by the Read Write Poem Staff
You’re almost there, and inspiration for your next to the last NaPoWriMo poem is at your fingertips! D.S. Apfelbaum recalls what William Carlos Williams once wrote, “It is difficult/ to get the news from poems,” but asks, “Who says you can’t get poems from the news?”
For this prompt, choose your favorite newspaper or online news provider. Jot down five to ten headlines that jump out at you and without reading the articles, select elements from each headline to create a new event about which your poem reports.
Alternately, let short-format sections inspire you. Write a poem in the form of an obituary, a personal ad, a classified ad, etc. (Bonus points if you can pull off a poem in the form of a crossword puzzle.) 
Reminders for everyone
Read the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge Kickoff post for details on how the challenge works — and how you can engage with Read Write Poem this month, no matter what your personal writing challenge is for the month of April.
Please read this page to find out how Read Write Poem’s prompt posts work. Remember that work linked from any post this month is shared in precisely that spirit: sharing, as opposed to critiquing. If you haven’t done so already, please read all the pages under About in the navigation bar.
For Sale: ROCK ‘N’ ROLL
Thanks to the BBC News Feed on Science and Environment! Per Aspera Ad Astra
Blended, mixed, inverted, contorted: And give us today our daily mixture
This will be a nightmare. I am feeling ill just reading the headlines
Never seen such a load of awful news all on the one day. Hm maybe I need to check other sources.
Matt Quinn replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 9:57 am
That’s where my poem went.
My Day 29 poem: Evening Scene, Autumn
I may just manage to squeeze this one and the next one into the next 30 hours before April is finished here – but certainly one more is seeming almost manageable
Ok here goes. I borrowed a line from the Beatles
Hope it’s not too depressing.
http://ingeborgsblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-29-front-page.html
Influenced by the news at Space.com, for NaPoWriMo day 29, I went and launched my piece into the final frontier: Space Is
The favorite greeting among very old Vulcans,“…live long my prostrate…”
vivienne Blake replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 3:40 am
Rob, Chapeau! I hope everyone reads this and goes away illuminated.
rob kistner replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Thank you for the salute Viv!! I am so very fascinated by what’s “out there”, to me, a reality overwhelmingly more mind boggling than any cult, superstition, or “ism” man can dream up in all his existence — just numbingly stupefying… and to think, in all of man’s wondering and searching over all the centuries and millenniums, relative to the fathomless vastness of it all — we essentially haven’t even begun yet! WOW!!
rob kistner replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
NOTE: Writer’s Island re-opens the day after tomorrow on Saturday, May 1st. I am right now posting the first of the brand new weekly prompts. Got an extra prompt worked into this first one Saturday, specifically for all us former RWP posters. All are welcome, hope to see you on the beach…
My two line poem kind of from yesterday’s prompt is at http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com
it’s called census officials dance for joy
This me, educated
And with reasonable
Communication skills,
Waits forever for
A man who is able
To decipher my
Volatile moods and understand
The hidden meaning in my words.
Interested grooms may please apply.
vivienne Blake replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 3:42 am
I like this: a brilliant lonely hearts ad.
Here’s my cynical contribution to the newsfest.
http://vivinfrance.wordpress.com/
Thanks for the prompt. Here’s my crossword (only joking) The Same
My poem is here:
http://ragbone.wordpress.com
Tin Robot from “Robot arm used in heart surgery”
Do I get bonus points for an acrostic?
http://poiesis3.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-day-29-top-news.html
The inside story at Scrambled, Not Fried.
From a Headline
‘The Kids Are Not All Right’
An article on Noisy neighbours
“Hiroshima Mon Amour”
http://rallentanda.blogspot.com
Busy day ahead and haven’t seen headlines yet, but this sounds like fun!
So I did it and I know the secret to how’s it done.
One my birthday…
my creation – By, Buy Happy Meal
Marie replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
And happy birthday
http://crankymango.blogspot.com/2010/04/graffiti.html
This short piece came from just one headline:
http://melrosemusings.blogspot.com/2010/04/greek-shockwaves-hit-europe-napowrimo.html
Uma Gowrishankar replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
That was a brilliant one Derrick, loved your poem.
http://mothersparrow.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/naughty/
Welcome to Arizona: Outpost of Contradictions
Ripped from the headlines of the NYTimes.
haikujunky replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Very nice Dan, straight to the point without cliche or rhyming LOL
“Knox Leader Before Coffee”
http://www.redbubble.com/people/nebsy/writing/5091151-napowrimo-29
(read the description first – I had a lot of fun with that!)
Ron. replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Here, in the land of The Barton Chronicle, The Irasburg Informer, and The Hardwick Gazette (all truly august weeklies, mostly featuring the farm reports and the police blotter), they pretty much just tilt their head and smile if you ask where you can get a copy of The Boston Globe or -God forbid- The Washington Post.
I really enjoyed this piece.
haikujunky replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 11:08 am
nice!
Todays the news are not very inspiring.
http://stiletto.crisopeya.eu/2010/04/29/napowrimo-29-front-page-news/
News I still cannot quite face: http://jasonriedy.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/the-penultimate-napowrimo-for-2010/
“Read All About It”
http://bridgeanna.blogspot.com
Blessings on your day!
Day 29 poems, challenges and prompts are posted on Facebook and right here:
http://dash30dash.ning.com/profiles/blogs/napowrimo-day-29-poems-writing
Enjoy….
Keep writing.
The front page news in my life right now is the loss of a favorite uncle, so here is an obituary of sorts.
http://kolokoli.blogspot.com/2010/04/to-my-uncle.html
Off prompt, but I wrote this rather early today
That being just now. Not the cheeriest, quite abstract, but I enjoyed writing it. A glimpse into my darkest facets.
In the Dark
Spires reach their spindly limbs
Attempting to grasp the sky
As my hands grope
That same space
The place of my memories
I dream in the daytime
Sometimes at night
Fabricating dreams.
I weave all my fears
Into a messy
Broken
Threadbare tapestry
Overflowing loose ends
Missed stitches
In threads the colours of
Missed opportunities
Powerlessness
Bitter thoughts.
I dream without thought
Floating down
Down
Down
A whisper of my real self
To rest on ocean sand
Loose, fleeting
Sifting through the cracks
Into the earth below
I am obviously worn out.
I did the prompt wrong but am offering it to you, anyway.
Peanut Butter and Jelly on White Bread
http://juliejordanscott.typepad.com/jjspoetry/2010/04/peanut-butter-and-jelly-on-white-bread-napowrimo-day-29-one-poem-to-go.html
I took headlines from The Village Voice and The New York Times. Interesting prompt.
http://flaubert-poetrywithme.blogspot.com/2010/04/spring-break-massacre-happened-over.html
An obituary poem.
my dream of you
the next to the last one!
http://caroleesherwood.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/napowrimo-29/
Here is my poem -
http://umaathreya.blogsome.com/2010/04/29/palaniappan-of-theni/
rallentanda replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
Uma I have written so many comments on your
poems but they are rejected becuase of those numbers which I can’t see.I loved this poem of yours.
Fun! Got some news I enjoyed, got to use a Beatles line, sync with the prompt, so it’s a beautiful day:
Across the Universe
http://jdmackenzie.blogspot.com/2010/04/across-universe.html
vivienne Blake replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 10:42 am
JD, I tried to comment on your blog, but it wouldn’t let me. That’s twice today. Is there something my best friends won’t tell me?
I like your poem, and agree that it’s better to wait happily at home – safer, too, not to mention less expensive!
My poem originally had headlines in it, but seemed stronger without them, hence veering from the prompt:
http://poemblaze.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/rwp-napowrimo-29/
Good morning!
Nature intervenes in the morning commute.
“Delaware”
http://jasoncrane.org/2010/04/29/poem-delaware/
Enjoy!
Jason
That was fun! Ok, what it turned out (after I started really seriously, really!) was a spam mail created out of news bits from the BBC website. Not entirely work safe… oh well. I guess you all get those emails.
Viagra
Ancient fears
five times bigger:
Men
with
significant scalp
and
balloon crashes
nearing end
in
Sw[e]at valley!
Help is here!
Claim victory
now.
It
dazzles
My Fair Lady.
Buy
blue
tables
now.
Jaelle replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Blue tablets! *shoot* There is always at least one typo left, isn’t there?!
Marie replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Funny!
This poems stemmed from a mis-reading of a headline. It was actually about baseball bats.
Controversy Over Aluminum Bats
Animal rights activists are fuming
like glowing metal. Imagine if you
asked for a date only to discover
your target was a robot. It’s the same
for the bats, the soda can carved likeness
hanging upside down in the eaves.
But the artist claims she is not culpable
for the flying mammals confusion. Irksome,
as sharp edges of wings may be,
many art enthusiasts find the birdlike pieces
magnetism for such metallic criticism pathetic
and environmentalists warn against the fallacy,
reminding others at least the stiff creatures
cannot morph into fog or wolves or vampires
and some cans are being recycled. Good for trees.
When asked why the artist crafted the aluminum
into bats she simply replied, “Don’t be so blind.”
barbara_y replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 11:15 am
imagining bat radar *pinging* off the metal mobiles
Here’s my personal ad for Day 29
http://lanijo.com/poetry/i-cant-believe-i-am-doing
As you might expect, today’s poem got political. http://rhiannonproblematising.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/napowrimo-29-bigotry-is-bigotry/
I have no idea if this even counts as a poem, or if it’s relegated to some other form of creative writing: A message from the Federal Government of Canada
Here’s a found poem, and a horoscope poem.
I can’t believe it’s almost over!
http://cosmicmermaid.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/two-news-poems/
I didn’t think it would be too difficult, but Os make it difficult to align words correctly.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978205247
Marie replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Excellent. You get extra points! Clever.
hosking replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Thanks Marie.
hosking replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
I wrote a 2nd poem about immigration.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978205611
Inspired by “the edge” though it’s not strictly news. http://sheiladeethdrabbles.blogspot.com/2010/04/april-napowrimo-29.html
hosking replied:
April 29th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
I enjoyed your poem, Sheila. And congrats to your son on his publication credit.
Asteroid Poisoned Earth’s Origin
# 29!
http://synecdochicstuff.blogspot.com
From an Israeli Newspaper:
West Bank settlers hurl rocks at Palestinian homes
And why not?
We are the chosen people
Golda said there were
No Palestinian people
Our government
Built us these homes
Why are these strangers
Here in this place that
God gave to us
Exclusively?
Why can’t they just
Go away.
http://www.editurl.com/f45
Miss Kreshi re-rediscovered Noah’s Ark this morning.
Details at http://daily-yawp.blogspot.com/
The headline was Train Whistles on Way Out. I messed with the sense a little.
http://www.robertlunday.net/2010/04/poem-29-raccoon.html
Penultimate day! How exciting..
http://just-somestuff.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-29-how-to-be-fashion-designer.html
I took my headlines from Chicago’s always-interesting Sun-Times:
Stray Dogs and Bullets
With the news of 5,000 barrels of uncontrollable crude oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico and infecting marine life for the capitalist bottom line, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss alternative energy sources to power our lifestyles. Here is a poem that discusses these ideas…
A New Kind of Energy Source
http://babblingoninbabylon.com/blog
Because I can not NOT do a dare. My crossword puzzle poem.
My Land Your Water
http://yearofthebooks.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/poem-a-day-poem-29/
#29
http://robin-turner.blogspot.com/2010/04/spill.html
i only look at the pictures…
april 29th
Blessing of the Fleet
Took place at Put-in-Bay this year
All boats that sail the turbulent
Waters of Lake Erie included in
Annual blessing. This year a
Lutheran pastor blessed a US
Coast Guard boat. A woman who
Recently passed away, former
Owner of a boat line and active
In local organizations was
Honored. The Put-in-Bay
School choir performed. The
Weather was sunny but bracing,
With a brisk wind out of the NW.
Everyone hopes for a summer of
Safe boating, especially the local
Chamber of commerce, sponsors
Of the annual event.
My brain is on strike, so this is all I came up with:
http://rrosenchang.blogspot.com
THE NYT headline “Like Origami, Pollen Grains Fold Just So” inspired my poem by the same name.
It’s at:
http://1965footprints.blogspot.com
I mostly wrote this just after midnight, but didn’t find time to post it until now. I like this prompt, and think I’ll try it again, writing around a more constructed event. In this particular draft, the event is someone listening to the news as they fall asleep:
And That’s the Update
http://tinacelio.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/beginning-the-upturn-2/
In 2010 concern for the environment frequently makes the front page. Here’s my last closed form poem – a rondeau, entitled ‘On Spaceship Earth’.
“On Spaceship Earth it’s plain to see,
We’re unmatched in the galaxy,
In terms of living things that fly
And swim and run; who could deny
That we’re as lucky as can be…”
Read ‘On Spaceship Earth’ at http://www.gregoconnell.com
http://poetry-life-distilled.blogspot.com/2010/04/todays-quote-we-dont-read-and-write.html
This was fun.
http://freckledwriter.blogspot.com/2010/04/i-hope-i-die-before-i-get-old.html
“Man stabs 28 children in kindergarten in China”
http://novaheart.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/poem-42910-haikudarkness/
this was a fun prompt today a life in the day
I had to let this perk all day before it brewed. My phrase from the newspaper was Wind Farm
http://mmw113.blogspot.com/2010/04/napowrimo-29-wind-farm.html
Here is #29 Sports Page News
http://www.waynepitchko.blogspot.com
In my search for news, I ran across a section the newspaper called “weird news”. I didn’t find everything so weird: http://goo.gl/fb/Z0t9Y
ok — I did “found poem” using five headlines and the text of another article.
maybe tomorrow I’ll follow the directions completely.
http://another2doors.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/to-understand-the-history-of-evolution/
http://bitsandpieces.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/napowrimo-29-front-page-news/
My brain has gone on strike…leaving me with a very meager offering…
http://rrosenchang.blogspot.com
Posting today’s and yesterday’s poems.
http://avniously.blogspot.com/2010/04/city-of-endangered-languages.html