2021 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 11
For the 2021 November PAD Chapbook Challenge, poets are tasked with writing a poem a day in the month of November before assembling a chapbook manuscript in the month of December. Today’s prompt is to write a memory poem.
For today's prompt, write a memory poem. Sometimes just one memory of one day or moment is enough to sustain an entire poem. An early childhood shot or filling; first kiss; skipping school; an exciting concert, all these (and more) can be fodder for creating a new poem. But beware: It's not uncommon for one memory to jog another memory and then another until you have an avalanche of poems to write.
Remember: These prompts are springboards to creativity. Use them to expand your possibilities, not limit them.
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Calling all poets! We’re on the look out for poems of all styles–rhyming, free verse, haiku, and more–for the 16th Annual Writer’s Digest Poetry Awards! This is the only Writer’s Digest competition exclusively for poets. Enter any poem 32 lines or less for your chance to win $1,000 in cash.
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Here’s my attempt at a Memory Poem:
“first times”
riding a bike
i was nearly
hit by a car
& ended up
hitting a fence
falling in love
i felt lifted
above the earth
& floating
around on air
breaking my heart
i couldn't eat
for a week &
lost fifteen pounds
& many tears
being a dad
i was happy
beyond what i
realized & then
came the worry
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.
