I just got back from the 2008 San Francisco Writers' Conference. I plan to put up a full update of it tomorrow, but for now I am throwing down a gauntlet.
For lots of reasons, but chiefly to take my poetry more seriously, I intend to write 40 poems in the next 40 days. The theory is that it will help me be more artistically observant of the world around me. I'll post some of the best ones and we can deconstruct them or revise them. Or just make fun of how facile I can be when I am writing on a deadline.
I'm starting tomorrow, 2-18-08. Anybody else want to try it?
For lots of reasons, but chiefly to take my poetry more seriously, I intend to write 40 poems in the next 40 days. The theory is that it will help me be more artistically observant of the world around me. I'll post some of the best ones and we can deconstruct them or revise them. Or just make fun of how facile I can be when I am writing on a deadline.
I'm starting tomorrow, 2-18-08. Anybody else want to try it?
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Nevada
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Re: Off-topic: Poetry as fiction stimulator
Mon, February 18, 2008 - 8:50 AMI'm concentrating on fiction currently, but I will gleefully cheer you from the sidelines!
The National Federation of State Poetry Societies has March 15 as its (postmarked) deadline for its annual contests. Some of the categories are members-only, but most are open to nonmembers as well. Somewhat sooner than 40 days, but potentially useful.
www.nfsps.com/poetry_contests.htm
I was attracted to your topic title, since I've had the experience of writing a poem when I really wanted to write a short story dealing with a particular issue. The poem was what came out at that moment. The short story emerged two years later. Both were published (the poem in Harvard Business Review in '86, the story in Tales of the Unanticipated in '88).
My multi-book series was initially inspired by Joseph Payne Brennan's 15-line poem, "When Tigers Pass."
Two of my sonnets have just appeared in The 2nd Annual SFPA Poetry Contest 2007: Sonnets (Stewart, Tentchoff, & Virtes, Eds., Spec House of Poetry/Science Fiction Poetry Association). So far this year I've had poetry acceptances to the We'Moon '09 calendar and Space and Time magazine. The poem accepted to We'Moon was one I'd originally written in response to an NFSPS contest prompt. The poem accepted to Space and Time was part of a dual submission, after Star*Line editor Marge Simon and I arranged to each write a poem based on a work we'd seen at the Necronomicon art show last October.
One caveat about posting -- since this is an open forum that anyone can join, you might want to hold back on posting poems that you want to submit to places looking for previously unpublished material. Except in the case of a private forum, posting online may be considered "publication" (including by NFSPS). For more on that, see
www.writersdigest.com/poetica...hed.aspx
May the Muse be with you! :) -
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Re: Off-topic: Poetry as fiction stimulator
Mon, February 18, 2008 - 10:31 AMI'll probably post them on my blog if I post them.
And it is totally fine to use this thread in general to discuss how writing poetry can open the creative door to writing prose.
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Re: Off-topic: Poetry as fiction stimulator
Mon, February 18, 2008 - 9:02 AMAgain I will be cheering for you! I like poetry but have never been really great at writing it. My life is so crazy I barely have time to do any writing let alone start another project. I know that sounds like a cop out but poetry is not really my thing. Good luck with your goal!
