This week: Thankful for WDC – Prolific Poetry Edited by: Red Writing Hood <3 More Newsletters By This Editor
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"I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of Beauty."
Edgar Allan Poe
"The poet doesn't invent. He listens."
Jean Cocteau
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Thankful for WDC – Prolific Poetry
I guess the fact that I’ve been a member of WDC for 22 years says it all, but I’m going to share more.
Besides the fellowship with so many writers you get here, my favorite thing is that I became so prolific at writing here. There are so many ways you can be inspired to write and focus on writing here:
--Poetry writing challenges/contests
--Poetry Discussions
--WDC Weekly Goals
--Creative collaborations, like campfires.
When I was especially prolific with writing I focused on entering writing contests here. Today I’ll share some of my WDC poetry contest organizational tips that I employed at that time:
--I used an Excel sheet and noted item#, rules, themes, and deadlines.
--Sorted them by deadline
--Then noted the information for the first three to five on some scratch paper and brought that with me wherever I went, so I could jot ideas on the spot.
--once written, edited, and edited again—and they were perfect, I entered them and added more to the scratch paper mobile pile.
This method helped me write at least 100-200 or more poems a year (depending on the year), which allowed me to grow enormously as a poet.
And now for your poetry exploration:
The Bop
BRIEF HISTORY
I was first drawn to the bop poetry form because it made me think about music and dancing. While researching the form I was drawn further to it because of its initial use as a poetry writing exploratory tool. Now, I think it’s just plain fun to play with the form.
The Bop was created by Michael S. Weaver (aka Afaa Michael Weaver) in 1997. As mentioned above, he invented the form for his students for poetry practice. The name of the poetry form came from a word used around the area he grew up in Baltimore. “[B]op referred to the way a man in particular walked down the street. It was his signature to the world!” Mr. Weaver continues with, “[a]s a poetic form the bop may be seen as the way a poet presents himself or herself to the world as a performance” (Wiggerman and Meischen, 190).
MUST HAVES
I found two variations of the bop. There is the original 3-stanza bop and the 4-stanza variation. Each type of bop utilizes a repeated line after each stanza.
*Standard Bop*
--Three stanzas. The first and third stanzas are six lines, and the second stanza is eight lines. There is a line repeated after each stanza for a total of 23 lines.
--Topic should either argue an issue or celebrate something (person, place, thing, emotion, etcetera). The stanzas progress the topic. The first stanza states the issue or the object of celebration. The second explores the issue or object of celebration. The final stanza resolves the issue or is the celebration of the object in progress.
--The repeated line can be “taken from popular music or created by the poet” (Wiggerman and Meischen, 190). See ‘OF NOTE’ section for more on this.
*Extended Bop Variation*
--Four stanzas. The first, third, and fourth stanzas are six lines each, and the second stanza is eight lines. There is a line repeated after each stanza for a total of 30 lines.
--The topic of the extended bop tends to argue an issue. Just as in the standard bop, the stanzas progress the topic. The first stanza states the issue. The second explores the issue. The third stanza tries to resolve the issue. The final stanza then notes that the issue is not resolved.
--Just as in the standard bop, the repeated line can be “taken from popular music or created by the poet” (Wiggerman and Meischen, 190). See ‘OF NOTE’ section for more on this.
COULD HAVES or WHAT IS THE POET’S CHOICE IN ALL THIS?
--Any rhyme scheme, including no rhyme scheme.
--Any meter, including no set meter.
OF NOTE
There are two things you want to keep in mind. In any poetry using a refrain, the poet wants it to make an impact. Think carefully about what line you want to repeat through your bop. Next, if you use a line from music that isn’t in the public domain, be careful about copyright laws. In the public domain or not, please remember to cite your source. This is a non-issue when the repeated line is from your own creation.
SOURCE NOTES:
Wiggerman, Scott, and David Meischen. Wingbeats: Exercises and Practice in Poetry. 1st. Austin, TX: Dos Gatos Press, 2011. Print.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5773
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Theme: One of my favorite continuous writing contests here, thanks, and Thanksgiving
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Comments on last month's newsletter:
From: Monty
Comment: Thank you, have said goodbye too many times.
Sadly, same here.
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