Prompt #133 – Ideals, Windmills, Impossible Dreams

I recently found an old edition of Don Quixote on one of my book shelves and spent some time thinking about the title character as an icon for idealism and the ways in which we pursue our personal notions of the ideal. Quixotism is typically defined as a visionary action in which the quixotic person seeks truth, justice, or beauty with an internal vision so clear that it “sees” through the illusions of exterior experiences. It is also defined as “impractical pursuit of ideals.” Impulsive people, spontaneous people, idealists, dreamers, and romantics are considered quixotic. If you’re not familiar with the book by Cervantes, you can read a brief summary at  the following website:

http://www.bookdrum.com/books/don-quixote/9780140449099/summary.html.

There are, of course, complexities in Cervantes’s novel, as well as multiple interpretations, that we needn’t address here, but I thought that this week we might look at times in our lives when we’ve been led by visionary ideals, impulses, spontaneity, or romantic notions. I’m reminded here of a time many years ago when I was driving to work and saw and elderly lady trip and fall on the sidewalk. I pulled over to the side of the road and ran back to help her. With a lot more strength that I could have imagined, she threw a punch that connected with my arm and then shouted that if I didn’t leave she’d scream for help. I didn’t want to leave her sitting there on the sidewalk (and those were the days before cell phones), so I hesitated, and she started to scream. In fact, she got up and began to chase me down the street. I suspected that she must be embarrassed by the fall, but she was definitely not as red-faced as I was. So much for being “heroic.” I like to think I did the right thing, even though it made me late for work and cost me a bruise on the arm.

Things To Think About:

1. Has there ever been a time when you tried to act as a “knight in shinning armor” but were rejected? What “ideal” inspired you? How did the rejection make you feel?

2. Has there been a time when you were “foolishly impractical?” Where did it lead you?

3. Don Quixote “tilted at windmills,” seeing them as giants who threatened people. The expression “tilting at windmills” has become an English language idiom that means attacking imaginary or unbeatable enemies (“tilting” refers to jousting or, more generally, to engaging in combat). Is there a metaphorical windmill at which you’ve tilted? Has there ever been a concern or issue in your life that you later learned was inconsequential despite your fear of it?

4. In 1644, John Cleveland published in his London diurnall, “The Quixotes of this age fight the windmills of their owne [sic] heads.” Can you relate that to something personal or perhaps something in current society or politics? Have you ever fought a symbolic windmill “in your own head?”

5. “Tilting at windmills” has also come to mean trying to fight battles that can’t be won. Has there been such a “battle” in your life? Keep in mind that the larger question is not failure but, more importantly, how your actions affirmed a higher quality of character. 

6. When it first appeared in print, Don Quixote was considered a comic novel; by the nineteenth century, it was considered a social commentary; and it later came to be called a tragedy. In keeping with the lighter (comic) interpretations, can you write a narrative poem in which you tell the story of a funny time you were idealistic, romantic, or heroic?

7. Is there something appealing about an idealistic Don Quixote-kind of figure to you? What specifically? Why? How are you like Don Quixote?

8. Do you remember a song titled “The Impossible Dream” from the play and movie The Man of La Mancha (based on the Cervantes novel)? To hear it, click on the arrow below. Now ...  do you have (or have you ever had) an “impossible dream?” 

Tips:

1. Be sure to write in an authentic voice—the way you “say” things is critical to a poem’s success. Your attitude toward the content is definitely part of the content, and your language should be imaginative, unique, and distinctive. Don’t simply tell a story—that would be prose.

2. Be wary of including so many details that your poem becomes cluttered. You want to hold your readers’ attention, not lose them in superfluous particulars.

Examples: 

"Impossible Dream" by Tony Hoagland (audio)

"Duality" by Tina Chang

"The Visionary" by Emily Bronte

"Prologue of the Earthly Paradise" by William Morris

"A Windmill Makes a Statement" by Cate Marvin

Prompt #132 – Mysterious Moments

I’ve always loved mystery novels—the thrill of suspense and the challenge of trying to figure out “whodunit” have never failed to capture my imagination. I’ve also had a long-time interest in the  unexplained (Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Shroud of Turin, Crop Circles) and unsolved historical mysteries/crimes such as the truth behind the deaths of England’s Little Princes and the identity of Victorian England’s notorious Jack the Ripper. There’s a sense of intellectual challenge, as well as a sense of fun that goes with the intrigue of mystery-solving. There’s also a bit of fear and spine tingling in some mysteries—something compelling about a dark road, a cemetery at midnight, and an abandoned house. In addition, catching a glimpse of a world beyond that in which we live is an intriguing possibility. 

The “Gothic” genre in British literature, which began during the mid-eighteenth century with Horace Walpole’s novel The Castle of Otranto, combined elements of mystery, horror, and romance (Gothic author Ann Radcliffe added detail to the genre and became the most popular and best-paid novelist of her time). The Romantic Movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries prompted exploration of mysterious themes in literature as writers of the time explored the hidden worlds within and beyond human emotions. Supernatural elements were prevalent in Keats’s poems (e.g., “La Belle Dame Sans Merci” and “The Eve of St. Agnes”), in Lord Byron’s works (e.g., “The Giaour,” a vampire poem), and an interest in the supernatural appears repeatedly in Shelley’s poems (e.g., “Hymn to Intellectual Beauty” and “Mont Blanc”). In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence, angels visit a poor chimney sweep. The mystery genre in American literature is generally agreed to have come into its own through Edgar Allan Poe during the 1840s. His poem “The Raven” is one of the best-known poems in the “mysterious literature” canon.

You can see where I'm going with this, right? This week, let's write about something mysterious.

Things to Think About Before Writing:

Has something mysterious happened to you? Something that has never been explained?

Have you ever had a paranormal experience? Have you seen or heard something ghostly or of another world such as a UFO?

Is there an unsolved mystery that interests you? 

Is there something mysterious in the natural world that fascinates you?

Is there a mysterious place to which you’ve traveled or would like to travel?  

Have you ever visited a “haunted” place (the Tower of London, Scotland’s Edinburgh Castle, Ireland’s Leap Castle, London’s Highgate Cemetery, India’s Bhangarh Fort).

Is there anything “mysterious” about your emotions, an emotional reaction you’ve had, an emotional attachment that makes little sense?

Remember the old story starter “It was a dark, rainy night, and I was alone?” How about writing a poem that’s entirely creative and not based on an actual experience: you’re driving alone on a dark road; perhaps it’s raining; there may be thunder and lightning. Where are you going? What happens?(Create a “mysterious” scenario.)

Tips:

Don’t confuse “mystery” and “obscurity.” A mysterious poem is far more likely to succeed than an obscure one.

Be sure to invite the reader into your poem with a great first line.

Create a sense and tone of mystery through language.

Your poem should make the reader “see” the “world” in a new and exciting way. At the same time, you should find some insight that you weren't aware of before.

Try to create at least one image that will leave the reader astonished, startled, and maybe even a bit breathless.

Examples:

"Mysteries Remain" by Hilda Doolittle (HD)

"Seven Mysteries" by Michael Jackson

"The Ghost" by Charles Baudelaire

"He Posits Certain Mysteries" by Thomas P. Lynch

"How Can It Be I Am No Longer I" by Lucie Brock-Broido 

"Haunted" by Naomi Shihab Nye

"Letter from a Haunted Room" by Lisa Sewell

"The Haunted Palace" by Edgar Allan Poe

"Haunted Houses" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"The Haunting" by Alan Shapiro

Prompt #131 – Old and New

Happy New Year, everyone!
May 2013 bring you good health, abundant blessings, 
and all the things that you love most.

With the start of this new year, I’ve been reflecting on how often in life we look to the past to power the present and how often things that once seemed old become new again (either in reality or metaphorically). For many years, I wrote articles for antiques magazines and I never failed to marvel at the way trendy antiques became “tired” while “new” [different] antiques became fashionable among collectors. I believe that’s true of life in general.

This week, let’s think about the old and the new and the ways in which they become interchangeable.

Things to Think About Before Writing;

1. Is there anything is your life that became “old”  and then “new again.”

2. Has there been a relationship in your life that faded or ended and then revived?

3. Have you had an interest that you lost and then found again?

4. In “Little Gidding,” T. S. Eliot wrote,

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

Can you relate this quote to anything (time, place, interest, person) in your own life? How have things changed in your life and brought you back to places you knew before (how has something old become new again)?

5. Aldous Huxley wrote, “The charm of history and its enigmatic lesson consist in the fact that, from age to age, nothing changes and yet everything is completely different.” What is there in your personal history that affirms this quotation?

6. Is there an old dream that you gave up on and later revived (something you wished for, a person you hoped would be part of your life, a goal, etc.)?

7. It has been the job of Britain’s Poet Laureate to write a New Year's poem for many centuries. Laureate Nahum Tate wrote eight New Year odes between 1693 and 1708, and the phrase “ring out the old, ring in the new” comes from British Laureate’s Alfred Tennyson's well-known poem “In Memoriam.”

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Do these words resonate for you? When you think of “old” and “new,” what is “false” and what is "true,” what experiences or incidents come to mind?

8. There’s a great old song written by Peter Allen called “Everything Old is New Again.” The last stanza of the lyrics is:

And don't throw the past away

You might need it some other rainy day

Dreams can come true again

When everything old is new again

When everything old is new again.

Can you relate these lines to something in your life? What past dream haven't you thrown away? What past dream has come true for you?

(Here's a recording of "Everything Old is New Again" for your enjoyment and inspiration!)

Suggestions:

• For this poem, you’ll need to dig deeply into your experiences and to think about changes from old to new and from new to old.

• Avoid everything superfluous: words, syllables, conjunctions, articles.

• Avoid the passive voice. Eliminate "ing" endings to create a greater sense of immediacy in your poem.

• Be wary of the “purely competent” poem. Take a few risks. 

• Develop layers of meaning.

• Your poem should astonish the reader in some way.

• Let there be an element of mystery in your writing. Work with caesuras to allow silences a place in your poem.

• Don’t explain—trust your images to “tell” your story, and leave some gaps for the reader to fill in.

Examples:

"At the Entering of the New Year" by Thomas Hardy

"New Year's Morning" by Carl Adamshick

"What's New" by Emilio Villa

"A New Day" by Philip Levine (Audio)

Chaucey's Second Christmas 2012

A little video of Chaucey this Christmas! (He's pure poetry to me!)

Prompt #130 – Winter Holiday Poems

Did you know that Nobel Laureate, Russian poet Joseph Brodsky was so taken with Christmas that he wrote a Christmas poem every year (now collected in his book Nativity Poems)? Holiday poems and stories have an enduring appeal, and most of you are familiar with Charles Dickens’s story about Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. For this week’s poem, we’re going to do some variations on the past, present, and future theme, and you’ll need to think about your past, present, and future Christmases, Chanukahs, Kwanzaas, or other annual winter-season celebrations.

Suggestions:

1. Write about a holiday about your past (dig deeply into family memories).

2. Write a poem in which you compare winter holidays of the past, present, and/or future.

3. Write about seasonal ghosts that haunt you.

4. Write about people from your past who are no longer with you and how that impacts your present holiday season; or, write about one special person with whom you always associate the winter holidays.

5. Write about aspects of winter holiday traditions that remain part of your annual celebrations.

6. Write about the faith and/or cultural aspects of your winter holidays.

7. Write about one unforgettable winter holiday.

8. Write about holiday food treats and how they sweeten your memories.

9. Write about a holiday song that replays in your mind because of its associations (or, write your own words to a Christmas carol or other winter holiday song).

10. Write a poem based on an old Christmas, Chanukah, or other winter holiday photograph

11. Write about a historical holiday-time event.

12. Write about a winter holiday yet to come. You might consider a fantasy poem with a futuristic sensibility.

Keep in mind that holiday literature can be tricky—be sure to sidestep the pitfalls of sentimentality, schmaltziness, nostalgia, and clichés.

Examples:

"Meditations on the Fall and Winter Holidays" by Charles Reznikoff

"Christmas Trees" by Robert Frost

"Noel: Christmas Eve 1913" by Robert Bridges

"The Czar's Last Christmas Letter: A Barn in the Urals" by Norman Dubie

"The Feast of Lights" by Emma Lazarus

"Are We Done Yet?" by Gail Fishman Gerwin

Note: "Are We Done Yet?" is from Gail Gerwin’s new book, Dear Kinfolk, (155 pages, ChayaCairn Press, 2012, $18.00). Click book image to order; shipping is free.

The next prompt will be posted on Saturday, January 5, 2013.

In the meantime,

I wish each of you the special gifts of this season

—happiness, hope, and peace—

and a New Year filled with good health 

and all the things that bring you joy.

In poetry and sharing, 
Adele

Prompt #129 – Something A Little Different

I was recently honored by poet Diane Lockward when she included “Snake Lady” from What Matters as the prompt model for her December newsletter. I found it immensely interesting to read another poet’s analysis of my poem and then to see how she used the poem to develop a prompt for her readers. I’m happy to share it with you and thought that, in lieu of our usual format, you might enjoy working with Diane’s prompt this week. 

__________________________________________________

From Diane Lockward’s Poetry Newsletter,

Copyright © 2012 Poetry Newsletter. All rights reserved.

Reprinted by permission of Diane Lockward.

This month's poem comes from Adele Kenny who previously contributed a Craft Tip on imagery. The poem is from Adele's new book, What Matters.

Snake Lady       

She was the main event when

     the carnival came to town.

Fourteen and oh, so young,

     we stood inside her tent with

boys who spoke among themselves

     of things that made them men.

Had we been older, we might

     have understood – their helpless

fascination as the snake slid

     between her breasts and made its

thick descent along her thighs.

     Those boys never blinked until

her fingers stroked the coils

   

straight, tightened on the head,

     and coaxed it to a sudden milky

venom. With an innocence we

     didn’t think we had, we blushed

and turned from the sure and

     easy way she made them burn.

Adele's poem initially appears simple enough. The speaker describes a memory of something she observed when she was 14. However, the poet has built in several layers of complication. The speaker does not merely observe the scene; she observes someone else observing it. Then instead of using first person singular, the poet uses first person plural; a group of girls observes a group of boys observing an action. The poet also recounts the incident from the distance of Time. The speaker is no longer on the threshold of adolescence but is an adult looking back on the scene. As such, she can have perceptions that the 14-year-old girl could not have had. Finally, the entire poem rests on a metaphor, a very sexy one, indeed!

Let's see if we can do something similar. Let's begin with a simple draft and then add layers of complication.

First, choose a potentially sensuous and sensual scene to describe, perhaps someone eating a peach or a tomato, someone shampooing or bathing, someone turning on a water faucet or drinking from a fountain, someone planting bulbs or dancing or making a salad.

For your first draft, describe the scene, first person singular, present tense. The speaker can be you or someone you pretend to be. The action can be real or imagined.

Now let's add some layers to that basic draft. Complete each step before moving on to the next one.

1. Bring in a third character, someone to stand between the speaker and the person doing the action. Rewrite the draft so that your speaker not only describes the action but also observes and describes the new character observing the scene. Stick with first person singular and present tense.

2. Revise using past tense. The scene now becomes a memory.

3. Revise again, this time using first person plural. Who else could be with your speaker? Who else could be with the other observer?

Think about how each revision changes the poem. (For example, the shift in time, from present to past tense, might alter the tone of the poem.) Choose the version you like best and continue to work on that one. But keep all the steps in your arsenal.

One final consideration: Notice how Adele indents every other line. That nicely parallels the back and forth between past and present and between the speaker and the other characters. Aim for a form that enhances meaning.

 ___________________________________________________________ 

“Snake Lady” and the prompt will appear in Diane’s forthcoming book, The Crafty Poet, scheduled for summer 2013 release.

If you don’t subscribe to Diane’s newsletter, I recommend it! 

Click here to subscribe.

Prompt #128 – Waiting

The pre-Christmas season of Advent begins on Sunday (December 2^nd)—a season defined as a season of waiting.

Waiting … we’ve all been in the position of waiting for something: love, a child, a job, good news or bad, an elevator, a plane, a piece of mail. Have you ever stood in a waiting line or sat for what seemed an inordinately long time in a waiting room? Have you ever been stuck in traffic? Have you sat in a restaurant or other public place and waited from someone? Have you waited to make a discovery of some kind? Have you ever thought about how much of each day is spent waiting for something or someone? Do you remember any childhood “waits?” Like many children, did you wait impatiently to be grown up? Are you waiting for something now? What kind of metaphorical “advent seasons” have you experienced?

This week, let’s write about waiting. You might begin with a list of times you’ve waited, or you might focus on a time you remember waiting for something or someone. The tone of your poem may be serious or funny. You may write from the perspective of your child self or your adult self. There are many possibilities—just be wary of slipping into the predictable (stay away from clichés and over-stated emotions). You might want to write about waiting, anticipation, and hope (are there connections you can make?).

Remember that the content of your poem should have more than one layer: Think in terms of the experience itself and its deeper meanings. Be economical with extra words, extra syllables, prepositions, and articles; but be generous with caesuras to allow for the unspoken silences that can power a poem.

Examples:

"In the Waiting Room" by Elizabeth Bishop

"To My Mother Waiting" by Teresa Carson

"To Waiting" by W. S. Merwin

"Waiting" by Raymond Carver

"How to Make A Game of Waiting" by Jennifer K. Sweeney

"I Am Waiting" by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

To all my blog readers who observe it,
I wish you an Advent filled with blessings and peace,
and here's Sugarland's version of a traditional Advent hymn that I hope you'll enjoy!

"Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel"