Writing Exercise – Page 5

Open 20: Poems by Google

Today (Monday) feels like a good day for Googlism. Here’s a google-generated poem that I *created* about Luck. It’s way too long, but I still kinda appreciate it. luck is an illusion" a charcoal and pencil drawing by jd luck is an illusion" by jd hillberry luck is on our side luck is distributed among… Continue reading Open 20: Poems by Google

oPen 19 [OverHeaRd]

Write a poem consisting solely of overheard conversation. (Source: Charles Bernstein, 66 Writing Experiments)

oPen 18

Allow the Ouija board to write the poem, and let the otherness voice guide you. Okay?

oPen 17

Write a sentence using the letter "O" at least 10 times.

Gotta Be

There’s just gotta be a poem in this photo by Archie FlorCruz. If you find one, please share it with us in the comment section. In the meantime, check out Archie’s work at his site WHATEVERLAND.

Altered

In a recent writing workshop, we did an altered page project based on A Humument by British artist Tom Phillips. Phillips began in the late 60s "treating" a Victorian novel, page by page. Apparently the project continued for 30 years. We did a similar exercise. For a base page, I gave three choices: a page… Continue reading Altered

oPen 13

Here’s a text I lifted from eHow, a web site that provides clear instructions for how to do anything. Your mission: erase all but eleven words to make a poem. Check the Fluid for a Hydraulic Clutch in Your Car Cars with manual transmissions (stick shift) use either hydraulics (which uses fluid) or a cable… Continue reading oPen 13

Nobody’s Business

I got this little writing exercise from Terry Blackhawk who got it from somebody else. Here’s how it works. You start with a standard business form. O mighty Microsoft provides templates for many of these which is where I got this one. The idea is to create a poem using the format provided by the… Continue reading Nobody’s Business

One

Write a poem that is actually one long sentence. It must contain one of each of these things: a small animal (i.e. tree frog, gecko, etc.) a brand name (i.e. Mazola, Hasbro, Taco Bell) a synonym for road a color a date (i.e. February 18) the word “scratch” somebody’s name a loud noise The sequence… Continue reading One

Open 12

Compose a window poem, a perfect rectangle or square (as perfect as is possible for you) inspired by this picture. Photo: courtesy of eleventwentyseven.

Rapid Transit

Can you think of a work of art or writing that embodies VELOCITY in a particularly powerful way?

oPen 11 [or Slice -n- Dice]

A friend of mine told me a story once about how poet Bill Knott teaches revision. She said that he would take the page (your poem), fold it vertically, and tear it down the center of the page. Next he would give back one of the halves and throw the other in the trash can. … Continue reading oPen 11 [or Slice -n- Dice]

oPen 10

Here’s an exercise in Oulipo. I got it from the book Oulipo Compendium by Harry Matthews. Your mission: Write a left-handed lipogram. This is a poem in which you may use only the keys on the left-side of your computer keyboard.

Look Out

Look out your window right now and tell us what you see. I see a squirrel on the window sill shaking a branch of the hibiscus. It’s Houston, folks, and everything is green, green, green, except for the squirrel, of course. The squirrel is grey.

oPen 9

See what you get when you pare this poem by Kathleen Peirce down to eleven words to make a poem of your own. Imaginary Lines When we said logic was transcendental,we felt other words we might have saidfind form the way shadows find form, with dependenceon things both intimately close and infinitely separate,palpable as the… Continue reading oPen 9