SHARING MY WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
In the weekend workshop PROMPTS FOR POETS, which I attended at Poets House in New York on 7/26 & 7/27 (see "Live Blog" posts on this site for those dates). The participants were given the following prompt:

PROMPT- Select a poem in a foreign language and translate it in English.

Among the choices on the table, I selected the following poem:

It was written by the 9th century Chinese poet/hermit HANSHAN, who called himself Cold Mountain, or Cold Cliff.

My effort:

A poem by Hanshan (Cold Mountain)
Translated by the Poet Outlaw



the atmosphere
up high is

where the
snow drifts

takes away
your breath

freezes on                                              

contact with
thin air where
swirling circles

of elevated clouds
float by and
birds of prey
are the

only things
that dare
to stand
on cold mountain


For more Sharing My Workshop Experience log on to jcdudleywriter.blogspot.com

LIVE BLOG

While at Poets House, the Poet Outlaw also attended the SHOWCASE where all the poetry books published in the U. S. this year were on display.

This display was called "book on a turntable."

View of Battery Park City from inside Poets House

PROMPT OF THE DAY: Write a poem discussing your favorite stye of poetry, and why.

LIVE BLOG

Had a great time in the workshop at Poets House. Participants on all levels came together for a wonderful weekend of writing and sharing.

And the view wasn't bad either.

PROMPT OF THE DAY: Write an "unanswerable letter" poem. Address it to someone very dear to you.

LIVE BLOG

The Poet Outlaw

The short long story is that my 9:05 PM departure time turned into a 2 hour delay. Bus didn't leave Ohio until 11 PM. Add an additional 2 hour delay in the Pittsburgh layover + numerous traffic delays + passenger pickups and drop offs in out of the way places = a New York City arrival time of 8 PM 🙀🙀😭😭

When I finally got to my cousin's house it was 9:05 PM, exactly 24 hours from my original departure time. WHEW! What a day!

PROMPT FOR THE DAY: Watch the cloud formations overhead for the next few days, then write a poem describing the various shapes you saw.

LIVE BLOG

My poem hunting Expedition #2 started out on the wrong foot. To make a long story short: UNFORSEEN delays at Greyhound has The Poet Outlaw behind schedule.

Expected arrival time in New York City has gone from 11:40 am to 6 pm 😱😱. 

Will fiill you in later. Meanwhile: Finally leaving Pittsburgh

Today's prompt: Write a poem describing what to do when there's nothing you can do.

HOLDOVER IN PITTSBURGH

After a near-perfect trip to New York City I'm held up in Pittsburgh. An over-crowded bus and a route detour caused severe delays in my travel agenda. I won't reach Columbus until 5:30 am, as in tomorrow.

Black Pearl car service taking The Poet to  Port Authority

The world famous Grand Central Station

Headed across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Arrival in Baltimore

Rest stop in Midway, Pennsylvania

The Poet held-over in Pittsburgh with lots of time for thinking

////////////////////////////////////////////////////

PROMPT OF THE DAY: Frustration at someone or some thing can seriously complicate an otherwise normal situation. Write a poem to describe how you deal with the unexpected.

THE GARDEN OF DELIGHT

Take a stroll through the garden of delight.

PROMPT OF THE DAY: There is an expression that goes "Stop and smell the flowers by the side of the road." Write a poem explaining what this expression is really saying and how you try or plan to live by it.

LIVE BLOG

THE POET having a poetic moment. I'm in my cousins backyard on E 48th Street in Brooklyn.  

It's quiet!

I got my pen and notebook on the table beside me.

I'm listening to Monty Alexander play the music of Bob Marley, ("Could You Be Loved.")

Quiet moments are for reflecting on the next poem.

There is always a next one or the FIRE  has left your voice.

PROMPT OF THE DAY: Write a poem explaining to someone near and dear to you, who is no longer here, how you have kept their legacy alive.

TRIBUTE TO DR. MAYA ANGELOU

A great poet and writer has passed on to the realm of the ancestors.

Today we honor Dr. Maya Angelou. May her spirit be received in peace and harmony.

PROMPT FOR TODAY: Write a poem paying tribute to Dr Maya Angelou.

IF FOR SOME REASON YOU DON'T KNOW WHO SHE WAS, GOOGLE-SEARCH HER NAME AND FIND OUT.

FLASHBACKS

This church was once the Lowe's Gates movie theater. As a child I saw Clint Eastwood here in "Hang'em High."

This was the entrance to the movies.

This building was once the Lowe's Pitkin theater. One of the many films I saw here as a teenager, was the cult film "Night of the Living Dead."

This building once housed the RKO Bushwick movie theater. Here was where I saw Sidney Potier do his thing in "In the Heat of the Night."

This was the entrance to the movies, one of the most incredible buildings I've ever seen.

The poet stands at the entrance to the "J" train, on Broadway in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.

PROMPT FOR TODAY: It is often said that everything happens for a reason. Look back on your life. Write a poem that describes an incident that happened to you, and why you think it was important in your growth as a person.

ALL OVER BROOKLYN

Out on the streets of Brooklyn. From East Flatbush to Crown Heights to Downtown, I covered the waterfront.

CHURCH AVENUE

CROWN HEIGHTSAFRICAN OUTDOOR BAZAAR-DOWNTOWN

DANCE AFRICA AT BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music)

THE "CLOCK" BUILDING STANDING TALL ON HANSON PLACE.

THE POET AT LARGE IN BROOKLYN ON FULTON STREET 😎

----------------------------------------------

PROMPT: Write a poem explaining how you would spend your last hours on earth if you only had 24 hours to live.

LIVE BLOG

Greyhound bus station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the city of brotherly love and  all things about independence.

PROMPT: Write a poem using the expression "Let freedom ring." Use it in the beginning, middle, or end of your poem.