Yay!! April
1st is the beginning of National Poetry Month!
Welcome to
YEAR 12 of my month-long poetry challenge in honor of “National Poetry Month.”
When I re-read my intro last year, I thought, wow, I did a great job of
explaining things so I’m just going to post that part again . . . and after
that, I’ll explain our poetic form for Day 1. Cheers!!
There are
many forms of poetry. Too many people claim they cannot write poetry but I beg
to differ. That is why I started this challenge, to teach others how to write a
variety of poems with easy-to-follow instructions. So far, I have found more
than a hundred different poetry “forms” and have featured around 8o+ different
ones over the years. This challenge is fun and easy – even kids can and do join
in.
So, first,
since new people seem to join each year, here are some basic things to know,
and then the following posts SHOULD be shorter, but I like details so short and
brief are relative words for me, but I’ll try!!
I also host
a private FB Poetry Month group; if you are interested in that, you will need
to contact me and request an “invite” to it.
Also – all poetry shared within our
private FB group or in comments or on my blog or elsewhere on Social Media remains
the property of those who wrote them. Please do not use them elsewhere without permission
of the author.
Why write
poems? Writing poetry causes us to think differently about words. Due to the
condensed nature of most poetry, we think carefully about word choice, evaluate
each word in order to tell a story, express our emotions, describe a moment, or
a memory. It allows us to reveal ourselves in ways we may have never expected.
I love this quote I found on Writers Write ~ “Poems act as a filter and help us
get to the guts of the matter.”
Most of the
poems we will do this month have rather specific rules. This is a good thing.
They are a guide and can help you express yourself in the most unexpected ways,
but then again, when you write poetry, you can also break the rules if it
serves the poem. However, I recommend for the purpose of our time together that
you avoid breaking the rules. Following them will teach you several
different ways to write poetry. You can always break them later, on your own.
Okay, enough
of my rambling – let’s get started!! Yay!!
This year we
will start with a dandy little favorite of mine. It’s easy. It’s fun.
It’s called a “5 W’s Poem” because it answers the 5 W’s:
Who, What,
Where, When & Why?
These poems have no need to rhyme, nor are the lines any particular length or meter. So, it’s a pretty simple poetry form to follow:
Line 1: WHO (or what) is the poem about?
Line 2: WHAT
action is happening?
Line 3: WHERE
does the action take place?
Line 4: WHEN
does the action take place?
Line 5: WHY
does this action happen?
It’s fun and I have given
you several examples. Enjoy!! Cheers!!
A group of teenagers
Making videos of being silly,
At the local park,
During spring break,
Hoping to be the next
YouTube wonder.
© 2014 Stephanie
Abney
My children
Laughing, wrestling, creating
Tumble through the living room
Every day after school
Because they feel safe
and loved
© 2017 Kaci Carlson (used with
permission)
A certain 17-year old I know
Questions everything.
At home, at school, at church,
when he doesn't understand.
Because that's what
people do who want to change the world.
© 2016 Stacy
Johnson (used with permission)
PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my
personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing
it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any
poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a
result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who
writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them
without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them
as soon as they create them and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!
*** Also, if you choose to
post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome.
But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post
your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S
SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent
considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share
with you. Thanks for respecting my work.
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