Mechanical Poetry to overcome writer's block

Yes I am still suffering from this infliction.

I have found another web-site which offers help for poets suffering in this way. OK, so we have all seen many sites which offer prompts galore - does this help? I have even posted prompts and sources in previous posts but I am not sure it has been helping me that much. As I said, I am getting ideas to work on but it's carrying them through to more than fragments -to a complete poem.

Now that is patently silly because even a Haiku is a complete poem, so what do I mean? I am not expanding the ideas to longer poems I guess and this is bothering me. But hold on, before carrying on let me share a few more Haiku.

Wind chill factor high

The Beast from the East arrives

red warning of snow

(note: a red warning from the met office is issued when dangerous levels of snow are forecast)

Ignored totally

morning, get up, go to work

back home, silence reigns

Newspaper healines

full of bad news to annoy

answer, don't buy them

Newspaper headlines

designed to sell more copies

create frustration

Nespaper headlines

can they ever be believed

read between the lines

(what makes you think it was a good day for the newspapers)

Now, back to the main theme of the post. I have found a web-site which describes a creativity game for writing poems. I have been working on something similar for creatiing abstract art and so was attracted to it. The site, "Dial-a-Poem", also describes one or two ideas for writing poetry which it describes as mechanical poetry. I shall be trying out these ideas, hopefully more helpful than working to simple prompts.

watch this space I will let you know how I get on.

And still the Haiku come forth

Just read the haiku from the last post and decided to alter the last one in that post. It was originally:-

Winter night comes early

Cloaking day's end silently

Until tomorrow

 

But upon reflection that second line simply sounds wrong, I have re-written it thus:-

Winter night comes early,

Silently cloaking day's end.

Until tomorrow.

 

Does it make a lot of difference? I would argue that it is the little things which make a difference, perhaps you agree, perhaps you don't, but it is my poem.

 

 

And by the way, this is a new pastel painting from my own fair hand, except for a little post processing from photoshop. You can see it and an explanation of how it was completed on my blog, painting with John. I will be creating a series of Zazzle products with the resulting images, find them soon in my Zazzle store. 

So, advertisement break over, here are a couple of new Haiku.

Sixteen wheelers rushed

drove down the road before me

hurtling far too fast

Driving in convoy

too close to one another

there's trouble ahead

As you might imagine, these were written after seeing too many lorries from the local factory rushing down our road in the morning rush hour. Not typical Haiku material, am I cheating and just creating fragments of poems, which I am trying to get away from. perhaps I should play safe and stick to nature and natural subjects?

Still writing Haiku as a way forward

Don't know if this is working, but at least I am not left with what to me seem like fragments of poems. The first stanza or a few lines, and then running into a case of writers block. Time after time after time. With the Haiku, without wishing to claim anything for them, I am able to feel that I have a complete piece. The discipline of the 5-7-5 syllable count is also making me work a little at the words I am using.
It can only be good practice, and heaven knows I need it. So what of this weeks batch. Again I leave them untitled - is this usual? Must take another look at some of the Haiku related sites.

Winter, think sunny

Think warm foreign beaches

Winter, bearable

----------------------------------

Rain everlasting

Spring, summer, Autumn, Winter

Earth needs space to dry

------------------------------------

Rain on rain on rain

Falls on saturated ground

Flooding now certain

------------------------------------

The setting sun dies

Ending of another day

Sleep, refresh, renew.

-------------------------------------

Winter night comes early

Cloaking day's end silently

Until tomorrow

Well, what do you think? Is there any merit in these short pieces. I will be carrying on with this game in the hope that it will bring about an end to this current period of writer's block. And if it doesn't? - well then I shall have to think of something else to try.

Poetry contest submissions - Am I ready?

I have been wondering for sometime if any of my earlier poetry was good enough for submitting to a contest. With some editing and modifications which I have been working on. Well it is something whilst I have problems with writing new poems.

I saw however that there are competitions for Haiku. Not saying that they are easier, in fact they do not immediately suit my style. For instance read: Poetry contests for new poets.

I have therefore submitted three haiku to the Haiku Foundation contest for the new year (2013). I havae edited three that have been posted in this blog which does not count as publishing for this contest. They are:-

traditional haiku:

Footsteps in the snow
freshly fallen, crisp and white
follow them, should I?

modern haiku: 

Poetry  is words
words live forever
forget me not

innovative haiku:

Inspiration grows
Poetry
new thinking, new skills

I await results with anticipation although I don't really expect to hear anything, I can already see other edits / changes which I could have made. Is any art ever perfect?

watch this space!

Haiku to overcome writer's block

I have written about my difficulties creating poetry at the moment. I am not sure why this is but to reiterate, I used to be able to write poetry quite freely but I seem to have dried up. I have sought and discusssed possible reasons but this has had little effect.

I have been reading more modern poetry and not enjoying the so-called "free poetry", as published in many modern magazines and in their web-sites. I think I have come to accept non-rhyming poetry; but poems without structure and rhythm and  readwith no sense to the line lengths has left me cold. I think this is because before I am a writer, I am a musician and an artist. I like to be able to pick up a poem and read or more likely "perform" it without having to study the nuances which the poet may or may not have thought about.

I have seen texts which seem to excuse this on the basis that the message is the most important thing and the overall structure of the poem should noy be allowwed to get in the way. Bullsh*t. This is lazyness on the part of the poet. I have seen free poetry which I have enjoyed but the poet has considered his reader and made it obvious by various techniques what his intentions were.

Similarly, I can enjoy abstract art - but by no means all of it.

I am of the opinion that reading so much poetry that I find almost offensive has been bad for me, drying up the stream of what seems to be considered childish crap. I still find ideas relating to things happening around me but I just seem to run out of steam. However, I have been reintroduced to Haiku - short and to the point. This has given me a way forward to explore some of these ideas without worrying about completing long(er) poems.

So here are a few Haiku written during the snow this week.

Early morning snow

glist'ning in the morning sun

bringing fear to some

Red flowers, white snow

A beautiful sight to see

such blooms cannot last

glistening at dawn

white frost covering the ground

dangerous to tread

Footsteps in the snow

freshly fallen, crisp and white

follow them, should I?

Lamp posts line the road

lighting my way thro' the dark

warm thoughts, home awaits.

Footsteps, pristine tracks

snow records where I have been

short lived memories

A forecast of snow

stores are filled with hectic crowds

shopping in panic.

Links to poetry sites and useful resources

I am having a very barren few weeks with no new poems, as I mentioned in the last post I am recording snippets in my note book but nothing is really gelling and I am not finishing anything. So today I am going to list a few sites which I have been looking at for inspiration and new skills/etc.

Poets United - a community for poets who blog

Can U Write, naming a poem

GypsyWhim - a new artists community

Poetic parfait - poetry (what else?)

Haiku Heights - weekly prompts for Haiku

Poetry Foundation - poetry, articles resources

Poetry express - imagine, create, connect

Creative Writing Now - prompts for poetry

Just a contest - poetry competitions in the UK

Well that seems to be a good start and of course many of these will suggest other links for poets.

New Haiku for my poem-a-day project

The average for this week is falling short of target. I fell back on this format, as it seems to work for me.
I was having trouble creating poems in longer formats. Lots of ideas, but no real progress towards new poems. very disappointing!






Rain lashed ears of corn
Heads bowed, swaying in the wind
The cold earth waiting.



Dark flowing water
Mirroring  pain in my heart;
Silence hides the hurt.



Old age saps spirit;
Old age consumes memories;
Memories do fade.



Again unsure if these are traditional; subjects, but at least this keeps the average up. Hopefully be back soon with more poems.

My First Haiku - and more

I wrote this post a while ago, but it never got published,, staying in draft. I have now published it as written so it is somewhat out of sequence.

I have been toying with new formal poetry forms and this is such a popular form that I though I ought to try it out.

Poems arise from words

And words will live forever

Forget me not

The Haiku is of course a japanese form, which has three lines with 5 / 7 / 5 syllables to give a total count of 17 syllables. Otherwise there are no rules. I believe that the original subject of this form of poetry was nature or natures effects.

Red flowers abound

In a battle field of old

Blood colours the earth

I find this such a "deep" form, in that the words must take on such a lot of meaning. I really think that this could have a major influence on my poetry. Up until now my style has been almost conversational withou much though for these deeper meanings. I have tried one or two abstract poems (or something along those lines ) but this I think will have ultimately more effect on my thinking about poetry and hence on the poems I write.

Inspiration grows

Poetry brings new thinking

I improve my skills

I am not sure that these are any good but I am creating them in real time as I write this post - it was originally only supposed to be about my first Haiku.

Light fades with sunset

Hail the coming of the night

Now wild creatures rest

Now this is getting silly, I think it is time that I stopped and took stock of exactly what it means to write Haiku. But I have one question, "Does Haiku have a title?"

Haiku Poetry - A New Challenge

Although I was finding a poem-a-day was a drifting, it was not the lack of ideas. The number of Haiku, written in one day, below shows this I bellieve. Maybe the challenge was just running out of steam after a few weeks. Miss one day and it is easier to miss another. As the missed days mount up it becomes easier to miss yet more. A form of procrastination perhaps?

Or perhaps it was finding the time? I was creating Haiku in very short breaks or whilst walking along. I found it easy to remember the three lines and write them down in my notebook in seconds. Whereas, longer poems need to be recorded and edited more fully; sometimes several times before considering an initial posting.

Maybe it is a compounding of both reasons.

Or maybe I am analysing things too much?

What ever the cause, I need to find the time each day to write. I have been writing poems in my notebook as I go – on the fly as it were. Maybe I should be capturing ideas and use them later at a time set aside for the poem. At least this way there is no excuse for procrastination. If the notes don’t work, then use some of the many prompts I have been collecting in the last post.

Whatever, here are eleven Haiku which I wrote yesterday. I have been toying with this poetry form for three days and they do seem to come particularly easily. Of course whilst enjoying writing I am unsure about wether I am staying true to the themes and "rules" of Haiku, see Haiku Heights  a blog giving weekly prompts for Haiku (what else?) and gives a definition and rules for various Haiku (?) forms.

One question; Should Haiku be titled?

Warm sun, bright blue sky;
Holiday season arrives.
Sad; my work begins.


Happy tree gives shade,
Relief from the burning sun
Rest awhile; give thanks


Silver trunk grows straight
Whispering leaves, wind blown
Silver birch grows tall


Relax time passes
Your turn will come, learn, enjoy
Anticipation.


Harsh words cause real pain.
Take care speak gently my friend,
For pain brings harsh words


A gate stands open
Will you enter discover
Its destination


Mysteries abound
Dark forces intent on harm
Meditate; stay calm


Original art
Born within the artist’s mind
Creativity.


Existence is now
What came before is unknown
Accept and believe.


Faster, faster still
Rushing getting nowhere fast
Slowdown, relax, live


Modernity rules
Excuses many faux pas
Give me the old days

Hope that you enjoyed reading these and if so please come back as I intend to carry on creating these little poems. You can also read more about my challenge ( a poem-a-day) on my Squidoo website, A Poem-a-day. Thanks for getting this far.

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