by the Read Write Poem Staff
What do you see in this week’s Read Write (Image) Prompt?
 Gathering by AlicePopkorn “The harder you chase something, the faster you go and the less you are able to let life meet life. If you are having difficulty coming up with new ideas, then slow down. Creativity exists in the present moment. You cannot find it anywhere else.” — Natalie Goldberg
(This wonderful quote is from the artist’s profile page at Flickr.)
Leave any initial thoughts that you might have about this prompt in the comments section of this post, then leave links to your work next Thursday in the comments section of the Get Your Poem On post.
(Note: If you include this photo in your post along with your poem, make sure you credit the artist.)
by Read Write Poem
What do you see in this week’s Read Write (Image) Prompt?
Does the progression of time seem frozen, or does it march on? What is the significance of the prone figure in the foreground? Is he/she merely resting as they journey forward, or is their journey over? Is the person in the distance approaching, walking or running away, or observing the scene from afar?
When you look at the image, what does it spark in your mind about the passage of time? What does it mean to you emotionally? Experientially? Physically?
Leave any initial thoughts that you might have about this prompt in the comments section of this post, then leave links to your work next Thursday in the comments section of the Get Your Poem On post.
(Note: If you include this photo in your post along with your poem, make sure you credit the artist.)
by Nathan Moore
What is going on in this photo? Why is the figure staring at a three-legged chair? Why is the figure wearing a hood? What is keeping the chair from falling down?
This image appeals to me because of its enigmatic nature. In terms of writing, you might want to stay with the questions the scene elicits, linger over them, hesitate before rushing to an answer.
Or, as is often the case when faced with an enigma, you might start to symbolize. Is this is picture about facing a problem, contemplating mystery, the incomplete and frail work of human labor in the face of nature’s grandeur?
Offer ideas about what you see here in the comments section of this post. Next Thursday, leave a link to what you wrote in the comments section of the Get Your Poem On post.
(Note: If you include this photo in your post along with your poem, make sure you credit the artist.)
 Nathan Moore is community director and columnist for Read Write Poem. In his spare time, he plays with his children and with fire. Never at the same time. He blogs at Exhaust Fumes and French Fries.
by Andre Tan
What does the brilliant burst of light in this week’s Read Write (Image) Prompt evoke in you? Hope? Joy? A fear of aliens?
Is your eye drawn to the details of the physical space? Does graffiti anger or inspire you? Are you curious about the dilapidated state of the building? What happened? What takes place in the room now or in the future? Who is or has been there?
Perhaps the photo sparks something less literal in your mind.
As writers and artists, many of us wonder what kind of positive effect our work can make on the world. At the height of this holiday season, we’d like to offer an easy way for the Read Write Poem community to make a modest difference, through poetry, in the lives of those in need.
For every poem written in response to this prompt, the Read Write Poem directors will donate one food item (or its cash equivalent, up to a total of $150) to Hopelink, an organization that supports the homeless, low-income families, the elderly and people with disabilities in the Seattle area.
Leave any initial thoughts that you might have about this prompt in the comments section of this post, then leave links to your work next Thursday in the comments section of the Get Your Poem On post.
Happy holidays, everyone!
(Note: If you include this photo in your post along with your poem, make sure you credit the artist.)
 Andre Tan is Read Write Poem’s technology director. Whenever the right side of his brain subdues the left side with an oversized ACME mallet, he can be found creatively frolicking with a motley assortment of poets, filmmakers, actors and other artists.
by Dana Guthrie Martin
We talked about food in last week’s prompt, but we’re not done with food yet. This week’s Read Write (Image) Prompt is all about one food in particular: the pomegranate.
When I think of the pomegranate, I imagine the myth of Persephone and her mistake of eating its seeds while she was in the underworld with Hades. This mistake — if you can call it that, since she was bound to give over to the temptation of eating such an alluring fruit — is what led her to spend every winter thereafter with Hades in the underworld, returning to the world each spring.
Looking at the photo below, you can see why Persephone was tempted. What does the pomegranate make you think of? Imagine cutting into one, its more than 600 seeds clinging to its interior. Imagine coaxing them out with your fingers or the tip of your knife.
Or just stare at this image and let it take you wherever it takes you. The pomegranate will lead you somewhere. You won’t be able to resist its pull.
Tell us your ideas about how to respond to the photo in the comments section of this post.
And next Thursday in the comments section of the Get Your Poem On post, leave links to what you’ve written.
 Pomegranate, by Nasos3 (Note: If you include this photo in your post along with your poem, make sure you credit the artist.)
 Dana Guthrie Martin is the founder of Read Write Poem. She writes things and stuff. Most of the time, her things and stuff happen to be poetry, or at least they call themselves poetry. She has a robot named Feldman. He’s writing a book of poems.
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read write poem news- read write poem napowrimo anthology
June 20, 2010 | 1:36 pmThe Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Anthology is still in production. Selection, placement, layout and copyediting are taking longer than anticipated. Thank you for your patience. I hope to have the piece completed in July. For those who have emailed asking if they can be included, the May 7 deadline for submission of work stands. Those who met that deadline will be included. Please check the post on this site listing who I received submissions from by that date. If you submitted your work by the May 7 deadline in accordance with our guidelines and your name is not listed, send an email to info (at) readwritepoem (dot) org.
- read write poem napowrimo anthology
May 5, 2010 | 3:09 pmRemember that Friday* is the deadline for submitting work to the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Anthology. Check out the guidelines for submission in the main column (to the left). On May 8, we’ll post a news item listing everyone we’ve received work from. If you submitted work and your name is not on that list, please let us know. Thanks!
*I initially said “tomorrow,” but I meant to say “Friday.”
- napowrimo congratulations, and a reminder
April 24, 2010 | 12:05 pmIt’s the final week of the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge! Just 7 days left. With that, a reminder that Read Write Poem will culminate with the anthology featuring work from those who complete the challenge. A post with details for submitting to the anthology will be published May 1. Be sure you remove any information from the site that you want preserved — such as group content and personal messages. Those elements of the site will be removed May 1 as well. The main site will remain up as an archive.
- ‘underlife’ tour at january gill o’neil’s blog
April 20, 2010 | 8:11 pmJanuary Gill O’Neil’s virtual book tour has moved to her site and is underway now. Check out the lineup at Poet Mom.
 Archive for read write poem news »
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thank you and farewell As of May 1, 2010, Read Write Poem is no longer active.
In late May, an anthology featuring work from those who completed the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge will be published here and on issuu.com.
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