It is true, sometimes I start a poem for this book and discard it. The only thing that inspired me about the original draft of #25 was the color I’d mixed on a paint palette.
So, I cut everything but the number and the color and went in a more narrative direction. As it turns out, I am pleased with the final page so I am also fine with the process.
Prompt
- Steal the title of this poem: “The world’s oldest hobby.”
- Brainstorm, using magazine clippings, on that title.
- As you flip through a magazine, cut out any particular words or phrases you notice, in a word-association way or simply for their font/size/color.
- I’d suggest no less than 5 and probably no more than 10.
- Create a narrative poem using those words in combination with your own handwritten words. Try not to think about the “story” too much. Let the process guide you.
- Pay attention to stanza breaks for this poem. Try to make 3 or 4 stanzas.
- Write your poem on a clean lined sheet of paper, inserting (gluing down) the magazine words as you go.
- Add paint and/or images as you like.
BONUS: Kitchen Table Note
My youngest son and I play PICTIONARY, or our own strange version of it, quite a lot.
I am just saying, he is eleven-years-old. When he was a “baby” (he was 5), we recorded this ridiculous video of him trying to correctly name animals. He didn’t get even one animal right, but the video was kind of hilarious.
I am just saying. The animal on that pictionary board is fairly obvious. He got very excited when he saw it, recognizing it immediately, and shouted out ZEBRA.
I AM JUST SAYING.
