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Seeds From a Birch Tree. Gouache on black paper.
Inspired by the haiku how-to book of the same name by Clark Strand.
April is once again Poetry Month (yay, April!) and this year I'm prepared with not only a new notebook, but a list of prompts culled from my standard go-to: cutting words from old magazines and pasting them in my notebook.
I wanted to share my list with you so here we go: 30 prompts, 30 days, let the fun begin!
- Singular vision
- We never disagree
- She knew her history
- She made me think of things I hadn't thought of
- Too many old houses
- A mix of items
- Other fascinating personalities
- I have my daughter
- I was looking for a . . .
- I don't know what . . .
- Wisdom old and new
- Stop and stair (sic)
- Root and branch
- The future of cool
- Into a white box
- Dares to be different
- The bedroom walls
- Seeing stars
- Aesthetes of all orders
- The unrivaled
- Unlock
- A sinuous house
- The end of hospitality
- It snowballed from there
- Out of town
- Stone scraps
- Skin is a scent
- Convert
- Until I see . . .
- Each room feels . . .
Prompts can be used in any way you like: as titles, themes, a line to be used just once, or repetitively as part of a ghazal or pantoum. One of my favorite techniques is to choose one prompt as a unifying overall title for a chapbook and then write each daily poem as part of a connected whole.
Whatever your method, keep in mind that just as there are no right or wrong ways to use prompts, there's no "correct" way to write a poem either. Even the rules to create a sonnet or villanelle can be bent or outright broken if that's what's calling you. And don't just limit yourself to what you think "looks like" a poem on the page. Some of the best poetry I've ever read has been in the form of "prose poems," little paragraphs that look--and sound--like some of the best flash fiction you'll ever read. The whole point is to not worry about results but to sit down and . . . write. Wishing you a wonderfully word-filled month ahead!
Tip of the Day: Poetry prompts--or those used for any form of writing--don't always have to be text. Some of my favorite prompts have been visual, especially when I've used established, or famous works of art as starting points. Writing based on a painting or sculpture is known as ekphrasis. If you'd like to learn more, here are two posts from the past I wrote on the subject that I hope you'll find helpful in your April Poetry Journey: The Art of Letting Go and Ekphrasis, Anyone? Stay inspired!
