Here is a collated gallery of poems I’ve written using Storybird. I’ve blogged previous examples in Part 1 and Part 2. It’s magnetic poetry on the web.
I like the simplicity of the interface and the limitations of words you can use although sometimes I will refresh the words if there is nothing there but dross.
When I feel the need to be creative and only have limited time, it’s fun to pop in and play with words for a few minutes.
Enjoy wandering through the gallery.
Posted in Ars Poetica, Creativity
Tagged creativity, experimental, magnetic poetry, microfiction, micropoetry, poetry, slice of life, storybird, writers, writing
Sometimes it’s random images that lodge in my head like a splinter. This is one of them. I think there’s more to this story but I’m putting it aside for later to see what grows out of the compost heap.
The child stood on the crest of the hill overlooking the city. She turned her eyes upwards to the uniform inky expanse of night sky. It was spotted with dots of white; a scattered litter of light like tissue fragments on a black jumper in the wash.
Turning her gaze downwards the city lights exploded in a galaxy of white, orange, red, blue, green.
She bent down and performed a headstand, inverting the world, and for a brief moment she believed the earthly heavens were brighter than she ever hoped for.
This week’s Handwritten Page is inspired by a colleague of mine who wrote down for me a series of events and remembrances of growing up in Queensland, Australia.
I have only taken a snippet of a memory while I work out a larger story from the raw material. On a side notes, people’s stories are fascinating.
My sister and I would sit in in the projectionist’s booth at the drive-in, offering gifts of popcorn, hot chips and sips of Coke to the projectionist. Gifts from our mother who ran the tuck shop as we waited for Dad to pick us up after he finished his shift.
We watched visions of life unspool through the reels as the clatter of the projector spoke over the dialogue and music, until frame by frame, it disappeared.
I loved how the end of the film would fthlip fthlip fthlip as the reel ended. A child’s tongue extended, blowing a raspberry. I saw it as a cheeky gesture, a way to express myself no matter how serious or shitty life would become. A chance to blow a raspberry at circumstance while the reel was changed and life moved on.
The second instalment of Handwritten Pages. This one was inspired while reading Amanda Palmer’s book, “The Art of Asking.”
I cannot recommend her book highly enough if you are a creative person. It is a heartfelt and affirming read; quite challenging to accept her premise sometimes but as a creative person there is such a wealth of ideas to gain from it. If time is of the essence, listen to her TED Talk.
The couple sit across from each other at the dining room table, each with a pen and a pad of Post It Notes.
In silence they share a communion of scribbled notes, stick figure cartoons and random doodles intermingled wiht a chorus of laughter, sighs and whispers.
There is a solemn but playful sincerity to their ritual as the notes pass back and forth.
He passes a note to her; the body of Christ.
She receives it. Reads and responds.
She passes a note to him; the blood of Christ.
He receives it. Reads and responds.
He offers his hand and they stand to leave with the benediction spoken on paper.
They leave the notes as holy writ.
Welcome to the end of the official month of Post It Note Poetry (don’t stop writing Post It Note Poetry; I won’t be stopping, only slowing down the production) but its time has come to an end for this year.
28 days of poetry. 28 poems. 1099 words (of questionable merit). In reviewing the poems I wrote, I am proud of many of them. Others have the potential to be developed or refined further. Some should be consigned to the rubbish bin. However, the point of this month was to simply write, and with permission to write badly, so I wrote.
And now we have come to the last weekly recap. You can find the other weekly recaps here:
Post It Note Poetry Recap Week 1
Post It Note Poetry Recap Week 2
Post It Note Poetry Recap Week 3
At the end of last week’s recap I set myself a challenge to remix my own poems for the final week of Post It Note Poetry. I would take a single line from the poem and use it as the opening line of a new poem. Perhaps not so much a remix as an inspiration. Consequently it has opened up new ideas for next year with found poetry, other remixes and collaborations.
I found myself censoring lines, or thinking which lines might be good for the next day. It was a distraction from the poem at hand but I found the “OFF” switch to allow me to finish the poem. It may be easier to take the line from someone else’s poem because there is not the built in expectation of having to write something worthwhile. Maybe next year I’ll have another remix week where I borrow from other participants’ poems.
The poems are presented here in chronological order so you can see the progression, unlike previous weeks where they have been posted in reverse chronological order.
Thanks for coming along for the ride of Post It Note Poetry. It will be back again next year. I will be writing more Post It Notes poems from time to time. Be sure to check my tumblr, Post It Notes and Poetry, for posts and poetry updates.
Do you have any favourites? Leave yours in the comments.
How have you been going this week? Have you had a chance to write something?
Here is this week’s recap of my Post It Note Poetry. You can also see the recaps for Week 1 and Week 2.
They are posted in reverse order (Sunday 22 Feb – Monday 9 Feb) and I’ve added in the inspiration behind each poem.
This week involved a lot of trawling through my notebook and pilfering half written ideas.
This poem was sparked by a random song lyric on the radio this morning on my way to playing drums at church this morning.
This poem came out of a line in my notebook about ourselves being a minotaur, a hybrid of the things we have created, and putting ourselves in a maze we created.
Another line from my notebook, sparked by one time when I was filling the ice cube tray. Sometimes I fill it cube by cube; other times I cascade the water until it is full. What does that say about my character?
No one remembers milk bars anymore; they are a relic of the past. I love watching the patterns made my shadows. Notebooks for the win for ideas.
Getting my wordy geek on. Finishing off a poem I was going to write last year (at about this time) as a longer exploration. Instead, the brevity worked better.
Another notebook find. I’m not happy with the end section of this poem; it is inconsistent with the first part.
I do not remember how this one came about as it was not an idea I took from my notebook. A photograph is, for me, a snapshot of one moment, one experience. It serves as a reminder of what was, but doesn’t speak of what will be.
Final Note
For the last week of the official Post It Note Poetry season, I thought I’d go for a remix week. I will take a line from the previous day’s poem as the basis for the next poem. Starting Monday I will write a new poem, and Tuesday will be the first remix.
It is the end of the first week of #postitnotepoetry.
I have collated here the first seven poems. This series of poems began after I heard a song titled, “Things To Do In Winter” and it inspired the idea of a loosely linked thematic suite.
Instead of seasons, I chose days of the week. Each day of the week was prefaced with an idea. In my notebook I hastily scribbled down a list of potential ideas and throughout the course of the week amended, deleted or built upon the idea for the day.
Some poems were easier to write, others took longer to compost and come to fruition. I was surprised at the thematic darkness of some of the poems as it was not the initial intention; only in the repeated readings did the layers of darker interpretation emerge.
It made me wonder whether I was subconsciously channeling a darker theme, or purging the darkness within. I think that’s another blog post/poem in itself.
If you want to join in the fun of #postitnotepoetry, grab a pen, a wad of Post It Notes and write. Take a photo it and upload it to twitter with the hashtag #postitnotepoetry
Ever wondered how to kick start your creativity?
Besides a swift kick up the bum (which is easy to do by the way. Tie a piece of rope around your right ankle. Bring the rope up and over your shoulder from behind. Pull the rope swiftly and kick yourself in the bum).
There is an easy way to kick start your creativity.
You start by DOING.
No thinking. No procrastinating. No making a cup of tea first. No checking twitter or Facebook. No worrying. No hesitation. No. No. And no.
To get you started in the DOING phase of kick starting your creativity, there are a list of suggestions. Pick the appropriate category and off you go and DO IT.
For Aspiring Writers
* write 5 very short stories or pieces of description. Each story must be 6 sentences in length and include one sentence of dialogue.
For Curious Poets
* write 5 poems. It doesn’t matter about how bad you think they are, write them. Give yourself 5 minutes to write each poem. Do them all at once or one at time.
For Ingenious Artists
* draw 5 pictures. Draw each picture on a Post It Note.
For Ambitious Photographers
* select one random object from around the house or office and take 5 photographs in different locations.
Which one are you doing?
If you’ve given it a go why not show the world what you’ve done and link it back here?
Rifling through this list, 51 Of The Most Beautiful Sentences in Literature (via Buzzfeed) a poem formed in my mind by compiling, editing, amending some of the sentences.
I have come across this form by other writers. It’s an interesting new form in that it is almost a type of plagiarism (except I am acknowledging my sources), to create a new piece of work with words that are not mine. In some ways it is another form of blackout or erasure poetry.
Follow the link above to see which sentences I have borrowed and what I have changed. There are some instances of changing letters for the sake of grammatical accuracy, and I have divided up some of the sentences to link them with specific ideas or imagery.
Posted in Ars Poetica, Creativity
Tagged blackout poetry, creativity, erasure poetry, experimental, micro-fiction, microfiction, micropoetry, poetry, reflection, slice of life, writers, writing
I am an English teacher and drummer/percussionist with an interest in literary pursuits, creative endeavours, rhythmic permutations, theological amplifications and comedic outbursts.
Here you will find my creative detritus: articles on living a creative life and writing explorations.
And other ideas I have snaffled from the papers stuck on the fridge door.
Twitter: @RevHappiness
Instagram: @handwrittenpages
My collaborative epistolary novel, "Post Marked: Piper's Reach," written with Jodi Cleghorn (@JodiCleghorn) out now via Vine Leaves Press.
Come and browse through the library; there is no need to be silent.
A Fullness in Brevity - Adam Byatt 
