read write prompt #85: spooky
by Dana Guthrie Martin
I found this photo in an album on my friend Doug Shaver’s Facebook profile. I went back to the image over and over because I love everything about it — the sepia tones, the cemetery setting, the way Doug and his friend Andy’s faces are blurred.
Andy describes the photo aptly in a comment to Doug: “Odd photo, has a kind of other worldy feel, I look like I’m buried in the ground … either that or I’m rising out like the devil.”
I kept thinking that this image would make a great writing prompt, so I asked Doug if I could share it here, and he said yes. I hope you all like it, too, and that you can find your way into the image and see where it takes you.
You might want to write very literally about two men in a cemetery and what they might be talking about in that setting. You might want to write a poem that draws on the image in a less literal way, evoking the overall mood of the photo. You could even talk about identities and how they blur — and where it leaves us when what we rely on so strongly isn’t as distinct as we thought it was. These are just a few suggestions.
Feel free to leave comments on this post discussing approaches to the prompt, swapping ideas and whatnot. But please wait until next Thursday’s Get Your Poem On post to leave the links to your poems. We want everyone to have some time to think about the piece, and we want all the links to end up in one place for easy navigation by other participants.
 Cemetery in Malvern by Doug Shaver (Note: If you include Doug’s photo, Cemetery in Malvern, in your post along with your poem, make sure you credit him.)
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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!
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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!
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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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I think I’ll have to print this out and let it stare at me for a few days. There’s so much ghostliness to it, and I think having it on the wall will suck me in quite nicely.
Thanks Dana – great visual prompt.
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This moves me. Looking forward to jumping into this one. So many directions and turns could be taken with this. Great image.
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It’s really beautiful and creepy — the lighting is strange. Great image.
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Dave, hanging it up is a good idea. That way you can spend a lot of time with it and let it seep into your mind.
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Thanks, Bobbie. I hope you like working with it this week.
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Nathan, it seems like a very old image. Not like something taken only a few years ago.
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The man crouching – I wonder why he is so uncomfortable… why isn’t he willing to touch the grass with his torso?
The photo has a certain antysyness to it for lack of a better term.
Oh, a story is riding up.
Always a good thing.
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Are we allowed to post this photo with our poems? And if so, what should the link be?
The current link points to a profile we cannot see, unless we are friends with the photographer.
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Sharon, you can certainly use the image. Why don’t you link back to this post?
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Will do — I do that, anyway.
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Calling the Ghost…
How long must I sit on your grave to elicit a visitation? Must I fast? Must I meditate on the vastness of the universe of death? Must I count my own? Must I arrive at midnight to cohere your ashes back to some semblance of you? If I wake, if I sleep, w…
[...] Cemetery in Malvern, by Doug Shaver, image source [...]
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[...] “Cemetery in Malvern” by Douglas Shaver, used via Read Write Poem [...]
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[...] following poem feels rather undone to me. It comes from Read Write Poem prompt # 85 image prompt, “Cemetery in Malvern”. It’s a sepia print of two men squatting in a graveyard. I [...]