“Poetry trains and develops our emotional intelligence”
This quote can be found in the downloadable TEACHERS GUIDE in the red area to the right: Writing Activities and Lesson Plans at a site called Poetry Out Loud. This site has many tips and ideas for doing more with poetry. This can be applied to our own work.
Some links to poetry to get you started writing, or videos to inspire you to perform are also featured on this site.
WritersDigest.com published an article that could inspire you to create your own writer’s retreat. It can be close to home or on an island. Read Article
One place to go in British Columbia is Bowen Island. It’s the perfect place for a one-day retreat. Take your notebooks and plans for the day. Suntan lotion and cool drinks.
CLick on the link for directions.
If you’ve got some material you feel strongly about why not get out in the community and share your thots. Without quite a bit of rehearsal you may end up boring people. Because some readers feel uncomfortable in front of an audience at first, they might look down at their writing too much. They may forget to smile occasionally. Practicing at home in a strong voice helps overcome this handicap. Pretend you are looking one of your imaginary audience members in the eye for 2 seconds.
Use a timer to rehearse. It is good to write down the exact amount of minutes and seconds each piece takes to perform live. Every time you time it it will be slightly different. Take an average. At some readings you will have a specified time to read. Perhaps 10 minutes. Here is an online Time site you can use to time your reading. Allow for the time it takes to go to the next poem or prose piece. If you wish to introduce a poem or say a few words about yourself, this should be part of your presentation time. Allow 1-2 minutes in a 10 minute reading, for this.
Here is an online timer for you to use when practicing your written work for public readings:
You can also time your eggs with it.
It’s time to look for your favourite pen and start writing…some are smooth, some rough. The paper matters too, so choose carefully and watch your inspiration change. 3 pages should be no problem. Then listen to the Stones.
Just re-reading the Witching Hour by Anne Rice can bring you plenty of fodder for writing. The work is visually stunning and cryptically mysterious and believable. Read some reviews at Amazon.com and get it at your favourite bookstore, or from 1 cent and up thru Amazon; but the shipping’ll kill you! I got mine for 25 cents.
Poets without a guild can join The imaginary Cougar and The Chameleon club. We meet Fridays in the imagination, work on our poems and sometimes share them with other real people in circles where we may go.
Are you a gravedigging poet? Write about tombstones you have seen. In Vancouver, BC there is a new annual celebration at a local Mountainview Cemetary, All Souls Day during which people drink oriental tea, see candle and fire displays, hear mournful music and plain appreciate the dead.
In 2009 we even had a memorial to Vancouver poets who recently died. Photos from All Souls Day
What were the stones made of? What was the inscription. When did she die. How old was she. There are graves of many one-year olds. A grave here has a sheep on top. Others with angels with broken off hands. Could make an interesting poem.
