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Poetry: April 09, 2014 Issue [#6248]

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Poetry


 This week: It's National Poetry Month!
  Edited by: Crys-not really here Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Hello! I'm Crys-not really here Author IconMail Icon Welcome to this Poetry Newsletter, and Happy National Poetry Month!


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Letter from the editor

It's National Poetry Month Again!


Happy National Poetry Month! I always seem to guest edit this newsletter in April, but I'm not complaining. *Wink* As an undergrad, National Poetry Month was like a holiday to me. We would write poetry on the sidewalks with chalk, hold poetry readings, spontaneously recite memorized poems outsid the library. . . It was a blast!

If you go on the website for the Academy of American Poets, you'll find 30 days worth of unique activities that you can do to share poetry. One of the most fun activities on the site can be done anywhere, at any time, with poets of any age or skill level. It's called "exquisite corpse."

Exquisite corpse is a game where poets collaborate to write a poem, one word at a time! The first person writes a word on a piece of paper, folds the paper over so that the next person can not see it, and then passes it on. As each person adds their own word, the poem becomes more surprising, and likely absurd. The only real rule is that you can't see what was written before you, so at the end you never know what you're going to read!

Some variations include:

*Note2* Each sentence must follow a certain sentence structure. (Adjective, Noun, Verb, Adjective, Noun, for example.)
*Note1* Participants can write an entire sentence at a time instead of just a word.
*Note4* There's even a version that involves drawing an image instead of writing a poem. This can lead to hilarious results!

It may seem random or ridiculous, but this creative exercise can really free your mind when you need a creativity break. You may find some lines that you can actually use in a future poem. It can also be a good way to come up with unexpected metaphors. And it's fun!


Editor's Picks

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Ask & Answer

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last Poetry Newsletter about Frost's Poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." I was delighted to see that it held good memories for so many of you, too!

I think the best fiction writers (from a literary perspective not sales) have a little bit of a poet inside. As a newly minted MFA in Poetry, I hope I can write whatever I want with still maintaining that distilled and observant eye. -NOVAcatmando Author IconMail Icon

I love hearing this! Stay true to yourself!

Hey Crys, just your title made me open this newsletter with great enthusiasm, even though there's about 20 or so such newsletters sitting in my mail for God knows how long..I've been busy.. Anyway, what surprised me more was your opening line.. "The first poem I ever memorized was Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." cuz all I could think was "so was mine". It was the first poem I memorized on my accord..I was in the 5th grade and although it was in my text book I had memorized it even before school started..haha..I actually recited it in our annual cultural week and got 2nd prize..This poem has always been special to me..always will. Thanks for reminding me..and thanks for the awesome pics. :)

Take care..:) -mellow pearl Author IconMail Icon

Robert Frost's poem does indeed remain embedded in memory long after you have memorized it. There is something about its imagery and the lyrical form that flows through it that keeps it alive. That, I think, is true of many other poets, particularly the Romantics, notably William Wordsworth, William Blake, John Keats and others. -whimsicalme

Yes, Blake definitely has the same effect on me!

Hey!! Who says Robert Frost was writing about Santa Claus. Bah humbug!! The poem, which I love for similar reasons to yourself, specifically describes a lone traveller and horse, and concerns itself with man alone in an bleak and unforgiving landscape, a theme to which Frost returns in several of his other works. -JeremyBuxton Author IconMail Icon

Apparently, it's a theory that a lot of high school and college students have come up with or bought into over the years. Google "What is Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening about?" and you'll likely see many repeating it. Guess it goes to show, no one comes up with their own essay topics anymore. *Rolleyes*

I was pleased to read much of what I had forgotten about Robert Frost.
I have read that he said " Free Verse is like playing tennis with the net down."
Great Newsletter. monty31802

*Laugh* I have heard that he said that too!

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