2019 April PAD Challenge: Day 14
Two weeks! That’s how much poeming we’re about to complete. Big deal. For today’s prompt, pick a state (or province, territory, etc.), make it the title of your poem, and…
Two weeks! That's how much poeming we're about to complete. Big deal.
For today’s prompt, pick a state (or province, territory, etc.), make it the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. A few possibilities include New York, California, Ontario, Bavaria, and Champagne. It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: Feel free to bend this in any direction you wish.
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Poem Your Days Away!
Online poetry prompts are great! But where can you get your poem fix when you unplug? The answer is the Smash Poetry Journal, by Robert Lee Brewer.
This book collects 125 poetry prompts from the Poetic Asides blog, gives poets plenty of room to write poems, and a lot of other great poetic information. Perfectly sized to carry in a backpack or purse, you can jot down ideas for poems as you’re waiting in line for a morning coffee or take it to the park for a breezy afternoon writing session (or on a bus, at a laundromat, or about anywhere else you can imagine–except under water, unless you’re in a submarine or a giant breathable plastic bubble).
Anyway, it’s great for prompting poems, and you should order a copy today. (Maybe order an extra one as a gift for a friend.)
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Here’s my attempt at a State Poem:
“Ohio”
The thing about Ohio
is that there are highways
and train tracks and airports
and waterways and former
farmers trying their best
to make life work or move
somewhere where they can
and they're inventive and
tied to the land and cars
and factories and myths
about a better life that
existed back before
their fathers were born.
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems (Press 53). He was born and raised in Ohio by parents who were born and raised in Ohio. Follow him on Twitter @RobertLeeBrewer.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
