read write prompt #68: meaning is optional
by Tom Adam
A lot of poetry is very serious and weighty and, because of that, sometimes it can be downright boring. Themes, metaphors and symbols are an integral part of poetry as an art, but poetry is also putting words or sounds together. Sometimes it is just putting them together!
Experimental poets have put meaning aside and have written pieces based on the intricate use of language alone, e.g. Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein. (You can listen to Stein read some of her poems at UbuWeb Sound.) Others have felt that language itself wasn’t too big of a deal (Lewis Carrol’s “Jabberwocky“). And sometimes, mixing complete nonsense with a very strict form yields interesting results (such as the “double dactyl” developed by Hecht and Pascal, which you can read about in a little more detail here, including examples of the form).
Your prompt this week is to play with words and sounds. Write a poem that may or may not make sense. Make up words. Make up sounds (although that might be really hard to read). Delve into nonsense poetry. Delve into postmodernism, if that’s your thing. Let the story or the point or the theme or metaphors slip to the side this week. Play with language.
And come back next Thursday and Get Your Poem On.
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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- yes, yes, here’s another virtual book tour stop for ‘a walk through the memory palace’
February 6, 2010 | 11:37 amFind the latest tour stop for Pamela Johnson Parker’s debut collection, A Walk Through the Memory Palace at Jillypoet, Jill Crammond Wickham’s blog, where you can find an interview with Pamela that discusses how she creates manuscripts.
Previous stops include Daniel Romo at his blog, Peyote Soliloquies and James Brush at his blog, Coyote Mercury.
You can find all our plans for the tour here.
- the best of the web is in our ranks
February 6, 2010 | 11:35 amSarah J. Sloat’s poem,”Attending the Tasting” (published in The Literary Bohemian) has been selected for Best of the Web 2010. Congratulations, Sarah!
- another (w00t!) read write poem member on the joe milford poetry show
February 6, 2010 | 11:34 amOn the Joe Milford Poetry Show tomorrow (Feb. 6): W.F. Roby at 9 AM (PST). Find the show here!
Joe describes Will as a “great language poet and bad-ass.”
- ‘literary podcasting made simple with wordpress.com’
February 6, 2010 | 11:33 amDave Bonta has published a how-to article that might be of interest to WordPress users: “Literary Podcasting Made Simple with WordPress.com,” based on his and Beth Adams’ experience at Qarrtsiluni.
Thanks, Dave, for continuing to help make the community aware of technological resources that can expand our art.
- the latest (virtual) book tour stop for ‘a walk through the memory palace’
February 3, 2010 | 3:53 pmThe latest tour stop has been posted for Pamela Johnson Parker’s debut collection, A Walk Through the Memory Palace. Find out how Daniel Romo responded to the work at his blog, Peyote Soliloquies.
James Brush provided our first tour stop at his blog, Coyote Mercury.
You can find all our plans for the tour here.
- planning for napowrimo in april, and you are invited!
February 2, 2010 | 6:12 pmHello, hello dear Read Write Poem community members! We are in the planning stages for NaPoWriMo. (What? Is that a groan I hear, or an excited exclamation?)
We are planning another prompt-every-day for those folks who love to write a daily poem in April (which is, as most of you know, National Poetry Month in the United States — although there is an international following of writing poetry every day in April, too, so it is not just about the States).
Anyway! This is a call for prompts because we want to run your ideas, one every day, in April. So here’s what to do:
- Prompts must be no more than 250 words, and we will take the first 30 that we receive.
- Include “NaPoWriMo Prompt” in the subject line of your email as well as your username (e.g., the name you use when you log in) so we can match you up with your prompt and give you the link love.
- Email your submission (in the body of the email — no attachments please) to prompts (at) readwritepoem (dot) org!
We’ll let you know when we’ve got the 30, but don’t delay because it takes a lot of time to format the posts and we want to be ready come April Fools’ Day. Woohoo!
- new senior contributors at read write poem
February 2, 2010 | 11:51 amWe are thrilled to announce that Ren Powell and Dave Jarecki are moving into the senior contributor role at Read Write Poem. Both have been writing feverishly for the site, as well as providing ideas for content and for the community as a whole. In short, they make this site a more lively, and better, place.
Ren and Dave will fill the roles vacated by Carolee Sherwood and Jill Crammond Wickham, who have moved into the manager role.
Everyone please thank Ren and Dave for their hard work and commitment to Read Write Poem.
- rounding out the virtual book tour of sarah j. sloat’s ‘in the voice of a minor saint’
January 31, 2010 | 1:53 pmOur last stop on the Virtual Book Tour of Sarah J. Sloat’s In the Voice of a Minor Saint is with Ren Powell. Find Ren’s review at More Babel.
Joseph Harker provided our first stop in December, and you can find David Moolten’s review at Edible Detritus. David’s was followed by Dave Jarecki’s. Dave’s review is at his blog. Find Jill Crammond Wickham’s at Jillypoet: Mom Trying to Write.
In case you missed the introduction, we are (virtually) hosting Sarah J. Sloat’s In the Voice of a Minor Saint. For complete tour information, such as how you can get your own copy of the collection or how you can get involved in future tours, read this post.
- make your own book: get off the computer and onto the paper
January 30, 2010 | 4:19 pmBeth Adams has posted her latest project at The Cassandra Pages. “A Handmade Book” may not explicate all the details of bookbinding, but Beth shows readers the “Secret Belgian Binding.” It’s a beautiful as well as inspiring post.
If you would like more detailed instructions, Google “secret Belgian bookbinding” and find sites such as this one. Or look for a local book arts class for hands-on instruction.
As Beth says, ” … it did me good to get away from the computer and feel my hands at work!”
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postmodernism…somewhere between pollock’s paintings and Keroac’s words…..or something like that or nothing like that….I like the idea and this old guy will try to come up with something.
that should read KERO(you)AC..dam getting harder to spell with each passing year.
Hmm, I guess someone could do a Dada poem with this prompt too.
Here’s a Dada Poetry Generator if anyone’s interested!
http://www.poemofquotes.com/tools/dada.php
I composed a Dada poem back in December 2008. Here’s the poem I’ve written: http://alotus-poetry.livejournal.com/45118.html
It was an interesting generator to try out! Enjoy!
Of Aquanauts
Remember to come back Thursday and get your poem on!
If I can’t come up with one by Thursday, here’s another good one on my blog ~ just click on my name.
Here is my contribution
click my name
[...] to readwritepoem prompt #68 « I’ll Sing All My Song For You (A Song From [...]
my contribution
Glorious
A double dactyl about double dactyls!
Travelszontally
http://thinkingcities.blogspot.com/2009/03/travelszontally.html
I think it’s quite fun to write poems using strict forms like this. I’ll probably be coming up with more double dactyls
Err… correction, that double dactyl isn’t about double dactyls, but about writing poetry.
[...] my poems, read write poem on March 5, 2009 at 12:01 pm this week’s read write prompt — meaning is optional — challenged us to play with the sounds of words. i realized it’s very hard, but [...]
[...] to make my points a bit too explicitly, rather than gracefully (poetically?) allusive. So I found this week’s readwritepoem prompt to experiment with nonsense verse quite [...]
[...] is for read write prompt #68: meaning is optional. Surprisingly enough, it was fun. I tried to write something that sounded interesting and would be [...]