Volume VIII, Issue 31
August 19, 2019
Dear ,
I'm delighted to feature a poem this week called "A Stayed Sunset" from a new book by Adrienne Gilman called Poetry on Love and Lattes. Her
subtitle is Read. Relate. Space to write. An interactive poetry book is such a cool idea!
As one of the country's greatest sunset, and sunrise, lovers, Adrienne's poem about a shared sunset was impossible for me to pass up. I hope it reminds you of a great sunset in your life.
This week at Chautauqua, as I teach "Delicious Memories" and explore the theme of race and culture in America with Wynton Marsalis, I'm staying at a guest house right on Chautauqua Lake, with a full sunrise view from my bedroom window.
And even a view of the sunset, though it is veiled by trees this time of year. I just snapped this photo from the porch behind my room, which is my favorite place to hang out here.
I hope you have a chance to take in a sunrise or sunset yourself this week, and let its peace and promise fill your heart, and perhaps even teach you something beyond what you think
you know, as Adrienne experienced.
Love and light,
Upcoming WordPlay
POETRY ROCKS!
(Learning the Ins and Outs of Poetry; Strengthening Your Writing Skills; Adding a New Layer of 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.
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
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 info@wordplaynow.com for instructions. To register for Poetry Rocks online, click here.
More WordPlay opportunities coming soon. Stay posted!
About Adrienne
As a little girl, I often stared up at the moon from my bedroom window. In my mind, poems came down to me on moonbeams. I’m grown now and have children of my own, but I still reach for words, poems. I reach out and pull them in like catching kisses. I’m an attorney, a writer, a mother. I live in North Carolina, where the blue sky stretches far and wide. Poetry is my addiction that has
nothing to do with anything, and everything to do with me. Come join me. Grab a latte, find a cozy place. Read. Write. Remember.
Featured Writing
Adrienne Gilman
After surveying people on the sand all day I
swore I knew them well. But after dinner
strangely they lined up watching
something. I gave my guesses —
surfer accident, beached whale, circling shark?
Because I’d seen these people
from the boardwalk, above the shore.
I was wrong.
Sucking them in so they stood as
sentinels, in some new subsistence
together without time, was simply
the sun
kissing the sea.
the sun
as if not there
all day
and now setting
just one day.
And still, they stayed.
the sun
like it hadn’t been there
all day
like the sun didn’t set
every day
For it, they stopped and stood together.
Then I knew these people
were here
for me.
Find out more about Adrienne's book, Poetry on Love and Lattes, and/or order online here. The book is also currently available at Park Road Books.
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 "sunset."
PROMPT: Write the "when, where, who, why, and how" of one particular sunset in any genre you care to, from poetry to fiction to memoir to nonfiction.
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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