Volume X, Issue 17
April 28, 2021
Dear ,
Here we are, together again, this time right near the end of National Poetry month, and do I have an extravaganza of featured poems for you, all containing the word "break." (Hence my very apt subject line. 😊) "Break" is such a useful word, with multiple meanings and endless nuances, from "break a leg" to "heartbreak" to "Spring break" to "break the bank" to "give me a break" . . . I could go on and on. And will, at least a bit.
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But first, I want to tell you that right at the beginning of my taking a break from the Word-zine for a few months. This is my 463rd zine, which I have written each week since December 23, 2011, with only a few misses in all that time.
Why now? Well, my husband, Richard, and I are heading out west with our camper for a while, on a trip we began dreaming about back when we were dating, some 39 years ago. We're visiting numerous National Parks, keeping our eyes open for unexpected opportunities to learn something new, and crossing two more states off my "still to visit" list: New
Mexico and Oklahoma. (After this, I only have four to go!) I'll be taking lots of photos and even more notes for poems and essays on this adventure I'm thinking of as our own version of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charlie (albeit without a dog) and Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (albeit without the
motorcycles).
I will probably be sharing some highlights with you along the way, and look forward to being back with you when we're back home. (Meanwhile, one of our lucky breaks is that our daughter, son-in-law, and their three kids are between houses for a few months as they wait for their new home to be available, and are happy to hold down the fort for us. This is a
lucky break for them, too, of course. How I love these kinds of win-win situations.)
Meanwhile, our friends at Charlotte Lit has some wonderful stuff going on, so do check them out, starting with this gathering of faculty members reading a poem of their own in honor of National Poetry Month. See www.charl ottelit.org/national-poetry-month/
I do hope you love the gathering of poems shared below, each sharing a different incarnation of the word "break," starting with metaphor. Some are funny, some are touching, some are hopeful. In case you're wondering, my process was to put the word "break" in the search box for my Poetry folder, in which I've been saving poems I love for at least twice as
long as I've been writing the Word-zine. I then chose my favorites from the 113 options that popped up. What fun it was to revisit poems I haven't seen in a good long while—like a visit with a dear, old friend.
I ended up with a dozen I couldn't bear NOT to share with you, each wit its own charms. And, since it's still National Poetry Month, it's only fitting to say that one of the most important "breaks" for a poet is a "line break." You can learn a lot about breaking your lines in useful, interesting, and effective places by paying attention to the choices the poets
featured here have made.
Well, as Ray Bradbury wrote me, "Onward!" Until we meet again, May you be happy. May you be well.
May you be safe. May you be peaceful and at ease. And may you write your heart out, in whatever way best nourishes your soul.
Love and light,
Maureen
April is National Poetry Month!
Celebrate with
POETRY ROCKS!
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.
It would be a joy and an honor to share what rocks about poetry with you. Learn more here.
HERE’S WHAT YOU GET:
- 23 poetry creation tools, delivered one per day (Monday through Friday) to your inbox. 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
- An e-book that contains the information and resources covered, as well as your 23 poetry creation tools for ongoing use
WHERE: From the comfort of your own home, via the web.
WHEN: Any time you want! And once you receive all 23 tools, they’re yours to keep, which means that you can keep using them for years to come.
COST: $45
TO REGISTER: To pay with a check via mail, email here for instructions. To register for Poetry Rocks! online, click here.
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WRITING OURSELVES WHOLE
Come explore the benefits writing can provide—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
In this workshop/retreat you’ll learn and practice simple yet profound ways to use words to heal, to transform, and to grow, as well as to reflect on the way Spirit is working in your life. These methods can also be used to create stories, poems, and/or essays.
Our time together will be ideal for beginners as well as for seasoned writers as we renew and deepen our relationship with God, self, and others.
Well of Mercy offers a beautiful space to connect with yourself, nature and Spirit. Take this time and space for yourself.
Please register early as this retreat is limited to 10 participants.
WHERE: Well Of Mercy, 181 Mercy Lane, Hamptonville, NC 27020
WHEN: Wednesday, July 21, 2021 @ 2:00PM — Friday, July 23, 2021 @ 1:30PM Eastern Time
COST: $240 (includes lodging and meals)
TO REGISTER: Visit the Well of Mercy website by clicking here.
More WordPlay opportunities coming
soon.
Stay posted!
Featured
Writings
Here Are "the Breaks" I've Handpicked for You!
(Click the links to read the full poems
and learn more about the poets)
When he told me he expected me to pay for dinner,
I was like give me a break.
I was not the exact equivalent of give me a break.
I was just similar to give me a break.
As I said, I was like give me a break. . . .
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. . . Love doesn't like being left alone for long.
But come home and love is always happy to see you.
It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life,
but you can never be mad at love for long.
Is love good all the time? No! No!
Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love. . . .
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Windows is shutting down, and grammar are
On their last leg. So what am we to do?
[ . . . ]
But there it am, and whom can say its wrong?
Those are the break. Windows is shutting down.
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Something new in the air today, perhaps the struggle of the bud
to become a leaf. Nearly two weeks late it invaded the air but
then what is two weeks to life herself? On a cool night there is
a break from the struggle of becoming. . . .
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. . . The moon will sing to them:
open, loosen, let the pale
shoots break out. . . .
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. . . we break open the watermelon and spit out
black seeds, bits of night glistening on the grass.
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From "At Least" by Raymond Carver
. . . I want to see the waves break
on this rocky beach, not just hear them
break as I did all night in my sleep. . . .
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From "Going Deaf" by Miller Williams
. . . She lets the syllables settle, hoping they form
some sort of shape that she might recognize.
When they don’t, she smiles with everyone else,
and then whoever was talking turns to her
and says, “Break wooden coffee, don’t you know?”
She pulls all she can focus into the face
to know if she ought to nod or shake her head. . . .
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. . . the future lies
Just beyond the white borders
Of this snapshot; soon that wind
Will get the better of her
And her marriage. Soon the future
I live in will break
Through those borders and make
A photograph of her—but
For now . . .
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. . . Only one heart. Not a good
plan. God should know we
need at least a dozen,
a baker’s dozen of hearts.
They break like Easter eggs
hidden in the grass,
stepped on and smashed. . . .
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. . . They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun. . . .
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I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the day break and the clouds flying.
Everything is going to be all right.
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 “break."
PROMPT:
It's time for another "Sprawl" to see where the word "break" will lead you in your writing.
How to Sprawl
• Put the word "break" in the center 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. Pick the most evocative idea, and Sprint until you have explored it as fully as you can.
• Craft your Sprint into a piece of writing.
Vary this process to suit yourself and your words. I tend to Sprawl when I know what I want to write about. I often start to see the finished piece taking shape in my mind as I jot down words and phrases, so I’m prone to move right into a draft, with my Sprawl propped alongside to refer to every few paragraphs. If ideas for what will go into an essay, poem, or story, are coming fast and furious, a Sprawl is just the ticket. It's also a great way to find a subject, as in this exercise of
beginning with a single word.
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 three collections of poetry, Ten Thousand Cicadas Can't Be Wrong, 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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