WordParty Poetry Challenge – Writing Prompt #5

Day #5

Poetry-in-Translation

by Ingrid 

Translate a poem written in another language to English without using a dictionary. Yes, that means look at a poem in Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Arabic, or whatever language you choose and try to find your own meaning behind the words—perhaps they sound sensual, argumentative, sorrowful or perhaps you can’t even read them out loud but you can delve into how the language is written and looks on the page.

Suggested poets: Wisława Szymborska, Pablo Neruda, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Matsuo Bashō, Marjorie Agosin, and Hafiz.

Don’t forget to send us your poems if you are keeping up with the challenge:

wordparty@gmail.com

WordParty Poetry Challenge – Writing Prompt #4

Day #4

This one is courtesy of Jenn Barone:

Write about being a woman if you are a man, write about being a man if you are a woman, or write about what you would be like as a mixture of the sexes.

WordParty Poetry Challenge – Writing Prompt #3

Day #3

Write a “portrait” of a person you don’t know very well, but find intriguing. In your poem imagine their real or secret life. Remember to use detail, description and/or images.

Perhaps the tattooed barista at your local café, the man who runs by your apartment every morning in the neon vest and blinking headlamp, or the little boy at the bus stop who is always wearing a Spiderman costume.

Have fun with it!

WordParty Poetry Challenge - Writing Prompt #2

Day #2

This was prompt was created by Bear Toffoli, who often graces the stage of the WordParty with his poetry!

For National Poetry Month I thought we could all try the time honored tradition of writing a poem about poetry.   To help get the ball rolling, here is a selection of beginnings of poems all about poems/poetry I have gathered.   Take one of these and start your own poem about poetry with it.   Or for a real challenge you can try to end your poem with one of these lines.  Origins of the lines and their poets are listed below.

1.      I'm working on a poem that's so true, I can't show it to anyone

2.      Poetry is the supreme fiction, Madame.

3.      Writing poems about writing poems

         is like rolling bales of hay in Texas.

4.      There once was a love poem

5.      The plum without the snow isn’t very special

        The snow without the poem is simply commonplace

6.      The form of the poem subsided.  It enters another poem.

7.      The trouble with poetry, I realized

8.      In a poem, one line may hide another line.

9.      When a poem

        speaks by itself,

        it has a spark

10. In the old days a poet once said

11. The great poems

       of our elders in many

       tongues we struggled

12. “What mighty strong poems.” He said.


Credits:

1.       Lloyd Schwartz  from “A True Poem”

2.       Wallace Stevens  from “The High-Toned Old Christian Woman”

3.       Ruth Stone  from “Always On The Train”

4.       Jane Hirshfield from “There Once Was A Love Poem”

5.       Lu-Mei P’o  from “The Snow And The Plum –II”

6.       Barbara Guest  from “The Past”

7.       Billy Collins  from “The Trouble With Poetry: A Poem Of Explanation”

8.       Kenneth Koch  from “One Train May Hide Another”

9.       Elaine Equi  from “National Poetry Month”

10.     Ko Un  from “In The Old Days A Poet Once Said”

11.      Hayden Carruth  from “Endnote”

12.     Ellen Bass  from “Mighty Strong Poems”

April is National Poetry & Jazz Appreciation Month

Take the 2012 WordParty Poetry challenge: Write a poem-a-day.

Yes, we know that is a tall order, so we will be posting prompts throughout the month to get the creative sparks flying. The point is to reset your creative muse, make writing an everyday a habit. Challenge yourself to write a poem whether it be short haiku or a long lyric poem commit yourself and get writing!

Check out our blog for the prompts, commentary and other tid-bits as we go through the month.

If you are a regular at the WordParty, feel free to send your responses to our prompts to wordparty@gmail.com We would love to see what writing comes out of the challenge! Bring your poems with you to read at our open-mic on April 17.

To get us started, let’s begin with this prompt:

• Go to your local bookstore and find the most unfamiliar and strangest section. (Finance? Science? Cooking?)
• Take notice the covers of the books, titles, any photos that catch you.
• Use this as a jumping off point to write a poem about something unfamiliar.
• For example, the weight-loss book with the read and yellow letters. Or, Suze Orman’s startled eyes which promise to get your finances in order.

Get going, April 1st is just around the corner! 

March 2012 WordParty - This One is for the Ladies

We celebrated the month of March with the theme of Women’s History Month, poets came to read their poetry for and about women! Our first featured poet, the luminescent Susan Browne electrified the audience with her reading of “Braless” from her book Buddha’s Dogs. We also especially loved the poem “Dear John.”

Nova Jazz was SMOKIN’ hot and the poets were ecstatic to have them perform during the entire night! Thanks Daniel, Geordie, Leslie, Oliver, Sheldon & Herman.

Our beloved drummer, Geordie Vanderbosch celebrated his birthday with multiple cakes and brownies, and he read a poem by Jayne Cortez “If the Drum is a Woman.” See it here!

In addition, we had many of our other regulars, Rusty Rebar, CaraVida, Nicole Henaras, Ted Walker and Justice Morrighan who read amazing poetry throughout the night. 

We’ll be back in April to celebrate National Poetry Month with a poetry challenge, and our featured poet, Jack Hirschman!

2.12.12 Poetry Festival Santa Cruz

2.12.12 - it is very interesting that this year every time I look at the clock I see the same numbers come up! It might not be a coincidence as the 2012 Santa Cruz Poetry Festival brought poets and artists from every style, generation and cultural background together in unison to celebrate poetry. Connection and unity was in the air. The event was organized by Daniel Yaryan of the Sparring with Beatnik Ghosts events and took place at the famous Coconut Grove on the Santa Cruz boardwalk in it's beautiful cabaret theater space, complete with disco-ball! There were many local poets and publishers set up with tables next to the main theater, a full bar with food and snacks.

Ginger Murray and Marc Kockinos hosted the event and did a fantastic job. Some of our favorite poets included: Cara Vida, who also showed her paintings, Avotcja and Eugene Warren on upright bass, Jack Hirschman, Ruebi Lynn Jimenz on guitar with Steven Gray, Charles Curtis Blackwell - and our friends from the Quiet Lightening reading series. Jennifer Barone, Daniel Heffez and Geordie Van Der Bosch performed - representing the WordParty! Here's a photo of Geordie getting down on his solo set with Cara Vida's painting behind him:

Next up ::: Come on down to the WordParty at Viracocha on Tuesday February 21st for our Valentine's theme of L-O-V-E in all shapes and forms, our favorite subject!