oPen 8

Here’s a poem by Charles Simic. Erase all the words until you have only eleven left. If you want, you can post your eleven word poem in the comment section. The Initiate     St. John of the Cross wore dark glasses As he passed me on the street. St. Theresa of Avila, beautiful and… Continue reading oPen 8

oPen 7

Here’s an exercise in erasing.  Take this poem by George Oppen.  White out all the words until you have eleven left.  Post your eleven word poem below, if you dare. World, World— Failure, worse failure, nothing seen From prominence, Too much seen in the ditch. Those who will not look Tho they feel on their… Continue reading oPen 7

Open 6

  Here is another list of words.  You are open to make of them what you please.  Silk, handwriting, sound, never, your name, hair, electrical, baby, break, duster, plates.

Open 5

Here are eleven new words for you to play with today. papaya clicks torso flipping lunch tear hum-colored pocket toothpick 12:40 poems If they capture your imagination, add your writing in the comments section below.

Open 2

Here are eleven words.  See what you can make with them. mustard humpty-dumpty space iron doze shingles green parcel curve traffic half-heard Using alternate forms of these words is a-okay.  Share your poem in the comment section.

Open 1

Ready for a poetry writing exercise?  Here are eleven words.  If you’d like to make something out of them, feel free to share what you’ve written in the comment box below. wheel flash anchor infinity lungs scratch stillbirth test piano germ tap It’s okay to use variations of the words in the list.  Eventually I… Continue reading Open 1

Joy

Lucinda Williams does a great song called Joy. Do you know that one? This song, like most of Lucinda’s, is not gleeful. But she is a blues singer. One of my friends who teaches poetry workshops told me that he made an assignment once to a group of graduate students. Simply put, he asked everyone… Continue reading Joy