SPAM prompt line: You’ve received a postcard / greeting e-card from a family member / school friend / worshipper / friend / neighbor / a Mate / class mate / partner / colleague
The prompt line consists of all the variations that have arrived in my in boxes (I think there may even be a few more alternatives to “postcard” in some of the lines).
There are two approaches you can use to this exercise:
1) Determine what the line will say, i.e., decide whether it’s a postcard or an e-greeting (or some other type of communication, if you prefer); pick one of the senders listed. Example: You’ve received an e-card from a school friend. Use that as your first line and explore the contents of the message, the possible reaction or response of the “you” in the poem, what happens as a result, how the relationship changes (or doesn’t) between the “you” and the message’s sender. Craft what you’ve written into a sonnet, any form, traditional or experimental.
2) Use the line you decide upon as a prompt only; you don’t need to actually use the line in the poem and you don’t have to address a “you” in the poem. In other words, the poem can be about receiving the message, responding to the message, etc., from a first person perspective. Or write it as a persona poem, using a literary character, historical figure, someone you’ve observed who interests you, etc.
A message about “rules” (or lack of them) is included in the first poetry prompt from earlier this summer. Happy writing!
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