get the lead out, it’s noting really: writing groups

If you are aware that you need to be brave, you are probably on the threshold of writing something that matters.
Pat Schneider, Writing Alone and With Others (2003, pg. 172)
During the last week in April I attended an AWA writing-group leadership training with poet Patricia Lee Lewis at The Crossings in Austin, Texas. Patricia, along [...]

read write prompt #23: oil and vinegar

What happens when you pour balsamic vinegar over extra-virgin olive oil? The oil rests on top of the vinegar in the cruet, but if you shake the contents, you create a delicious salad dressing.
Prompt
For your poem this week, try combining two elements that don’t seem to go together at first glance. Here’s the process:
• Think [...]

get the lead out: it’s noting really #3

Give me some room! (For creating space in a life for writing.)
If I haven’t had my cup of poetry in the morning, I’m a real bear. Since I work in the late afternoons and early evenings, mornings are my quiet time, when I sit down to do some writing.
It’s fun to learn about the rituals different [...]


welcome to read write poem

Read Write Poem is an online gathering place for those who love poetry — and for those who suspect that, with a little nurturing, they could grow to love poetry. Whether you are new to writing poetry or have been writing for years, you are welcome here. If you don’t write poetry but love to read and discuss it, this is also the place for you. Read more about the project.


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  • read write poem newsfeed

      You still have time -- until December 15 -- to get into the current Postal Poetry contest. Find details about it here.

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      Here's the New York Times article about all the winners of the National Book Award, including Mark Doty for Fire to Fire.

      Congratulations, Mark Doty!

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      "My Career in Radio" by Garrison Keillor: The poem, and there is always a daily dose of Garrison's poetry selections (of others' poems) in The Writer's Almanac.

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      poetryvlog.com is a terrific site, "A weekly video reading of poetry by the poet".

      About.com has an intriguing (long, and not vetted by Read Write Poem) list of "Video Poetry Archives and Anthologies" with links to all kinds of stuff.

      Christine offers us Collin Kelly's latest project: a video blog on YouTube.

      Do you have some link love, know of some? Do tell. Email us at news (at) readwritepoem (dot) org.

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      So how do you find poetry news in your area? One way is to look for the closest (geographically) writing program and find the supporting blog it is sure to have.

      Examples? Bulletin Board: MFA Carbondale for Southern Illinois and G*L*O for Portland, Oregon.

      It's a good way to find readings, seminars, submissions, etc.

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  • random
    poetry prompt

      A different word or phrase will appear here each time you visit the site or refresh the page. Your current prompt is — alibi

  • random
    collaborating tip

    Put together a group of words you like, and send it to a collaborator with instructions to use those words in a poem.


  • random
    writing tip

    Draw a Tarot card from the deck, and write down all the things you notice in the picture. Don’t get caught up in the symbolic meaning of the card. What do these images mean to you? Can you relate the images to your life in some way? Write a poem about your associations with the card.

  • random
    reading tip

    Pick up a book of poems you don't think you would be drawn to. This may seem like a silly (and not very pleasant) thing to do, but the writing could surprise you. If you really don't like it, try to determine and articulate why. In the end, you will be a stronger writer (and reader!) by knowing what you don't like and your reasons for not liking it.

  • random
    poetry quote

    We make out of the quarrel with others, rhetoric, but of the quarrel with ourselves, poetry. — Yeats