Author: mannixk

PAD Challenge – Day 14

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Time-outs are important, and not just in the last two minutes of a tense playoff game. Today the Poetic Asides prompts asks for a “time-out” poem. I went tiny again with this:

hammock nap
brown hare hunkers
in my shadow

I’m fascinated, but intimidated, by the NaPoWriMo suggestion to try a san san. Perhaps I need to devote a different month to trying out all these exciting forms.

I do believe beautiful things could come from the prompt over at This Is Not A Literary Journal, which asks you to think about naming ordinary things or objects, like trees, cars or birds. It brought to mind this wonderful (like they all are…) poem by Don McKay called “Song for the Song of the White-throated Sparrow.“

 

PAD Challenge – Day 13

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Today’s Poetic Asides prompt calls for a Last _____ poem. I went the micro route today, with these three:

 

Last piece of pie —

a year ago I would’ve

left it for you.

*****

Last time

I got butterflies.

Today, only heartburn.

*****

Last spring

I still remembered

the sound of her laugh.

*****

This is Not A Literary Journal suggests playing with repetition in a list poem, and the NaPoWriMo challenge is a fun one that I plan to try on a day when I have a little more time: write a poem inspired by fortune cookies. It reminded me of humorous Lines For The Fortune Cookies by Frank O’Hara.

PAD Challenge – Day 12

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Hooray, I got to play today! The Poetic Asides prompt said “write something serious, or something silly”, and over at This Is Not A Literary Journal, the prompt called for dark limericks, in the vein of Edward Gorey. I have never written a limerick before, but I do love my fiction and TV when it’s gruesome and dark. I couldn’t imagine how to (and didn’t really want to) rhyme about anything too real or serious, so I went with classic monsters instead.

Monster Limericks

She thought him a true beau ideal,

til’ his razor sharp fangs he revealed,

She grabbed for a stake

but alas, it did break

and he drank all her blood with such zeal.

******

Two weeks from the day they were wed

disease took him right in his bed.

She cast a dark spell,

sprinkled herbs for the smell

and  summoned him back from the dead.

*******

A  handsome young scholar named Fitz

under full-moons lost all of his wits.

He  grew  hair everywhere,

sharp fangs he would bare

and  chew hapless old ladies to bits.

******

The NaPoWriMo site poses the challenge to write an index poem. This is something I have never done, but it seems like an interesting exercise. The example they give is this inventive poem by Thomas Brendler titled Index of First Lines.

PAD Challenge – Day 11

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Is mashing up three prompts a good recipe for today’s poem? I’m not sure, but I tried it anyway. The NaPoWriMo prompt called for description of an object or place that leads to an unexpected ending. Poetic Asides said “write a defensive poem” and This Is Not A Literary Journal suggests a tribute of sorts to an animal.

Defending the Skunk

 

I’ve seen him, two early mornings in a row,

his low body pressed lower as he scrunches

into the hole under our white shed, the hole

we mentioned filling last fall, but never did.

It’s the sheen on the black fur that struck me,

he almost looked wet, and the bushiness

of his tail, the way it swayed as he waddled

across the grass, plumage on a prouder creature.

But why do I assume a lack of confidence?

He’s defeated many bigger beasts by TKO,

can use his teeth and claws, when he must,

and his very design bellows, in black and white:

don’t mess with me. I don’t want to do it, but I will.

It could spray the kids, my neighbour says,

you should call someone, trap it.

You don’t have to kill it, just take it to the woods.

My yard. My shed. My world, right?

I’m just lyin’ low here, folding laundry, drinking coffee.

Stinking up the joint with all this entitlement.

 

The animal connection, and the unexpected ending, made me think of “The Kindness“, a great poem by the skillful Jan Beatty.

Thresholds: chatting with poet and organizer Stephen T. Berg

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The poetry community in Edmonton is warm, welcoming and teeming with talent. There are many great readings, workshops and events for poets all year round, but if you’re a poetry lover, the arrival of April, and the Edmonton Poetry Festival, is the most wonderful time of year. The fest is known for bringing in top-notch national and international talent, but part of its mandate has always been to celebrate the work of artists living and creating right here in Edmonton. The festivities begin April 17, with six events featuring local poets. I’m excited to be a part of one of those events, Thresholds, organized and hosted by Edmonton writer Stephen T. Berg. I asked Stephen to tell me a little more about Thresholds, and why poetry is a part of his life.

************

KM: I believe last year (2015) was the first year the Edmonton Poetry Festival decided to hold Bring Your Own Venue (BYOV) events for local poets. You and I actually ended up reading at the same event on the first evening of the fest, and I’m so excited to hear you, and all the other artists you’ve lined up this year. Can you tell me about why you decided to organize your own event and  how you came up with the idea for Thresholds?

SB: Simply put, I thought organizing a BYOV would be interesting and fun. I’m part of a small, loosely defined, art/faith group, and so thought to float the idea there first; everyone was on board. The theme came out of our first discussion. I think Edward van Vliet first mentioned the word Thresholds.

KM: In addition to being a lovely afternoon of words, art and song, Thresholds will also be a fundraiser for Bleeding Heart Art Space. Can you tell me about that organization and why you decided to partner with them for the event?

SB:  The connection with Bleeding Heart Art Space is natural. Dave Von Bieker, musician/poet, is doing something on 118th Avenue that’s quite wonderful. With support, he’s set up this little gallery that is busy carving out something like a sacred space for art, community, hope, healing, love–I’m all for that.

KM: How long have you been writing poetry? And the follow-up question that all writers just love…why do you write poetry?

SB: I really don’t know when I started writing poetry. What I do know is that creative nonfiction, with a spiritual bent, has interested me for a very long time. I have journals going back to the 80’s full of this kind of writing–most of it woefully pedantic. But what happened is that somewhere along the way poetry showed up. At first, and I’m still careful and hesitant about this, I didn’t see this slow turn as poetry, until it was pointed out to me. The more I played with sentences, trying to make them say more than they’re capable of saying–trying, I suppose, to touch mystery, in the original sense of that word–the more I went hunting for images. The more I hunted for images, the more I listened, the more I listened, the more I was lost to presence, beauty, mercy. Today, for me, poetry seems the natural and appropriate vehicle for the spiritual quest. I write poetry because I have yet to truly hear what I’m listening to.

KM: Are there any other events in this year’s Edmonton Poetry Festival schedule that you’re excited about?

SB:  I love hearing local poets, so I always look forward to the Café Readings. The beauty of the festival is that we also get a chance to hear national and international poets. Just check out the Authors Page on the festival’s website. Three quick “spiritual” picks? “Poetry Becomes Spirit”, “Wine and Wild Women Wordsmiths”, “Poetry Among the Pines”. But of course, every event will contain stellar moments. Hats off to Rayanne Doucet and the staff, directors and volunteers of Edmonton Poetry Fest!

************

Thresholds happens Sunday, April 17, 2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.,  at St. Faith’s Anglican Church, 11725 – 93 Street. Seven poets, two musicians, and one visual artist will ask you to pause, consider, linger in the spaces between the seen and unseen, the telluric and transcendent – the between, between being and Being. Admission is by donation: Proceeds will go to the Bleeding Heart Art Space. For more info visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1662808630649670/

PAD Challenge – Day 10

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Apologies for the rush job today, but Sundays are one of the busiest days around our place. I tried to cut corners by combining prompts again: the Poetic Asides “emotion” title poem with the NaPoWriMo “book spine” poem. I asked my daughter to help me choose a few books and then build me a tower. I think I lucked out with her picks:

bookies

Lucky

 

to have so many towers

of perennial favorites,

a jagged skyline of books,

built across my bedroom floor.

A bazaar of dreams, natural and wild,

to discover like a bird, flitting from spine

to spine, or float through slowly, a ride

down a languid river of words.

The undercurrents pushing,

pushing me to find my truth in all that art.

 

Colour is the word of the day at the This Is Not A Literary Journal site. It reminded me of this excellent Tony Hoagland poem, “A Color of the Sky” which manages to be funny, sexy and serene all at once.

PAD Challenge – Day 9

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I’m a little pressed for time today, so I’m posting my first thoughts without a lot of polish. But in the case of today’s prompts, maybe the raw attempt works well. I combined the Poetic Asides prompt to write a hide-out poem with the NaPoWriMo prompt to write a line you’re afraid to write.

 

Honestly,

 

I ask a lot of questions

so you won’t ask them of me.

 

I cover worry with practiced smiles

and have gone pro in play pretend.

 

I write make-believe women

and hide out in their cracks.

 

The prompt over at This Is Not A Literary Journal is right up my alley: look at three photographs and write a poem combining your ideas from the images. Poems about or after photographs make up a big chunk of my book-in-progress, and I love reading other people’s photo poems for inspiration. Rattle magazine runs a monthly Ekphrastic challenge online, and I was quite taken with both the photo and the winning poem last month. You can see it, and read it, here.

PAD Challenge – Day 8

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It’s a triple prompt attempt! Today the prompt at Poetic Asides called for a doodle poem, This is Not A Literary Journal said toss in some words — themed or un-themed — to make a poem salad, and NaPoWriMo central calls for a flower poem.  So, here I tried to mash them all together. Not sure it worked all that well, but it was fun!

Names for Girls

 

At month four, when it got real,

when we stopped thinking about it

as a maybe and more of a must be;

when those who knew me, but not

well enough to know, thought I’d

just gained a few over Christmas;

when we felt safe enough to

say it out loud, to doodle on scrap

paper  — side silhouettes of me

like a pear, two big hearts and a small,

or pretty names in loopy letters;

when we started to make lists,

compare and overrule, roll

the sounds around our tongues,

that’s when the flowers started.

I was pinned to Daisy for weeks,

the pertness of it, the simplicity,

and had you nearly convinced

until we both thought: Daisy Duck,

Daisy Duke, lazy, crazy, rhymes with

Daisy, and it withered. Rose was too

old-fashioned, Jasmine too Disney,

Dahlia too lah-dee-dah and lately

Lillies were popping up everywhere.

I offered Calla instead, but you wrinkled

your nose, tossed Poppy back at me,

but I saw kind toothless grandpas.

Lotus seemed perfect, for one moment of

Zen, and we both pondered Iris for awhile.

Blossoming names and inked flowers

marking the margins while I sat in meetings,

trying to freewrite the one that would fit.

At month five,  the anatomy check,

two arms, two legs, good heart and big

brain, but  a nudge in my belly still

wouldn’t get it to flip — a modest one

in there. Shrinking violet or a shy little guy.

It was too hard to tell, and I turned to ask,

How about boys named after cities?

 

Writing a list of flower names made me think of “For the Roses” by Joni Mitchell, which, lyrically, isn’t about flowers at all. What it is, in both melody and verse, is remarkable. Not every songwriter is a poet, but Joni is. Her deftness with the pen as well as the guitar was introduced to me by my high school creative writing teacher, who I might describe as Joni’s number one fan. He worshiped her, and spread the gospel to his students. True fact: Joni actually attended my former high school in Saskatoon, several decades before me of course. But her photo was in our trophy case as tribute, and the art, music and writing teachers all held her up as an example of what we could become…if only.  Read and listen to the 1972 song “For the Roses” here.

PAD Challenge – Day 7

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A week into the challenge, and I’m still hanging on. Some days the right  words (or at least the right ones for the moment…) have come easier than others.  Whether they enter the world racing like a hare or plodding like a tortoise, at least there’s something new for me to play with and polish.

Today’s prompt from Poetic Asides was to write an Urban _____ poem. I wouldn’t normally choose a title like this, but I’m sticking to the rules for this one.

Urban Night

 

2 a.m. —

the last bus

shrieks at the drunk girls.

 

On 93rd

a woman’s staccato steps

stutter over broken glass.

 

Quiet alley

two rats make peace

for the pizza crust

 

Something is always

awake and tossing,

insomniac city.

 

Over at This Is Not A Literary Journal, the prompt asks poets to go outside, observe and write. I think this is always a great way to get ideas stirring, and I hope I can find a few minutes to do it today.

The NaPoWriMo site suggested trying a Tritina. I wasn’t familiar with this form, which reads like a sestina, only in threes. But after reading a few samples online, including the beautiful example piece by David Yezzi, I am now a fan. I find following a form to be extra challenging, but also rewarding when it works. Bookmarking this to try later. Maybe I can use all those lovely outdoor observations for inspiration.

 

PAD Challenge – Day 6

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I heart ekphrastic prompts, so I was pleased to see the Poetic Asides prompt today was to write  a poem inspired by one of three images, or one of your own choosing. I picked Michelangelo’s First Painting (The Torment of Saint Anthony). Apparently he painted this when he was 12, which is pretty darn cool. It was also his own interpretation of a similar engraving by artist Martin Schongauer, so kind of ekphrastic in its own right. Lots of amazing imagery in here, but it was something about a boy painting a “good guy” battling all those fierce “bad guys” that got me thinking this way:

Superhero Sketch

 

Picture Michelangelo at 12, on the cusp of manhood,

bored with school and daydreaming in doodles.

Sketching superheroes in beards and robes,

not steel-jawed or muscle bound,

but mighty all the same.

Ordinary men doing extraordinary things.

And he, learning the world like we all do.

Drawing the lines between right and wrong.

Struggling to stand tall,

even with all those demons on his back.

 

michelangelo_first_painting-221x300

The NaPoWriMo prompt is also one of my favourites…poetry about food! I’ve written a few of my own in the past, but none as wonderful as “Peas & Barbies” by Catherine Graham, presented here by poet Lisa de Nikolits.