What Inspires Me? Visual Verse
A picture is worth a thousand words…the adage goes…and, as Visual Verse proves oh so many ideas!
As you may or may not know, about 2500 days ago, along with Cindy Faughnan, I challenged myself to write a poem a day. (Note: I didn’t say “good poem” I just said “a” poem, for most often, the result of the poem is not the point of the exercise, the “point” is in the thinking, the writing, the act of creating.
Visual Verse’s dedicated team!
And, at least once a month, the poetry prompts are provided by Visual Verse.
Visual Verse is a celebration. Of the drama of seeing and the desire to express it. Of the things that inspire us, move us, and that we find hardest to articulate.”—Visual Verse
Visual Verse submissions—inspired by select images—like this one by Erin Quinn titled “ETTA/Girl in Red Hat”—can be poems, fiction or non-fiction; must be between 50 and 500 words in length; and the read challenge: can be created in no more than 1 hour.
This October, by way of a challenge, Visual Verse hosted it’s Autumn Writing Contest!
Last week the 4 winning pieces and 16 shortlisted pieces (from 141 entries) were selected. I’m delighted to report that both Cindy and my efforts made the shortlist.
Visual Verse on the web, instagram @visualverseanthology; and twitter @visual_verse—it’s inspiring!
Poetry Challenge #252-There Was a Good Old Cow . . .
A few years back on a tour of Margaret River, Australia’s wine region (near Perth), instead of the expected—kangaroos, wallabies, boomerangs—we stumbled onto painted cows. Everywhere! Along with the cows was some utterly ridiculous Moo-ology. (If you’re curious, I wrote an article about being on the Margaret River Cow Parade entitled “Where’s the Cow, Mate?” for Now! Jakarta Magazine. Moooore on that in the magazine (which I highly recommend!)
For today, because it’s National Cow Appreciation Day, July 13th, here’s some Moo-ology:
“MOO-OLOGY FROM MARGARET RIVER
Cow-operation for co-operation
Sh-udder, as in “I sh-udder to think about it.”
Cow-herd, as in “don’t be such a cow-herd, try some more…”
Cow-L-neck, as in “I’m chilly; I think I’ll change into my cow-L-neck sweater.”
Curd-yah, as in “curd-yah please mooove out of the way, I’m trying to snap a picture.”
Let’s moooooooove it!
Better hoof it on out a here. Cheers, Mate!”
Poetry Challenge #242
It Was a Good Old Cow . . .
Write an elegy about a cow. An elegy is a poem or song expressing sadness or grief. Write your elegy in three parts.
An elegy is lyrical but does not necessarily rhyme.
Part #1 Express grief
Part #2 Praise for the departed
Part #3 Comfort and support
If you’re at a loss as to how to begin, begin with this snippet of an elegy my mom used to sing to my brother and me on road trips:
It was a good old cow . . .
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, just do it!
And if you’re really keen on cows, this month’s Visual Verse Anthology prompt might really mooove you… But hurry, submissions must be in by July 15th!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2000+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
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All who subscribe, comment or share a poem will be entered in . . .
Poetry Challenge #165-Dino Romp-Pom
It’s said a picture is worth a thousand words, and so by way of sparing you reading 983 more:
Poetry Challenge #165
Dino Romp-Pom
Write a poem inspired by this image (borrowed from @visualverseanthology).
Set your time for 7 minutes
Set your intentions to POEM
Start writing! Don’t think too much—just do it!
And when you’re finished, click over to @visualverseanthology to post—it might be published in the Visual Verse Anthology.
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge more than 1680 days ago! (without a miss!!!) We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments. And scroll down for my happy news:
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