box, leaders are lifting lines directly from one of my favorite authors - a man whose books are read in every high school in America - George Orwell.  Hearing all the Orwellian chatter brought me right back to the classroom.  And so it is in that spirit which I present to you today's challenge.

The Multiple Choice poem
The challenge is simple.  Write a poem in the form of a multiple choice test.  The whole poem could be a test, or you could insert a multiple choice some where into the normal structure of a poem.  I've provided links to two examples from my blog.  Feel free to use them as a starting point. 

Pencilz Down
Never Had


Keep in mind
Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written for this challenge and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.

That's it. The platform is yours. The mic is warm.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

Out of Standard - Future/Tense

Gates of St. Louis Cemetery No.1 - Image copyrighted, Isadora Gruye Photography.

Greetings Garden Dwellers and welcome to the Out of Standard, where I set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme and find new places in the everyday. 

On November 8th, the next President of the United States was selected by the electoral college. This choice has sparked uncertainty in many of us. And look, many of us have feelings about this. We are future/tense. Bringing me to today’s prompt theme:

Future/tense

That’s it. You get to interpret and write to this theme any way you choose. You don’t have to make this about politics, if you’re tuckered out on the topic. Or you can make it all about politics if post election anxiety has got a hold of your pen.

The platform is yours, the mic is warm.

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.

Out of Standard - Fire from a Different Sun

Image copyrighted: Isadora Gruye Photography.  Reprint only with permission.

Greetings Garden Dwellers and welcome to the Out of Standard, where I set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme and find new places in the everyday. 

As friends in northern hemisphere are entering the colder, darker months of autumn and winter, friends in the southern hemisphere are heading toward the hot summer months. That is why today’s challenge will focus on the heat that sustains us in the winter and that we celebrate in the summer. Only......there is a catch.

FIRE FROM A DIFFERENT SUN

The challenge - write a poem about a fire that doesn’t come from flames or the sun.  Bonus points awarded for those who are able to avoid using the words “fire” “flames” or any fiery imagery.  

KEEP IN MIND 

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written for this challenge and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.  

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new... 

From the Black Mirror

Charlie Brooker used the powered down screen of his cell phone
to inspire his award-winning Sci-Fi series "Black Mirror." What will you find in yours?

Greetings Garden Dwellers!

Welcome back to Out of Standard, where I will set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme.  I will call upon you to write out of the standard and find new places in the everyday and even share a small part of yourself with the Real Toads community.  It is in that spirit in which I present June’s challenge...

FROM THE BLACK MIRROR

Cell phones can some times steal too much of our attention, their darkened monitors beckoning us to their black mirror surface. Today, we take some of that time and creative energy back. I am calling all toads to pick up their cell phones for some inspirado.  

Take the last text message you received and use it in a poem.  Good luck on handling emojis!!!

For any muddy buddies without a cell phone or who abstain from text messaging, use the first line from last email you received instead. 

KEEP IN MIND 

Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written for this challenge and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.  

So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.