 Poetry: October 07, 2015 Issue [#7249] |
  Poetry
This week: Don't Settle For Mundane Edited by: Fyn  
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Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.~~Marilyn Monroe
Use your imagination, and you'll see that even the most narrow, humdrum lives are infinite in scope
if you examine them with enough care.~~Mark Haddon
A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.~~Ayn Rand
It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.~~Albert Einstein
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things.~~Steve Jobs
It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys.~~Antoine de Saint-Exupery
A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.~~Denis Waitley
The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.~~Carl Jung
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I just finished working with Ren the Klutz!  on a contest called The Construct Cup. Prompt driven, thirty days long, words to use and not use, and with a twenty-four hour turn-around, it is difficult, taxing, stressful, a LOT of hard work as well as a learning experience, a leap of faith and a way to push oneself beyond any limits one thought possible!
As a judge and one of the two who devised the prompts, I was called diabolical, mean, a PITA and a few other names I think I won't mention. Awesome! I loved it! Why? Because these writers were being pushed, shoved, thrust and any other movement-forward word you can come up with to work outside their comfort zones, to reach new heights and to pay attention to what they were writing. They were forced to find new ways to look at things, to find new ways to express themselves and to look at things from new perspectives. So were we judges as we wrote a poem to each prompt as well! :)
A tiny example, and not a prompt of my devising. Piñatas. In one poetic exercise, the contestants had to use personification to describe (using the fives senses and emotions) something at a birthday party: the icing on the cake, the candles, the decorations. Many chose a piñata. They got the sight part down pat. Hearing as well. The rest? Not so much because they neglected to think about what a piñata truly is and what happens to it: it is stuffed full of candy and bashed with a bat until it disintegrates and its innards fall out. Not exactly pleasant! They didn't take the time to BE the piñata! Hence, they failed to accomplish the directive, treating it like it was a fun, happy, joyful experience. That's fine if you are the children scrambling for eviscerated candy, but if you are the piñata? Not so much! Not when the very heart of you has spilled onto the ground, you are summarily tossed into the trash and quickly forgotten.
Another prompt (mine this time) was designed to encourage writers not to rely on simple connecting words: they could not use words like: see, saw, of, on, in, the, to, and, I, you, me or if. The prompt was to take a walk or sit outside or look through a window and describe what they saw. Specifics. In detail. The bug but not the leaf the bug was on. The bird, but not the branch it perched upon. The first stanza set up where they were and, in general, what they were looking at. The last stanza had to sum it up and draw some conclusion.
It is a good exercise in not relying on conventional phrasings. It forces the writer to take a slightly different slant in their descriptions. Couldn't use 'on the anything.' It was perched precariously or crawling determinedly or slowly slinking. The poems were fresh, creative and well crafted.
Yea the writers!
Rising above and beyond, stretching your words to bring a new meaning, visual, or experience for (or to) a descriptor is what makes a poem sing! Think of the nuances in musical notes or a symphony and add those to your descriptions. What color is the sound of a flute or a tuba? Conversely, what instrument sound might be lilac or deep green? What color is a yawn or a vacuum cleaner sound? What would a favored song smell like? Think of a paint palette and how adding a hint of this or that changes a color: adds depth, defines definition, enhances value or gauges opacity. The same applies to the choices we use in picking the words we use.
There is nothing like reading an amazing poem only to come to a screeching halt because you trip over a trite, clichéd phrase that completely pulls you out of it! We know the sky is blue. If describing the sky is intrinsic to the poem, find a new way to describe it!
I have a challenge for you!
Pick a color. Any color. How does the color blue sound or feel? What might green taste like? What does magenta smell like? How does teal feel?Would the person next to you see it the same way? How would you describe blue or green to someone who has never seen color? Could you describe a sunset or a stormy sky? One excellent way to describe something is to describe in in terms of something else entirely.
Write a poem and do just that-- without using the name of the color, or any other color except in the title.
For example:
Yellow
Caress of sunlight on your face,
just enough
that you can feel the warming.
Smell of lemons,
taste of iced tea with mint.
Feathery feel of flower's center,
a piccolo's lilting call, or a
child's giggle.
A stretch that goes
from fingers to toes,
a snuggle
beneath a blanket
on a chilly day,
and the invigorating aroma
of fresh mown hay.
The sound of a smile just
crinkling at the edges,
the touch of a far away star,
the moment when you let go
of the rope and just before you splash
into the lake. Wood smoke,
newly sharpened pencils,
cinnamon toast
and pancakes!
Well, you get the idea!
Write the poem and send me the bitem link and, at least, get some gps; the best ones will get a merit badge for their effort.
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Gratitude Adore ♥  says: Whenever I read your writing, your thoughts, they always make me want to be a better writer! This was a great newsletter full of many ideas and tips that I will continue to reference as I write!
Thanking you!
Mary Ann MCPhedran  writes: Thank you for sharing this newsletter with me I have enjoyed reading and hope that a little spark of your will light the fire in my future items.
Thank YOU!
dwarf2012 comments: Thanks for highlighting my poem in your newsletter, I am honored. I think as poets, life experiences help to expand our ability to connect to others at different stages in life.
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