read write prompt #2: eat, drink, write a poem
by Jill Crammond Wickham
When I was teaching an elementary poetry class a few years ago, the topic was food. I brought in all kinds of food for the kids to try and write about. We wrote poems about fruit, mostly, because I knew it was something they would like. Lovely, inspired poems about oranges, bananas, apples, strawberries were writ by all. But the poem that has stayed with me all these years is “Coconut,” which began: “It slides down my throat like spiders … ”
What food do you love? What food do you hate? Have you ever tried ugly fruit? Mango? How do you eat your mango? Walk the aisles of your local grocery store. Ignore the stares of the curious and whip out your notebook. Write down the names of foods that interest you. Line your pockets with the mini-recipes they sometimes provide. Right now, in my purse, are recipes on tiny little cards for:
- mango tango salsa
- kumquat salad
- simple sugar snaps
- Brussels sprouts skillet
- pomegranate shrimp
Food tastes can run to the eclectic. Remember the book How to Eat Fried Worms? How about writing your own “How to … ” poem? How to eat, how to cook, how to grow [fill in the blank]. Use your senses. You don’t just have to taste something. Feel it. Smell it. Look at it. Listen to it.
Maybe you have a food memory. Favorite holiday feast? Elementary school breakfast? First date meal?
Your food memories, your senses, your love of words, even your local market can provide you with the ingredients. All you need to do is cook up a poem!
Keep on poem-ing!
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Wear it loud, wear it proud! Display the Read Write Poem badge on your site. Just click here or on the image above to get the code! read write poem news- ah, the question of too much poetry
March 17, 2010 | 11:37 am“The new math of poetry is driven not by reader demand for great or even good poetry but by the demand of myriads of aspiring poets to experience the thrill of ‘publication.’ “
So says David Alpaugh (along with a lot of other thoughtful things) in “The New Math of Poetry,” published last month in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Read the article and let us talk. What say you?
- it’s a wrap: last stop on our (virtual) tour of molly gaudry’s ‘anatomy for the artist’
March 15, 2010 | 3:28 pm“I was physically drained by this poem. I understood it on my terms. If a poet’s innovative craftsmanship with form, word, sound, imagery, metaphor, can show me my own bones, then I want to read more of that poet’s work.”
Just a snippet from Wanda McCollar’s response to Molly Gaudry’s electronic chapbook, “Anatomy for the Artist.” Look for the entire post on Synecdochic Stuff and find the rest of our tour, below.
The first stop was Donna Vorreyer at her blog. Next up was Catherine Fitchett at Poetry Chook, Lawrence Gladeview at Righteous Rightings and Ren Powell at More Babel.
You can find complete information about this chapbook and tour here, including a link to where to find it and read it for yourself, online.
Next month’s tour will start mid-April. Don’t miss it!
- the (very) latest on our (virtual) tour of molly gaudry’s ‘anatomy for the artist’
March 11, 2010 | 2:25 pmRen Powell has just posted her take on Molly Gaudry’s electronic chapbook, “Anatomy for the Artist.” Find the post at More Babel.
And, in case you missed it, the first stop was Donna Vorreyer’s, at her blog. Next up was Catherine Fitchett at Poetry Chook and then Lawrence Gladeview at Righteous Rightings.
You can find information about this chapbook and tour here, including a link to where to find it and read it for yourself, online.
- a new poem every day in april (requires reading, not writing)
March 10, 2010 | 6:33 pm“Beginning April 1, Poets.org sends one new poem to your inbox each day to celebrate National Poetry Month. The poems have been selected from new books published in the spring.” Sign up here.
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Thanks, Jill. This looks like a really fun prompt. I’m going grocery shopping this weekend!
Mmm, this is going to be yum…
‘Chocolate coated crisps tickle my mind and water my palette with flavors from a heavenly crunch.’
This came to me for no reason as soon as I caught this prompt. I know this will be interesting to write, be sure to stop by my place to taste my wares on Wed, folks. BTW, did I just write an American sentence?
oopsy, no excuse for my spelling mistake! read palette – as ‘palate’
‘Chocolate coated crisps tickle my mind and water my palate with flavors from a heavenly crunch.’
the food would be great, I promise
I just ate a Power Bar. I bet there’s not a poem in that meal. *smiles*
I don’t know, Ceridwen, the texture of those things is a complete mystery, powdery but gooey all at the same time!
Uncanny. Before even I saw it I wrote one on fruits.
Might as well post it here!
http://firmlyrooted.blogspot.com/2007/11/feeding-demon.html
[...] for the prompt #2 at Read Write [...]
[...] at read. write. poem. this week, we’re posting links to poems we’ve posted about food (here’s the original prompt). mine is giving me a hard time, and i’m not sure it’s going to end up any place but [...]
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