Prompt #174 – Dinner Party

We all love to eat yummy foods, and there are many wonderful food poems for us to “consume.” But straightforward food poems aren’t on the menu this week. Instead, let’s write about a whole dinner party. Imagine that you’re the host or hostess. Who would you invite? What would you serve? What would the diner table conversation include? Have fun with this. Be a little outré or surreal if you wish, or work toward a more serious “message.” Remember that any food poem, like a love poem, can be rich, satisfying, and representative of human experience.

Guidelines:

1. Consider writing a poem about a dinner party for famous poets. Imagine dining with T. S. Eliot, Shakespeare, and Emily Dickinson.

2. Write your “feast” poem in the form of a menu. Below are some ideas for a literary feast.

Appetizers:

Prawns Quixote

Entrees:

Mac(Beth) and Cheese

Chicken Sandwiches on Catcher in the Rye Bread

Tale of Two Zities

Of Rice and Men Casserole

Salem’s (Lot) Pot Roast

Leaves of Grass(fed) Beef

Lord of the Fries Potatoes

Edgar Alan Poe-tato Salad

Romeo and Julienned Veggies

Desserts:

The Sundae Also Rises

Bananas Karenina

Drinks:

Huckleberry Gin and Tonic

Tequila Mockingbird

The Old Man and the Seagram’s

A Pitcher of Dorian Grey Goose

3. Write your poem from the perspective of a guest at your dinner party.

4. Write a two-part or two-stanza poem from the viewpoints of two guests at your dinner party (famous poets, contemporary celebrities, historical people, sportspeople, military personnel).

5. Write your poem from the point of view of a food item on your table.

6. Write a poem about a dinner party at which no food is served. What extended metaphor can you develop?

7. Write a poem about a dinner party at which something other than food is served.

8. Don't forget to choose a specific meal for your dinner party: breakfast, lunch, high tea, dinner.

 Tips:

1. Don’t be afraid to be humorous, but keep in mind that a serious tone will work well for this prompt.

2. Use images that appeal especially to the senses of sight, smell, and taste.

3. Invite your readers into your poem (and into the dinner party) with imagery and figures of speech that capture their interest and imaginations. You need a great first line or “hook.”

4. Think in terms of making your poem representative of human experience. The dinner party may be your subject, but there should be a deeper meaning between the “courses.”

Examples:

"At A Dinner Party" by Amy Levy

"Breakfast" by Mary Lamb

"The Dinner Party" by Amy Lowell