Volume IIII, Issue 14
April 6, 2015
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Dear ,
I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend with your family/friends, whether you were celebrating Passover, Easter, spring, or (fill in the blank whatever you celebrated). My husband Richard and I appreciated the opportunity to get our four kids together, and most of our five grandchildren. (Rhys is the only one we could grab for this photo -- the other four were too busy
playing, or in the case of our oldest, Yvonne, working, to pose when it was photo time.)
And what, you might ask, does this have to do with our word of the week? Well, for Christians, there is that rock rolled away from the tomb, of course.
Read on to enjoy a few of them, along with this week's prompt, and more about Poetry Rocks! if you're interested....(Here's what one of the current participants shared: "As I play with the tools, I'm wondering why it is that the words I put down on the page are so much juicier than what appears when I sit down to "write a poem." They are always such a lovely surprise, and it's much more fun!")
Have a rocking good April, filled with your favorite kinds of surprises and fun...
Love and light,
Maureen Upcoming WordPlay
POETRY ROCKS! * you can still register! POETRY ROCKS: TAP INTO ALL POETRY CAN DO FOR YOU(Learning the Ins and Outs of Poetry; Strengthening
Your Writing Skills; Adding a New Layer
of Literary Beauty to Your Life)
Would you like your writing — prose and/or poetry — to be more graceful, powerful, beautiful? Do you sometimes find poetry confusing or intimidating and wish you could “crack the code”? Or do you enjoy writing and reading poems, but want a more thorough understanding of what makes a poem good? Then this poetry extravaganza is for you.
Expect a good time exploring what makes a poem a poem, gaining the knowledge you need to confidently create and revise poetry, and strengthening your writing skills in all genres. You’ll also have
the opportunity to ask any question you’ve ever had about poetry but were afraid to ask. It would be a joy and an honor to share what rocks about poetry with you!
HERE’S WHAT YOU GET: - 23 poetry creation tools, delivered one per day (Monday through Friday) to your inbox — in honor of National Poetry month. Use them as you get them, use them when you can, use them over and over to create poems. Each tool zeroes in on one aspect of poetry and provides an innovative method to approach writing a poem. Many of them are
great for creating prose, too.
The tools include:
* a purpose, so you’re clear what you will learn * background information when helpful * “how-to” directions to create a poem * an example that illustrates the poetry tool in action * a short reflection to solidify the concepts covered * “Hone Your Craft” suggestions for further exploration * a short reflection to solidify the concepts covered - A PDF document of each tool that you can print or save on your
computer
- An audio recording of each tool, so you can learn by listening and/or reading
- Instruction on the role of audience, reading like a writer, and the process of revision, including a handy Revision Checkpoint Chart — this information can be applied to strengthen your prose as well as poetry
- Additional poetry resources
- An e-book that contains the information and resources covered, as well as your 23 poetry creation tools for ongoing use
- A private Facebook community just for Poetry Rocks! participants, so you can share, learn, ask questions,
etc.
- An online class that will include poetry creation, live revision of poems created during Poetry Rocks! (maybe one of yours!), and a Q & A session.
BONUS: All interested participants will be entered in a drawing to get a 750-word (or shorter) poem critiqued. The five winning poets
will be able to share a poem created in Poetry Rocks! during our online class to illustrate the revision process.
WHERE: From the comfort of your own home, via phone, web, or replay
WHEN: You'll begin receiving your tools the day after you register.
COST: $45
More WordPlay opportunities here.
If you're a real rock fan, I highly recommend making a trip to Utah and driving Scenic Byway 12 -- I took this photo last April
at Capitol Reef National Park, on the eastern end. The rock formations are incredible! Think pink, gray, white, vermilion, and chocolate, some jagged, some rounded... a rock lover's delight!
And now, for fun, here are just a few of who-knows-how-many rock-inspired poems and songs, some you may know, and some you may not:
Enjoy!
WordPlay Now! Writing Prompt This is WordPlay -- so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week, it's "rock." PROMPT:
If you didn't try the Sprawl (sometimes called a mind map) a little over a month ago when the word of the week was "meander" (or even if you did), it's a method that lends itself well to this word that is both a noun and a verb: - Write the word "rock" in the
middle of a blank sheet of paper.
- Moving out from that center, free associate words and phrases for ten minutes, letting one lead to another.
- When one strand of your Sprawl runs out, come on back to the center and go out in a different direction. You may want to circle your center word, or all your words. You may want
to connect your words and phrases with lines. Experiment.
Look over your Sprawl and create a piece of writing (a poem or song, or perhaps, a story or essay), using as many or as few of the words, phrases, and ideas as you like.
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MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You, and two collections of poetry, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."
Maureen also believes that serious "word
work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn -- and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours!
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