The challenge this month was to write in the form of the definito. Head on over to Heidi Mordhorst's place, my juicy little universe, to learn more about the roots of this form. Essentially, this is a poem that focuses on the meaning of a "less common" word through word play. It is written in free verse and consists of 8-12 lines, with the last word of the poem the word being defined. These poems are aimed at readers ages 8-12, so getting this right was a challenge.
I spent some time perusing vocabulary lists for 4th- and 5th-grade students. I found a few words I liked, but none that really struck a chord. Then I pulled out the book L is for Lollygag: Quirky Words for a Clever Tongue, written by the Chronicle Books Staff. Within minutes I had a gaggle of words to write about.
The word that I ultimately settled on was betwixt. During our Zoom meeting Sara suggested I break the word and put the poem in between the word parts. I just couldn't get that out of my mind. I don't usually title my poems, but I thought I might try some variation of this suggestion. Here's what I came up with.
Be- (insert definition here) -twixt
not engine or caboose
but railcar
not elementary or high school
but middle
not once upon a time or happily ever after
but the action in between
not Oreo chocolate
but vanilla cream
not first base or second
but playing a game of pickle
when you're stuck in the middle
you're BETWIXT
Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2022. All rights reserved.
Would you like to try the next challenge? In October we are writing in the form of the Dansa. You can learn more about this form at Writer's Digest. We hope you'll join us. Are you in? Good! You’ve got a month to craft your creation(s), then share your offering with the rest of us on October 28th in a post and/or on social media with the tag #PoetryPals. We look forward to reading your poems!
I do hope you'll take some time to check out all the wonderful poetic things being shared and collected today by Tabatha Yeatts at The Opposite of Indifference. Happy poetry Friday friends!
your definition of betwixt is bewitching ;-) I love your list!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I need the Lollygag book - that sounds like a lot of fun for the word nerdist amongst us. Secondly, I love that you did more than one word - I think that's what I needed to do. I felt like I couldn't talk about one word for 8-12 lines, for some reason. I think I didn't have the right word
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever definito and betwixt is a great word to use. I'm so curious about the Lollygag book--looks like a treasure!
ReplyDeleteWonderful from title to last stanza. You give the definition in images that really make sense to kids. Love it!
ReplyDeleteThis is such fun, Tricia! I didn't know what playing a game of pickle was--so I learned something new :>) Great examples, and clever title!
ReplyDeleteTricia, at first I thought you were going to use the lollygag-one of my favorite words. Then, you surprised me with your title and thoughts like not Oreo chocolate/but cream. I think students would love to use your poem as a mentor text to create their own definito. Have fun playing with words.
ReplyDeletePerfect in both form and content. LOVE your examples!!
ReplyDeleteHee hee hee! I love the way this one riddles and teases--the leaps to different images are very stretching!
ReplyDeleteLike Carol, I thought 'lollygag', too, but no, something better & the way you presented will inspire those kids to write even more things "betwixt". Love it, Tricia!
ReplyDeleteSo fun! Great examples. Thanks also for pointing us to Lollygag.
ReplyDeleteThis is just so clever -- what a great word, and you made the most of it!
ReplyDeleteI love the way you've arranged your words in this poem. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm betwixt words: fun or fabulous? Yay or Hooray? All of the above. :D I love the title, too!
ReplyDeleteBetwixt is a terrific word and your definito really brings it to life in ways kids, in particular, will appreciate!
ReplyDelete