WRITE-A-POEMTIME

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PROMPT 26 - Write a poem to complete the following thought: I feel a connection to other people when I_______________________________

PROMPT 25 - THE EFFORT

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YESTERYEAR


that old farmhouse
you see
on route 2 box 586
where we all grew up
hard to believe
papa
built it himself
from the ground
but he chopped down
pine trees from the nearby
woods one cold winter season
before any of us was even
born
his huge hands covered
with frost from the storm of
'08
laid out the foundation
for our lives slab by slab by
slab and mama helped
though in a family way      
fixing his food
nursing his tired bones
hanging wash clothes out back
to dry watching
it all happen
from the kitchen window of
a raggedy one-room shack where
she peeped lovingly from behind
her patchwork lace curtain at
the man who would one day
become our grandfather

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

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RHYTHM - is sound in motion. It is the pattern of strong and weak beats, as well as, pauses in a poem; how they rise and fall, how they repeat; how they adhere, (or do not adhere), to patterns.

 Rhythm in music and poetry are similar.


SPEAKER - The "voice" that is uttering, chanting, singing, or even thinking the words of a poem; the essential "instrument" through which a poem's words are channeled and delivered.

It may be a careful way of describing "the poet."  It  may be a "narrator," as in a story.

A poet can also "speak" through the voice of a character in their poem.

THIS JUST IN...

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CHICAGO
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THE POETRY FOUNDATION as part of it's FALL EVENTS, presents on 10/8 @7 pm, the BAGLEY WRIGHT LECTURE SERIES ON POETRY.

This series seeks to provide leading poets with the opportunity to explore in depth, their own thinking on a subject as it relates to poetry and poetics.

Poet, Timothy Donnelly will discuss, "Meaningfulness and Homesicknesses."

For complete details click on the link poetryfoundation.org
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OHIO
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OHIO POETRY DAY will be observed on Saturday,10/24-Sunday, 10/25 at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center in Troy, Ohio.

Events will include on Friday from 7-9 pm: Evening Workshops and Overnight Contests.  On Saturday from 10 am-12 pm, the Evan Lodge Memorial Poetry Workshop and from 1 pm-3 pm will be readings by the co-poets of the year***, and announcements of the contest winners from Friday night.

***The 2014 Ohio Co-Poets of the Year were named by the Ohio Poetry Association. This is an award given to a poet on the basis of a book published in the previous year or two.

For further details log on to ohiopoetryday.org 

WRITE-A-POEMTIME

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PROMPT 25 - Use the following word group to write a poem: curtain, cold, frost, lace.

PROMPT 24 - THE EFFORT

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...BITTER TWISTED LIES
(from "Still I Rise," by Maya Angelou)


so ready to go yet
choosing to stay
addicted to
your comely way
but more than that
your style your grace
your real sweet kiss
your baby face
behind the lights
your soft brown eyes
your late night love

your late night cries
they all are bitter
twisted lies
a hundred times
i let you go
yet only to return
my broken heart
so black and blue
yet still
it did not learn
each night this
true love slowly dies
inside your bitter
twisted lies
but now i must
be on my way
the night so long
before it's day
yet time itself
now justifies
to live for bitter
twisted lies

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

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ALLITERATION - The repetition of an initial sound in two or more words of a phrase. e.g. fine, feathered friend

CONSONANCE - The repetition of final sounds in stressed syllables with different vowel sounds. e.g. end, hand

ASSONANCE - The repetition of vowel sounds in stressed syllables with different vowel sounds. e.g. fade, hay

RHYME - The repetition of sounds at the end of words. e.g. thin, skin


***If all of this repetition of sounds sounds  confusing to you, it is suggested that you study them REPEATEDLY!!!

THIS JUST IN...

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AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS
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This weekend 9/19-21, the Emily Dickinson Museum, which is a historic house museum and the birthplace of 19th century American poet, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), celebrates Amherst's rich literary heritage with the Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon, which begins Friday 9/19 from 5-8 pm and continues on Saturday from 8am-6pm and on Sunday from 9am-noon. All 1789 of her poems will be read over the course of these 3 days.

The 2nd Annual Amherst Poetry Festival takes poetry off the shelf and puts it into the streets, parks, shops, and intersections of a town where literary history and contemporary creativity live side by side.

On Saturday 9/20 the festival will run from 10 am-10 pm. A "Poetry Picnic," will be held on Sunday from 10 am-2 pm. Poetry is free, but bring your own picnic. "Doughnuts and Death," a walking tour of West Cemetery, follows at 2 pm.

   MORE THAN 75 POETS ARE SCHEDULED TO PARTICIPATE
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FOR MORE INFO LOG ON TO emilydickinsonmuseum.org
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NEW YORK CITY
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POETS HOUSE FALL SEASON 2014 opens 9/23 - You are invited to explore poetry's complex relationship with fiction, memoir, essay and more through talks, seminars, and workshops.

Log on to poetshouse.org for a complete schedule of events.
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WASHINGTON. D.C.
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The Library of Congress asks you to join them for the celebration of the NATIONAL STUDENT POETS PROGRAM, the nation's highest honor for youth poets creating original work.

The inaugural reading of the 2014 class will be held on  Friday, 9/19 @7 pm

Log on to loc.gov/poetry/events for all details.

THIS WEEK IN THE HISTORY OF POETRY

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During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key, an American poet, author, and lawyer, accompanied by a British Prisoner Exchange Agent, dined aboard a British ship as the guests of British officers. Key was there to negotiate the release of prisoners who had been put under arrest.

Because he was familiar with the strength and position of the British units and with their intent to attack Baltimore, he was not allowed to return to his own vessel after the dinner was over.

As a result, Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry, during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13- 14, 1814.

At dawn, Key was able to see an American flag still waving and reported this to the prisoners below deck. On the way back to Baltimore, he was inspired to write a poem describing his experience, "Defence of Fort M'Henry," which he published in the Patriot on September 20, 1814.

This poem was eventually turned into a song which became known as the "star spangled banner." The song was soon adopted as the American national anthem.
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200 years ago this week                               

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To read more about Francis Scott Key and his poetry, Google search his name.

WRITE- A -POEMTIME

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PROMPT 24 - Swipe a line from your favorite poem, make that line the title of your poem, then write the poem.

PROMPT 23 - THE EFFORT

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THERE "HE" GO


Uncle JL had the gift or
however you look at it
being the one in
the family who could
see restless spirits or spooks
or haints as
they were called
in the southern backwoods
coming down the road
from the cotton field
one early fall evening
side by side with Papa
who did not
have the gift
right there Papa
he pointed
where boy i don't see
nothin
he runnin
in the house now
raising a ruckus
inside the girl's room
underneath the bed sheets
let my leg go Evelyn
one sister shouts                          
i don't have your
leg Adele
then who do
i don't know
in comes
Papa with his shotgun
taking aim
where he at boy pointing
there he go Papa
slippin out the
window
but you can't
shoot no...BLAM!!!

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

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REPETITION- The recurrence of words, phrases, lines, groups of lines, rhyme sounds, consonants, images, symbols, themes, or ideas.

Repetition is a coming back, a going over, a completion of a circle, an obsessive returning to something emotionally magnetic or rhythmically compelling.

Repetition is perhaps essential to most poetry.
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More on various types of repetition next week.

THIS JUST IN...

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CHICAGO residents take note:
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The Poetry Foundation and Poetry Magazine are pleased to announce the five recipients of the 2014 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships. The $25,800 scholarship prize awarded to each recipient is intended to encourage the further study and writing of poetry, and is open to all U.S. poets between 21 and 31 years of age.

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Calling ALL WRITERS to 2nd Saturdays of the month from 9am-12pm.

The Northwest Cultural Council presents, in conjunction with POETS&WRITERS:

SECOND SATURDAY POETRY WORKSHOP:

This Saturday 9/13 at the Palatine Public Library in Palatine, Illinois, DEVELOPING VOICE and DIALOGUE in POETIC FORM

This workshop will include short lectures, critiques of participant's poetry, and short writing exercises.

Please bring 15 copies of your poem(s).
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On Tuesday, 9/16 @7pm The Open Door Reading Series presents work from Chicago's new and emerging poets. These series take place on the 3rd Tuesday of every month, September through May.

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The Poetry Foundation Library welcomes children ages 2-5 to a weekly story-time event that introduces poetry through fun, interactive readings and crafts.
These sessions are held on Wednesdays at 10am and Saturdays at 10:30am until further notice.
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For the full details of these poetry events, please log on to poetryfoundation.org

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

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SUBJECT - What a poem is literally about, distinguished from theme, which denotes what the poet is saying about the subject and his or her attitude toward it.


THEME - A poem's attitude toward it's subject; what it says about it's subject. In poetry, the theme is an outgrowth of the subject; the poem's comment on that subject.

WRITE A POEMTIME

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PROMPT 23- Write a "supernatural" or "spiritual" poem, real or imagined.
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PROMPT 22 - THE EFFORT

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SKY'S THE LIMIT


on an overcast
afternoon the sky
a blue wispy smoke
the sun
high among the
clouds overhead
looking up
into the firmament
from my backside
on the lawn
i spy
the profile of
Shakespeare
his beard drifting
off to the east
followed by his head
now a stack of
fluffy pancake shapes
since they are dark
mud cakes
connected
by a tubular cord
umbilical in nature
pulling a huge dim-eyed
smiley face
so it seems
behind several smaller
versions floating beneath
and they all
dissipate
ever so slowly
merging into other
shapes

THIS JUST IN

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On Thursday, September 25th at 7pm Charles Wright will give his inaugural reading as the 20th Poet Laureate Consultant of Congress. 

This event is free and open to the public.

Log on to loc.gov/poetry/events for more details.