read write prompt #38: scratch-and-sniff poetry, anyone?
This week’s prompt is a collaborative work between me (Blythe) and the fabulous blogger and guest contributor Twitches.
Twitches loves smell, and she’s written blog entries about her favorite perfume brands that are more sensual and evocative than most of my poetry. So when she suggested a prompt on smell, I was excited to work with her on it.
Smell has always been Twitches’ favorite sense (Blythe loves it too, and it might be her favorite, but she is terribly indecisive). Powerful scents evoke memories, stir up emotions, connect us to certain people and places, to certain moments in time. (Check out “A Few Lines from Rehoboth Beach“, by Fleda Brown, for a good example of the link between smell and place.)
We were both fascinated by scratch-and-sniff books as kids. Twitches really wanted Smell-o-Vision to become a reality (think about all the visuals you see on TV which would be that much more horrible could you SMELL them as well. Genius!)
William Carlos Williams wrote a great piece, addressed to his nose, about the powerful draw of smell - and how it sometimes causes trouble. Here’s a link to his poem, “Smell.” (Although you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to read it, it’s worth the milliseconds it takes get there. If you have time, meander through his other works; a little extra quality time spent on poetry like his never hurt anyone!)
So. Walk around this week with your sniffer in high gear. Or take a moment right now to conjure up your favorite sense memories: Movie popcorn, gasoline, firewood, bed linens hung out on a washing line to dry - what is it that the sense of smell evokes for you? Be it positive, negative, or a little bit of both, put it into poetic form and share it with the rest of us.
Ideas for collaboration:
- Make a list of your favorite unusual smells, exchange it with someone, and write on what the other person’s smells mean to you.
- Write a descriptive poem that describes a specific smell — but without actually naming what the smell is. Exchange this with a partner (or you could work as a group and shuffle them around) and have someone write a second piece, one based off each original, that describes the smell, name and all. See how well you did at describing/guessing smells.
- Keep a list of smells you encounter over a day or two. Then pass them to a partner, who will write a narrative poem based on what your day(s) smelled like.
~Twitches & Blythe.
Come back Monday after midnight and find the get your poem on post to leave a comment for us, with a link to your poem the week, whether it’s fresh as a morning flower, foul as decaying fish or an entirely scentless piece.
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OMG, this prompt is fabulous! I get to turn into a dog for a week! Woohoo! Although I’m not much of a “smeller”, this would inspire me to focus on this sense this week (I’m a good listener and have a fabulous sense of hearing!). Hmm, maybe a prompt about ears in the future?
I’d always thought of that too. If only we get to focus on smell or even touch when we’re watching TV! I mean, I’m sure it would even more helpful if visually impaired people can fine tune their sense of smell and touch while “watching” TV! Wouldn’t that be amazing? So sorry, I just had to put that out there. I think too much about people; I’m such a softie.
Oh, and when I was a kid, they also made scratch-n-sniff stickers, too. Then, there was a time when scented Crayola markers were around. I had way too much fun with that. Oh, the memories.
And William Carlos Williams is one of my favorite poets!! I can never get enough of his poetry!
Anyway, I would like to collaborate with someone on here! Would anyone would like to collab with a “newbie”?
I’m really looking forward to this!!
This prompt stinks!
I’ve written my response to this prompt, but as I’m going to be away from the internet for about 10 days (coincidentally in the very environment my poem describes!), I’m not going to be able to stop by and post my link in the usual way.
So I’d love it if some kind person could add the link to my poem, smell of the earth to the comments on the get-your-poem-on post next week so I can join the fun.
Then I’ll look forward to having lots of nice smelly poems waiting for me when I get back…
Now, off to schedule some posts to keep my blog alive while I’m away!
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I’m confused by that page of William Carlos Williams poems, which don’t look anything like the style of any of his poems I’ve come across before. (The Red Wheelbarrow, for instance, or the one about the plums in the icebox).
Did he have a radical mid-career change of style, or are they misattributed, or am I just plain confused?
oh my sweet night blooming jasmine! do i have a sense of smell for you!
I love how smell evokes memories more powerfully than anything else, well for me that’s the case. Good one, I’ll play.
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