Greetings fellow travelers, wranglers and companions of the soul. This is my first prompt, and I’m glad to be part of this amazing community. Now let’s get physical.
A little man in a little blue suit
One of my favorite movies from the ’90s was The Doors, with one of my favorite scenes being when Jim Morrison (played by Val Kilmer, in case you missed it) was maced, then went on stage and essentially, in all his Morrisonness, nearly provoked a riot. In the middle of the band’s opening song, Morrison — and who knows how much of this is based on actual accounts from a real performance and how much is Oliver Stone’s storytelling — stops the music and begins to relay the story of what happened backstage. In the midst of enjoying a private moment with a lady friend in the john, as Morrison tells the crowd:
“A little man came in … with a little blue hat, in a little blue suit … ”
And with that in mind, we’re going to solute “the little man” in each of our lives.
Homunculus defined
I first came upon mention of “homunculus” while reading The Body Has a Mind of Its Own, by Sandra Blakeslee and Matthew Blakeslee (2008, Random House Trade Paperback Edition). In chapter two, they discuss the archaic term, which, based on what they call the “premodern idea,” is akin to “the helmsman in a one-man submarine” — a person inside a person inside a person, like a never-ending set of Russian dolls.
There’s a lot of fun stuff on Wikipedia that I won’t go into here, but essentially, homunculus is Latin for “little human” or, prior to the feminist movement, “little man.”
And so let’s write to the little man
“Little man” can mean a lot of things (and yes, your “little man” may very well be a “little woman.”)
When I think back to the Jim Morrison bit above, I think of a Napoleonic authority figure. Specifically, I think of an old boss who abused his company status to compensate for his stature.
But the “little man” (or woman, or androgen, for that matter) doesn’t have to be a subject of scorn. On the contrary — perhaps your little man is akin to the Great Gazoo, sitting on the hood of your car or directing you from a perch on your shoulder.
Or maybe your “little man” is a baby or child. Or maybe it’s your inner child.
In the end, your little man doesn’t even need to be little — maybe just someone with a little brain, petty thoughts or shallow sensibilities.
Or maybe just a hermit crab. Or a robot trapped in a flesh suit.
Whomever, or whatever, your little man (or woman) may be, let him/her/it be your writing guide this week. And remember to post your poem or a link to it on next Thursday’s Get Your Poem On post.
Posted byDave on 07.03.2009
Posted Under: Dave, Read Write Prompt |
2 Comments »
Were you able to respond to this week’s image prompt by oncle Jim? Perhaps you talked about a land of animal-headed humans or about how strange you feel in your own skin sometimes, at once human and not human. Maybe you depicted a surreal landscape populated by all manner of strange creatures. Whatever you wrote, we can’t wait to see how you responded to the image.
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Remember to link back to here in your posts, either with a hyperlink to Read Write Poem or by using the badge in your post. Sidebar links are great, but it helps our “internet health” when you link in every post you contribute to the project. And please add “Read Write Poem” in your tags, if you don’t mind.
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For the new folks:
Please take a few moments to read the the About page and our Copyrights page. If you have any questions about the project after reading through those pages, email us at info (at) readwritepoem (dot) org.
Posted byDana on 07.02.2009
Posted Under: Dana, Get Your Poem On |
24 Comments »
I looked at oncle Jim’s work on Flickr and immediately thought, “How does this person know about my strangest, most disturbing, dreams?” I was especially struck by this image of a human with a donkey head* sitting in a field, holding a tattered umbrella. There’s clearly a surreal quality to this piece, but it also manages to somehow invoke a feeling of serenity.
As the community management team mentioned in our post about changes we’re making to Read Write Poem, we are folding the Read Write Image post in with the regular lineup of Read Write Prompts that we share every Friday. I hope you like this photo and can find a way into it for your poem this week.
Perhaps you can use the image to enter into a dream or surreal state. Perhaps you want to talk about why there’s a donkey-headed person (or a person-bodied donkey, depending on your perspective) sitting in the middle of a field. A dramatic monologue might even be in order.
Whatever you write, we look forward to reading it when you leave a link to your work on next Thursday’s Get Your Poem On post.
If you choose to include the image on your site along with your poem, make sure you link back to it. Also, attribute the photo to oncle Jim, as required by the Creative Commons license.
*Read Write Poem participant Dave Bonta thinks this is a kangaroo head and not a donkey head. He’s probably right, since he knows things. But you can make it be whatever kind of animal you like.
XX by oncle Jim
Posted byDana on 06.26.2009
Posted Under: Dana, Read Write Image, Read Write Prompt, Uncategorized |
19 Comments »
Did you leave anything unsaid this week, or did you manage to say it all in your poem? I hope you were inspired by the poem I shared last week, written by a teenager, about her relationship with her mother. And whether you wrote about your mother, another family member, a spouse — or anything else for that matter — leave a link so the rest of the community can see what you’ve been working on.
A big announcement: The Read Write Poem community management team will be visiting participants’ blogs this week, asking those who don’t link to Read Write Poem or share the badge on their post to please do so. We all want this project to be a success, and it won’t grow if others can’t see how to participate or even realize that participants are responding to prompts provided by Read Write Poem.
See below for our prompt participation policy. (We share this policy each week but want to draw your attention to it now, so you don’t get a surprise visit from the Read Write Poem link police.)
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Please, link back here in your posts, either with a hyperlink to Read Write Poem or by using the badge in your post. Sidebar links are great but it helps our “internet health” when you link in every post you contribute to the project. And please add “Read Write Poem” in your tags, if you don’t mind.
* * *
For the new folks:
Please take a few moments to read the the About page and our Copyrights page. If you have any questions about the project after reading through those pages, email us at info (at) readwritepoem (dot) org.
Posted byDana on 06.25.2009
Posted Under: Get Your Poem On, Kristen |
28 Comments »
Hello, fellow poets! My name is Kristen McHenry, and I’m thrilled to be joining Read Write Poem as a new member of the community management team — and writing my first Read Write Prompt! I’ve been participating in Read Write Poem since last December and am thrilled to take on this new role.
This week’s prompt is based on a poem written by a teenager. I read the piece to a group of teens a few weeks ago to a raucous response. It’s called “What I Could Never Tell My Mother,” by Margaret W.
This week, I want you to write about the unsaid. What would you never dream of telling your mother? What would you like to say to her if you had the courage? Maybe you’ll feel better if you finally came clean about what really happened to her favorite vase, her special bottle of holiday liqueur or her parakeet. Be as serious or humorous as you feel moved to be; but above of all, be brave. Who knows? We may find that we have similar secrets. And of course, we’d never dream of telling.
If you share absolutely everything with your mom, you can write the poem about your dad or someone else who’s close to you.
Happy writing! I look forward to reading your work, and to being a part of the Read Write Poem team.
Posted byKristen on 06.19.2009
Posted Under: Kristen, Read Write Prompt |
10 Comments »
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