Thursday, February 24, 2022

Poetry Friday is Here!

I'm thrilled to be hosting Poetry Friday on a day when my poetry sisters and I are sharing the results of a monthly challenge. This month we played a game called Exquisite Corpse. Here's a bit about it:

Exquisite Corpse is a game developed by surrealist writers in the 1920s. The game lets you randomly create combinations of words which your own intelligence often finds meaning in. (The name of the game is one of the first images the inventors created by playing it.)

You can read more about it at Exquisite Corpse: An Imagery Imagination Game.
We began with Liz, who sent one line of poetry to Tanita. Tanita wrote one line of poetry and sent ONLY her line to Kelly. It continued in this fashion, with each poet sending a single line to the next. We met on Zoom Sunday and read our lines aloud. Here's what we ended up with.

This month, odd one out, running short on days and sleep, (Liz)
This month, past meets pride, roots ripped from native soil still somehow grow. (Tanita)
The once-bright future dims. Shadows grow (Kelly)
But there, near canyon  rim, in  broken light (Sara)
the yearling hawk shrieked in futile fury (Andi)
and the steel-edged clouds looked away (Laura)
trees bow and bend on a blustery day (Tricia)
that rattles old oak leaves down the street. (Mary Lee)

Once we had these lines, it was up to each poet to take (or leave) the words and revise in their own way. Because I like rules, I gave myself a few. I had to use the words or portions of words that were written, and I could not add more than 5 new words. Here's what I came up with.

Post-Pandemic Life

This day …
  No one sleeps
  Hawk meets steel-edged clouds
  near canyon rim 
  In broken light
  shadows grow

This month …
  Running short on days 
  the once-bright future dims
  Odd, the past
  that rattles down the street
  in futile fury

This year …
  Old oak trees bow and bend
  unbreaking
     Don’t look away
  Roots ripped from native soil 
  still somehow grow

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2022. All rights reserved.

After we met, I spent some time working on a creative journal entry for the #100dayproject I'm working on. You can see a bit of my writing process in it.
You can read the pieces written by my Poetry Sisters at the links below. (Please note I'm posting Thursday evening for you early birds, so some of these links may not be live until Friday.)
    Would you like to try the next challenge? Next month we are writing ekphrastic doditsu. You can learn about this poetic from Robert Lee Brewer at Writer's Digest. We are sharing images in our group, but you can write to anything you like. If you want to be inspired by my image, here's what I shared. 
    That's my dad when he was stationed in Hawaii during WWII. He loved dogs and took quite a shine to a stray and somehow managed to keep him on base. They named him "Puddles, the transportation dog." Since the "dodoitsu often focuses on love or work with a comical twist," I thought this image would be fun to write about. Feel free to use it if you like.

    We hope you'll join us in our next challenge. Are you in? Good! You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on March 25th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems! 

    *****

    I'm rounding things up old school today, so leave your link in the comments and I'll add you to the post. Happy Poetry Friday all!

    Original Works (Poems, Videos, Photos, etc.)
    If you didn't see the links above, you can check out the Exquisite Corpse poems written by my poetry sisters here:

    Linda Mitchell of A Word Edgewise shares her poem related to the sense of smell.

    Linda Kulp Trout shares an original video poem entitled True Love.

    Karen Eastlund takes a stab at one of my favorite forms and shares two triolets.

    Michelle Kogan shares all kinds of kinds of Exquisite Corpse goodness with a video AND poems!

    Linda Baie of Teacher Dance shares poem written to the prompt of the Sphinx entitled Rarely Mutable.

    Denise Krebs shares a golden shovel entitled My Heart Sings.

    Janice Scully shares a lovely elegy to the recently departed Dr. Paul Farmer.

    Elisabeth Norton of Unexpected Intersections shares several original poems on Chernobyl and Ukraine.

    Bridget Magee of wee words for wee ones shares some cornea humor. Thank you for making me snarf my tea this morning.

    Marcie Flinchum Atkins returns to Poetry Friday (welcome  back!) and shares a photo haiku.

    Molly Hogan of Nix the comfort zone is sharing a number of poems inspired by bread.

    Irene Latham is sharing an ArtSpeak poem entitled Hope Has Long Legs. (I love herons!)

    Matt Forrest Esenwine of Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme shares a poem entitled Hummingbird.

    Rose Capelli of Imagine the Possibilities shares a poem entitled Annabel Angelou Catherine Blake.

    Margaret Simon of Reflections on the Teche shares a poem entitled Beautiful things start with just one.

    Buffy Silverman shares a poem entitled February's Fake News.

    Amy Ludwig VanDerwater has a new book coming out. Hurray! Check out the book trailer and her poem entitled Outfit.

    Jone MacCulloch shares two exquisite corpse poems and a video of some New Year postcards.

    Patricia Franz shares a poem entitled Old Catfish.

    Renee LaTulippe's debut poem picture book comes out soon. Hurray! Check out her book trailer and art from the book.

    Catherine Flynn of Reading to the Core shares a beautifully illustrated found poem.

    Karin Fisher-Golton shares that celebrates 2-22-22. It's entitled Twosday.

    Carol Varsalona of Beyond Literacy Link shares an exquisite corpse poem entitled Love.

    Carol LaBuzzetta of The Apples in My Orchard shares a poem entitled Cardinal Story: A Poetic Version.

    Ruth Bowen Hersey of There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town shares a poem entitled Esta Falda.

    Poems of Others
    Robyn Hood Black of Life on the Deckle Edge shares some Scottish Nursery Rhymes.

    Jama Rattigan of Jama's Alphabet Soup muses on toast and toasters and shares the poem Ode to My Toaster by by Allan Chochinov.

    Heidi Mordhorst of my juicy little universe shares the poem Midnight Air in Louisville by Afaa Michael Weaver.

    Tabatha Yeatts of The Opposite of Indifference shares an excerpt from ‘Ulysses’ by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

    Karen Edmisten shares the poem Wild Gratitude by Edward Hirsch.

    49 comments:

    1. I loved this exercise so much. Here's my link: https://www.kellyramsdell.com/blog/2022/2/24/this-month-a-poetry-friday-post

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    2. Ooh, the past rattling down the street is so evocative, Tricia. And I love the expansion from day to month to year. <3

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    3. I'm sharing 'A Sense of Smell' after a read of the latest post from The Children's Poetry Summit:https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.blogspot.com/

      What a fun and fascinating post to read from you. I love a good community poem and this one was really intriguing. But, the best part? Your journal page! I love getting to see a poet work through and work out what they are writing. Super fun to look at that. Love the pic of your Dad. Puddles was a lucky pooch. I'm going to have to read up on this form in the next challenge! Thanks for sharing it.

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    4. Hi, Tricia - You poetry sisters/goddesses are amazing! Thanks to you (and all of you) for sharing your creative wonders. And always teaching me new stuff!
      Thank you as well for hosting this week! I'm in with a picture with my sister-in-poetry Jone M., who was visiting coastal SC last weekend, and with a fun little Scottish nursery rhyme/song in her honor.
      http://www.robynhoodblack.com/blog/posts/40422
      :0)

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    5. PS - Laura stole my favorite phrase, "the past/that rattles down the street." Brilliant.

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    6. Enjoyed hearing about the Exquisite Corpse game and reading your lovely poem.

      This week I'm all about toast and toasters:

      https://jamarattigan.com/2022/02/25/my-darling-my-toaster/

      Thanks so much for hosting this week!

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    7. Tricia, I enjoyed your poem! Thank you for hosting this week. I'm in with a poetry video

      https://lindakulptrout.blogspot.com/2022/02/anthologies-301-making-videos.html

      Have a great weekend!

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    8. Fascinating challenges, both of them! Your poem works very well: the past that rattles down the street. Thanks for this food for thought and for hosting. Find my post at https://kceastlund.blogspot.com/2022/02/duality.html

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    9. I liked the building from day to year in your poem too Tricia, and seeing where you lead your poem. Thanks for hosting the roundup!

      I'm sharing a handful of Exquisite Corpse poems and some related music too:
      https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/2022/02/24/poetry-friday-exquisite-corpse-poems/

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    10. Oh, Tricia!! I LOVE how you framed this in time -- a weird and halting chronology -- captured so perfectly here. Thank you -- and thank you for hosting! xo

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    11. Oh, and shoot! I forgot my own link. Here it is!https://lizgartonscanlon.com/2022/02/poetry-project-february-2022/

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    12. I enjoyed hearing about this challenge so much, Tricia, and seeing your own journal/writing process. Your poem is a portent, making our life's journey start again. "Don't look away." seems precious advice. I'm sharing a poem that I've written for one of the February poems written during Laura Shovan's birthday month challenge. Thank you for hosting!

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      1. And. . . I forgot the link: https://www.teacherdance.org/2022/02/poetry-friday-almost-womens-history.html

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    13. Tricia, thank you for hosting today. The Exquisite Corpse poem looked like a fun exercise, and I like how you revised it according to your own rules. I'll look forward to reading the other sisters' poems.

      The lines "the past
      that rattles down the street
      in futile fury" really spoke to me today. Your post-pandemic poem is well done.

      It's good to be back at Poetry Friday this week. Here is my post: https://mrsdkrebs.edublogs.org/2022/02/24/poetry-friday-my-heart-sings/

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    14. I recently participated in an exquisite corpse poem. It's so fun and I really like how you further revised yours. It's exciting working with other poets. Thanks for sharing it. I am sharing a brief post to remember Dr. Paul Farmer, a public health hero who died this week. http://janicescully.com.

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    15. How fascinating to see your collaborative process. Your final poem is thoughtful and thought-provoking, distilling the source lines to their essence. Thanks for sharing and for hosting today!

      I'm in a thoughtful mood today, using poetry to process my thoughts and emotions in light of current events.
      https://unexpectedintersections.blogspot.com/2022/02/poetry-friday-darkness-and-light.html

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    16. Each of the Poetry Sisters contributed a gem to make a jewel! I love how you re-set the gems into something new too, Tricia. And your photo of Puddles with your dad is true puppy love...something I embrace.

      On that note, today I'm offering an "Extra Cornea Joke" ala my Smidgey's DOGSPEAK series...it's an eye-roller.

      http://www.weewordsforweeones.com/2022/02/dogspeak-extra-cornea-joke.html

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    17. I love doing exquisite corpse! So fun!

      I'm jumping back into Poetry Friday after many, many years of not doing it. Here's the link to my post: https://www.marcieatkins.com/2022/02/25/jumping-back-in-to-poetry-friday/

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    18. Thanks for rounding us up! I love the backstory about that photo!!

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      1. I hit reply too soon! I love how you gave us the cycle of a whole year, rather than just a month; how it's the past rattling down the street in futile fury (perhaps the orange one?); and that hopeful ending (perhaps democracy?).

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    19. Wow! What a great post and wonderful challenge. I especially loved these lines in your poem:
      "Odd, the past
      that rattles down the street
      in futile fury"
      and I always appreciate a hopeful note at the end. Thanks for hosting today and for the invitation to join in your next challenge. Looks like a great one! Here's my post for this week: https://nixthecomfortzone.com/2022/02/25/pf-ah-bread/

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    20. Tricia, I love this post, esp. the glimpse into your journal (which is a work of art in and of itself!). I've got another ArtSpeak: Animals poem... this on "Hope Has Long Legs" https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2022/02/hope-has-long-legs-poem.html Thankyou for hosting!

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    21. Interesting challenge, Tricia - to which you certainly rose! Nicely done. I've never heard of this, but it sounds like fun. And now I need to learn about doditsu!

      Today I'm sharing a short, sumemry poem I wrote several years ago that I often use in poetry workshops: https://wp.me/p2DEY3-32C

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    22. Coming back to read properly, with attention, Tricia! Thanks for rounding us up; I'm in with reflection (mostly for myself) on Black History Month and a stunning poem by Afaa Michael Weaver.

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    23. And here's the link (oops): https://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/2022/02/every-month-is-black-history-month.html

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    24. Trisha, I love what you did with these lines! It's beautiful and thought provoking and hopeful. Thanks for sharing your journal too! Inspiring.

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    25. Trisha, I am afraid the link I gave you is missing the final "l" in "html". Here is the correct link: https://awrungsponge.blogspot.com/2022/02/exquisite-corpse-poem.html

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    26. What a fun (and complex) project! Thanks for sharing the process and your thoughtful response. Like Molly, I appreciate the hopeful note at the end and the rattle-y past. My post is a return to a comforting, courage-building poem by Tennyson: https://tabathayeatts.blogspot.com/

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    27. Such a clever way to use structure. The progression adds flow, and there are so many lovely lines. I'm with Laura on my fav---the past rattling down the street is creepy and wonderful. Tickled that it's YOU hosting today! I think you have my link, but it's here: https://saralewisholmes.blogspot.com/2022/02/poetry-friday-exquisite-corpse.html

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      1. Oh, and the poem I'm sharing is called "Odd One Out"

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      2. I'm such an absent-minded professor sometimes! Thank you for correcting me. Don't know how I did that.

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    28. Here's my link! https://imaginethepossibilitiesblog.wordpress.com/2022/02/25/poetry-friday-its-all-in-a-name/

      The Exquisite Corpse is so interesting, and everything in your poem about the pandemic fits so well. Thanks for hosting.

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    29. Using an Ethical ELA prompt to write from a picture book quote, I wrote about our wood duck house: https://reflectionsontheteche.com/2022/02/25/poetry-friday-the-beauty-of-one/

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    30. I'm sharing one of my poems from Laura's February challenge: https://buffysilverman.com/fake-news/

      Love how your poem reflects our time and the source poem you all wrote.

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    31. Thank you so much for hosting today, Tricia. Your poem makes me think, and I love what you did with the lines. Too, I've so been enjoying seeing your journal pages on Instagram...you inspire!

      What a gift of a photo of your father.
      Today at The Poem Farm, I share a little strategy about writing from colors and also the book trailer for IF THIS BIRD HAD POCKETS: A POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY CELEBRATION (Wordsong/Astra Books for Young Readers). It's my new book, illustrated by Emma Virjan, and it comes out next Tuesday!


      http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/2022/02/collect-colors-surprise-yourself.html

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    32. What an exquisite game and result! I can't wait to visit the other Poetry Sisters, too, and see what they came up with.
      I especially loved:

      the past/that rattles down the street/in futile fury

      I find myself trying to reconcile all kinds of things from the past (and projections about the future) with this pandemic life.

      Re. your upcoming challenge: what a sweet and charming picture of your father and Puddles. :) I can imagine it will inspire great things. :)

      Thanks for hosting, Tricia. I'm in this week with some Wild Gratitude from Edward Hirsch. It's here.

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    33. Tricia, This is my first visit to your website! What a treasure trove! Here is the link for my #PoetryFriday contribution: https://patriciajfranz.com/blog/
      THANK YOU!

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    34. Ooh, I love what you came up with! What a marvelous exercise this is!

      Thank you for hosting. I have a sneak peek of my debut poem picture book at No Water River. https://www.nowaterriver.com/the-crab-ballet-sneak-peek-and-giveaway/

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    35. Oh! I like the way you divided time. Now I wish I'd thought of that. In the second stanza, the final image of the PAST coming from behind in the wind is arresting. And yet the ripped up roots still grow. What each of us found hopeful is so different.

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    36. Thank you for hosting today, Tricia. I love the group poem and your "Post-Pandemic Life." The "shadows grow" long, don't they? I was inspired by a Horn Book piece by Jane Yolen to create a found poem and dive into the poetry of Nancy Willard.
      https://readingtothecore.com/2022/02/25/poetry-friday-poetry-angels/

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    37. I'd heard of the exquisite corpse activity for writing stories, but not for poems. And then to extend it is even more interesting. I'll go share about this idea with my poetry group promptly! You all created something quite moving together.

      I haven't been to Poetry Friday for a while and my old link to the Kidlitosphere page with the list of hosts no longer gets me anywhere useful. Can someone direct me to the new place for that info?

      And I have a poem: Back on Tuesday, I commemorated the confluence of calendar twos, with a poem called "Twosday." I'd like to savor that day a little longer by sharing it here: https://karinfisher-golton.com/2022/02/22/happy-twosday/

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      1. Hi Karin,
        Mary Lee Hahn keeps the list updated in the sidebar on her blog.
        https://ayearofreading.org/

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    38. Tricia, I finally finished my Poetry Friday post that offers my very wiggly room Exquisite Corpse poem for #PoetryPals Poetry Sisters Challenge. Your process for creating one is very detailed and I marvel at the beauty of your product from conversations and intense writing. Thank you for hosting PF today and spreading lots of poetic goodness. I am off to read post but first let me know forget my humble offering at https://beyondliteracylink.blogspot.com/2022/02/love-never-fails.html.

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    39. Tricia, Thank you for hosting this week and for all the goodness in your fun post! You offer many ideas to try and I love that. Your poem, after revisions, attracted me due to its structure and organization! I also like rules! My post today can be found at:
      https://theapplesinmyorchard.com/2022/02/25/poetry-friday-cardinals/
      Thanks, again! Carol at The Apples in My Orchard on WordPress.

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    40. Hi Tricia! Ruth asked me to post her link. It's http://thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com/2022/02/poetry-friday-birthday-and-qwp.html

      Thanks!

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    41. Hello, wonderful poetry friends!! I'm back, and sharing the works of a fellow Canadian, poet and editor Erin Alladin: https://www.raincitylibrarian.ca/?p=22898

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    42. Back again! Tricia (and sisters)--what a fun (and tricky, given that I'd say it matters if you're in the same room or not) thing to do with your group! But somehow, Tricia, you've repieced the not so surreal lines and made them seriously beautiful and weighty, acknowledging the pains of the past and offering a little plant-based hope. Brava.

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    43. Tricia, you're amazing! I'm constantly impressed with everything you're doing. Love the poetry challenges you've tackled and appreciate your hosting our Poetry Friday this week. I'm late to the party, but Janet and I are sharing info about the recent poetry workshops we've been organizing to help build and expand our poetry community. Link: https://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2022/02/learning-about-poetry-anthologies.html

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