Sneaking Up On Poetry

Dear Writers,

I like to say that I am a poetry evangelist, spreading the good news of poetry with anyone who might listen. If you’re not sure about poetry but are willing to give it a try, a great place to start reading is the poetry of Billy Collins. Below is one of my favorite poems by Billy Collins and an invitation to sneak up on some poetry of your own.

Introduction to Poetry
By Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.”


 Published in The Apple that Astonished Paris

Writing Prompt Key:

This prompt came from Pat Schneider. I had the pleasure of writing with Pat during one of her Poetry Parties where she led us into playing with poetry.

STEP 1: Pick a topic. It’s ok for it to be silly. In fact, sometimes that works best! If you’re at a loss one idea is to use a pet as inspiration.

STEP 2: Write seven lines on that topic. Each line should have no more than seven words, but could have less. These do not have to be complete sentences.

STEP 3: Number each line 1 through 7.

STEP 4: Repeat line 7 for the 8th line.

STEP 5: Now write the lines in this order: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

It will look like this:

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Line 5
Line 6
Line 7
Line 7
Line 6
Line 5
Line 4
Line 3
Line 2
Line 1

STEP 6: Pop the champagne! 🥂 You just wrote a sonnet.

You can read more about sonnets here and here, but the most basic definition is a poem 14 lines in length. The sonnet has been used as a form for hundreds of years. Now you’ve participated in that tradition!

Community Key:

Writing cafe is back! We will meet on today Friday, April 8 at 1:30 pm Pacific. Please note time change. We will gather via zoom to share creative space. I’ll provide a prompt, but you are welcome to use this time to work on your own project. There is no expectation to share your writing. The writing cafe will last no longer than 30 minutes. If you sign on late, no problem. Just jump in and begin writing! Join us here.

💙 Write on,

Marion