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Author Archives: JC
New Bookends Reviews: Bryson, Boyden, and Scofield
Finally returning to review some of the readings from the spring. I begin today with the posts under “Bookends” tab of three books in two reviews: See my thoughts on Bill Bryson’s “*A Short History of Everything.” I’m a huge fan of Bryson’s books, and this huge volume didn’t disappoint. And then look at how I […]
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*A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson, 2003
I am embarrassed that I read this magnum opus 13 years after it was published, since science and technology have advanced at such rates as to date some of what Bryson covers. Even so, this accessible, often amusing and very satisfying ramble through prehistory, from how and what the cosmos to the components of matter, […]
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Day 30 poem, “Generation, from memory,” the last piece in the month-long poetry challenge
I accepted the day 29 prompt in NaPoWriMo.net because the Day 30 prompts from that site and from Found Poetry Review were not a good fit. I am pleased to have participated in this month-long writing challenge but, at the same time, feel relieved it’s over. And apologetic that I was a day late once in […]
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Beth Ayer’s April 29 Impromptu prompt to write a poem from an unintelligible text (in your own language)
Beth Ayer’s challenge through FPR was as follows: “In the spirit of heading into darkness after all things unseeable and obscure, write a poem using a text that is inexplicable to you. Could be quantum physics, thermodynamics, mathematics, aeronautical engineering – or something else altogether that to you speaks in incomprehensible language. Choose a text or […]
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Irresistible prompt to write online erasure poem (April 27, Greg Santos in FPR)
I will return to April 28’s fine prompt from Jenni B. Baker in FPR which warrants far more time than one day provides. Instead, I chose one of Greg Santos’s from yesterday to: “Go to Wave Books’ Erasures website to find online source texts…The cool website lets you click on any word or punctuation mark […]
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April 27 Impromptu from Greg Santos in Found Poetry Review to write a reversal poem
Though it proved hard to select which of Greg Santos’ April 27 prompts to follow, I chose this one: “Find a draft of a poem you’ve already written. Rewrite your new poem backwards, writing the last stanza first and so on. The new order might reveal something new and exciting.” I began with a piece I had […]
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April 26 prompt: Write a call-and-response poem
This prompt from NaPoWriMo.net resonated with me. Here’s what was suggested:“Calls-and-responses are used in many sermons and hymns, in which the preacher or singer asks a question or makes an exclamation, and the audience responds with a specific, pre-determined response….as a sort of refrain or chorus that comes up repeatedly, while the call can vary […]
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April 25 Impromptu Found Poetry Review Challenge — a homophonic interpretation
This prompt from Nancy Chen Long “involves reading a poem in another language that you do not speak. The language of the poem you select must be one in which you don’t know what’s being said, so that your imagination has greater room to play… Find a poem in its original language….Sound out the poem […]
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April 24 Craig Dworkin’s Impromptu challenge (FPR) to recreate a text from an erasure poem
Craig Dworkin’s prompt through Found Poetry Review: Take an erasure poem and then add “words to fill in the empty spaces in order to create a new text that flows naturally and coherently. Words should fit exactly — to the letter — so that the result appears to be perfectly justified prose.” He added: “Don’t cheat by kerning.” […]
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Day 23: Daniel Levin Becker’s prompt in The Found Poetry Review
Daniel Levin Becker suggested writing a truncated version of the récapitul ” a fixed poetic form created by Jacques Jouet in 2010.” For this “petit récapitul portatif: The poem consists of 10 lines total, in a 3-3-3-1 stanza distribution. Each line is 9 syllables long. No meter is required. The lines do not rhyme. After […]
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For George’s First Earth Day, April 22, 2016
I have a little grandson, sleeping on my knee. Oh child, sweet child, what dreams for you I see? Let’s watch a blossom open on a pink magnolia tree. Oh child, sweet child, you mean so much to me. We hear sirens screaming down our busy road. Oh child, sweet child, it’s hope the firetrucks […]
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Day 22: Earth Day poem challenge
Once again a day late. Since I found the challenge in the Found Poetry Review forced me to admit how poorly I understand that kind of ‘computerspeak,’ I turned again to NaPoWriMo.Net. Here’s the prompt from Gloria Gonsalves: Write a poem in honor of Earth Day, which led to two poems. The one below and on the […]
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Day 21 prompt: Fairy tale skew
The April 21 prompt from NaPoWriMo.net appealed more than what was on offer at The Found Poetry Review, which has suggested a number of prompts that would require a week’s efforts. Here’s the prompt: “Write a poem in the voice of minor character from a fairy tale or myth.” Of course, always blame the woman […]
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Day 20 Challenge: to write a Kenning or two
Today’s prompt through NaPoWriMo.net comes from Vince Gotera, who suggests a “Kenning” poem. “Kennings were riddle-like metaphors used in the Norse sagas.” Definitions: “A Kenning is a two-word phrase describing an object often using a metaphor. A Kennings poem is a riddle made up of several lines of kennings to describe something or someone.” The […]
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Day 19: Lost in translation in response to Michael Leong’s prompt in the Found Poetry Review
Here is Michael’s prompt. “When we speak of “translation,” we usually refer to the process of turning a text that is written in one language into another language. But if think about translation more broadly, we can imagine a diverse range of experimental processes that can spark new writing. All you need is to find […]
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Day 18: To incorporate in a poem the “sound of home” (from NaPoWriMo.net)
NaPoWriMo optional prompt for April 18: To write a poem that incorporates the ‘sound of home,’ figures of speech, ways of talking people around you may have used and you may not hear anymore. “Coax ear and voice backwards.” Which is what I did, though I deliberately didn’t seek to abandon adult words as had […]
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Day 17 Prompt from Jeff Griffin through the Found Poetry Review
The prompt from Jeff Griffin took me to the 2015 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology. As suggested, I read it through and transcribed chronologically and without punctuation what words or phrases I found “remarkable.” I then copied the text into Google Translate through a cycle of 5 different languages and then back to English. I’m afraid the chronology and […]
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Day 16 Prompt from NaPoWriMo.net — choosing words from a specialized dictionary
Instead of the April 16 prompt from The Found Poetry Review, which may have provided a constellation of possibilities to others but left me cold, I followed, instead, the optional prompt for April 17 from NaPoWriMo.net, which both intrigued and amused. Here’s the prompt: “Use ten words from a specialized dictionary in a poem.” The […]
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Day 15 Found Poetry Review Prompt from Joel Katelnikoff: Love what you hate
Joel Katelnikoff’s prompt took me to the reading list my book group set for 2015-2016 over my own objections to a sole focus on fiction and non-fiction related to Canada’s aboriginal or indigenous peoples. I felt the weight of the choices but read the books, on occasion with gritted teeth. What follows, then, is my […]
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Day 14: Prompt from Brian Oliu Re: The Found Poetry Review Challenge
Brian Oliu suggested setting aside “about twenty minutes of your day with the intention of “doing research” for a piece. Do not allow yourself to write about anything that you do not experience firsthand….Allow yourself to be immersed in your project & only trust “first hand research” take notes, but don’t let the notes dictate […]
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Day 13: Prompt from the Found Poetry Review
The April 13 prompt from Senna Yee had a light-hearted side: “Travel websites have always intrigued me with their language– visual, lush and sometimes a bit dramatic and naive. Browse and write down any words/phrases that interest you….Craft a poem using only these words/phrases. You may arrange them in any way you wish.” Of course, […]
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Day 12 Impromptu poem through the Found Poetry Review
Oh dear. Another day late. Well, can’t be helped. Here is the prompt from Robert Fitterman, borrowed from Steve Zuttanski: “Collect found language from individuals who articulate how they feel, specifically, in their bodies…physical symptoms in the body (neck, head, stomach, feet, etc). Use at least 20 different posts from different speakers. Modify, arrange, modify.” Which I modified, […]
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Day 10: Catch up impromptu poem
Instead of taking the cue from the Found Poetry Review for April 10, turned to NaPoWriMo.net and the lead from Lillian Hallberg’s challenge: ” to write a “book spine” poem. This involves taking a look at your bookshelves, and writing down titles in order (or rearranging the titles) to create a poem…. that is seeded throughout with […]
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April 11: impromptu poem from another prompt
Fell off the wagon yesterday (April 10) and didn’t write a poem in response to Found Poetry Review’s prompt. Perhaps will have a chance to catch up later today. Perhaps not. Didn’t really feel any affinity for today’s prompt from that source which had to do with astrological signs and other stuff. Instead, attempted a […]
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Impromptu poem 9 (Found Poetry Review)
Here’s the prompt for April 9 from Frank Montesonti about a novel (for Garnett) and intriguing way to approach erasure poetry and the start of a poem employing the new approach: “Erasure poetry in its essence….is just the idea of selection. Highlighting the words you do want to keep instead of erasing the ones you […]
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Impromptu poem 8 (Found Poetry Review)
Harold Abramowitz suggested this prompt: “Write something you cannot remember: a memory of something – a story, an anecdote, a song, another poem, a recipe, an episode of a television program, anything, that you only partially or imperfectly remember. Write multiple versions, at least 6, of this memory.” What came to me were distinct ‘verses,’ […]
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April 7, Impromptu poem (Found Poetry Review)
Simone Muench suggested the following prompt: “write a cento that is a self-portrait, or anthology of your life, utilizing lines and fragments from your own work,” an intriguing and somewhat daunting task. You’re lost if you look, if you listen, if you follow Austere, without edges or colour, small-smiling, she looks down, watches, waits […]
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Impromptu poem: Day 6 (Found Poetry Review)
In response to Noah Eli Gordon’s prompt to “write a poem comprised of a single sentence, spread across at least seven lines of no fewer than 5 words each. Repeat one of your lines 3 times, but not in succession. Include the following: the phrases ‘as when the,’ a scientific term, a flower’s proper name, […]
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Impromptu poem: Day 5
Here’s Garnett’s response to Sarah Blake’s prompt in the Found Poetry Review Impromptu series for National Poetry Month. She suggested choosing a song and having its dynamics open the door to a poem. The song Garnett chose is Carole King’s “You’ve got a friend, ” which Garnett sang and read until this poem happened. Perhaps […]
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Double review: Aspects of Louis Riel from Joseph Boyden and Gregory Scofield