Tweetspeak Poetry

Poetry at Work: The Poetry of Crisis

Glynn Young — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:00:39 +0000

I can’t think of anyone working today who doesn’t talk about crises at work. Opportunities seem to abound for missteps, mistakes, false impressions, outright distortions, and rumors both false and true. Social media can amplify and in fact create crises for both organizations and individuals, both of whom can also do a good job of creating crises on their own. At times, it feels like we careen from crisis to crisis, with everything assuming an urgency that demands immediate attention from too few people. Important, critical work is set aside to deal with crises, sometimes never to be touched again. I once had a boss who referred to this as ‘the tyranny of the urgent at the expense of the important.” Each crisis may share common elements with others, but each is also (usually) different. What crises do share is an unexpectedness; an urgency to do something even if it’s not clear what the something is; a difference of opinions within the organization as to what to do; an overreliance on legal counsel (or influence); and a tendency to feed on each other, leading to a “crisis mentality” or “crisis culture” for managing work. Where crises differ is in their immediate cause; the people involved in managing it; and what they can actually teach. Some crises are one-off, never to be repeated. Others, in the repetition, reflect something fundamentally flawed in the organization. Crises are the poetry of surprise, upset, and human frailty. They are often the poetry of organizational change, the poetry of disruption of the status quo. They can speak powerfully to an organization’s managers and people, and they can also fall on deaf ears. Crises expose our humanity, both flawed and good; our limitations and potential reach; our courage and our fears. And they do all of these things simultaneously. A light movement of wind, a small ripple in the water, a comment, a tweet, a post, a few words, and it begins. A storm, a tsunami, a hurricane, an eruption sudden and unexpected, a crash, and it begins. Back to normal becomes a place of no return. It’s difficult to see when you’re in the thick of a crisis, but you can look for the poetry that’s there, because it is there. You can see it in the themes, the metaphors, the rhythm and flow, what words are used and how they are used. And finding the poetry in the crisis will suggest the path forward. Photograph by kudumomo. Sourced via Flickr. Poetry at Work™ post by Glynn Young, author of the novels Dancing Priest and the recently published A Light Shining. ___________ Buy a year of happy work mornings today, just $5.99. In April we’re exploring the theme Dragons and Creatures.

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Poetry Classroom: Only So Much a Poem

Paula J Lambert — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00:42 +0000

Welcome to this month’s poetry classroom, with poet Paula J. Lambert, author of The Sudden Seduction of Gravity. We invite you to respond to the poems we'll share here—their forms, images, sounds, meanings, surprises—ask questions of Paula and each other, and write your own poems along the way. There’s Only So Much a Poem Can Hold A compilation of quotes from “A Conversation with Mark Doty,” Otterbein University, April 2010 When a rupture in your life pushes you into silence, the light of someone else’s intention, you blunder forward. You write; think, “I can do this better”; cross it out. Your work becomes a chronicle of what’s not there, a fiction we all agree to. What we want most is to be in touch with our own feelings, but it’s not what our daily discourse is designed to do. It’s what we avoid, making ourselves sick in preparation for avoidance. You have too much to say and therefore can’t say anything. You think, “How could I ever feel this way again?” Yet you do. Line breaks let you have those two things. Multiple versions exist, and that’s okay. It’s why we need poetry. You reach across boundaries instead of reinforcing them. You blunder forward. You blunder forward. Photo by Motograf, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Poem by Paula J. Lambert. ________________ Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $5.99 — Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In April we’re exploring the theme Dragons and Creatures.

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The Titanic: How Not to Write About Tragedy

Megan Willome — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00:30 +0000

When bad things happen, we writers like to write. It doesn’t matter if tragedy struck our own little world or if we just heard about it. Some of us are compelled to comment. A lot of people commented after the RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 — many of them with poetry. Even good ol’ Thomas Hardy weighed in:

And as the smart ship grew In stature, grace, and hue In shadowy silent distance grew the Iceberg too.

“The Convergence of the Twain” is all about fate (as is Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles) and includes a reference to “the Spinner of the Years.” So, that’s one way to go; you can always blame the Fates and their yarn. Of course, the Titanic was named for the Titans, the ill-fated elder gods of Greek mythology. Other poets went all Hallmark, like this one. (I do have a source, but in the hope that not all of my schlocky poems will be traced back to me, I shall protect this person’s identity.)

Little ones were made orphans Widows and mothers left forlorn When those souls sank forever On that star-lit heavenly morn.

In fact, the New York Times was so deluged with bad Titanic poetry that they printed a helpful warning:

To write about the Titanic, a poem worth printing requires that the author should have something more than paper, pencil, and a strong feeling that the disaster was a terrible one.

One hundred years after the leviathan sank, I stood in Northern Ireland’s answer to that event — Titanic Belfast, which opened in April 2012. It’s the largest Titanic exhibit in the world, but it holds no recovered artifacts. The oceanographer who discovered the wreckage of the Titanic, Dr. Robert Ballard, cooperated with the museum’s creators only if they agreed not to loot the shipwreck. Ballard believes the site is a graveyard that should remain undisturbed. The day I toured the museum — which prefers to call itself an “experience” — the weather was clear and cool, and the River Lagan outside sparkled. I got the sense that 100 years of work had gone into this moment. Titanic Belfast is rated a 5-star visitor attraction, with replicas of the ship’s cabins and a life-size lifeboat, extensive representations of the media coverage following the infamous night, and footage of Ballard’s undersea expeditions. There’s even a ride — the Shipyard Ride that travels through a model of the Titanic while it was under construction. If you go, make a day of it and stop by Titanic’s Dock & Pump-house as well as other attractions in the Titanic Quarter. Between June 8-17, you can also see “Game of Thrones: The Exhibition.” The first three seasons of the HBO series, inspired by the books of George R.R. Martin, were largely filmed in Northern Ireland, including in Titanic Studios’ Paint Hall, where component parts of the Titanic were painted.

“She was all right when she left here.”

That’s the mantra you’ll hear if you go to Titanic Belfast. I’m no expert on the sinking, so I have no opinion on why the ship went down, other than that pesky iceberg, but I like Belfast’s boldness. With Titanic Belfast, the city turned tragedy into tourism. Some people might call it crass commercialism. I call it owning your pain. And if you make a small profit from the sale of Titanic Tea, well, call it restitution. Or poetic justice. Photo by AngeloAngelo. Creative Commons license via Flickr. Post by Megan Willome. ____________________ Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $5.99 — Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In April we’re exploring the theme Dragons and Creatures.

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Frumious Nonsense & Jabberwock Thoughts (A Poetry Prompt)

Seth Haines — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:00:08 +0000

Take the form of a dragon--body of a lizard, tail of a serpent, teeth of a lion, wings of a pterodactyl. It is a zoological mishmash, a sum-of-all-fears creature. Nonetheless, the dragon has been the central antagonist of heroic conquests from time immemorial. Consider Beowulf, Bilbo the hobbit, and St. George, each dragon slayers in their own rights. But no account describes the ferocious absurdity of the dragon quite as well Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky, and the resulting illustration by John Tenniel. In Carroll's famous nonsense poem, he conjures the air of suspended fear by creating words from whole cloth. The frumious Bandersnatch, the manxome foe -- Carroll's adjectives allude to definition, though they have no definition at all. The result is a near-nightmarish feel to the poem, one in which the mind cannot quite make sense of the scenes. And if Carroll's poem was a work of creative genius, consider Tenniel's rendering of the Jabberwock. Tenniel begins with the classic elements of a dragon -- the body, the tail, the wings -- but then he adds his own nonsensical flare. The front claws are attached to spindly, furry fingers. The eyes are sleepy and human; the teeth are those of a gopher. The Jabberwock wears a Fu Manchu and dons a button-down vest. It is an awkward, absurdist rendering, one that somehow makes the Jabberwock even more fearsome.

The use of nonsense words in poetry can expand the cognitive dissonance of a given piece and heighten the sense of wonder, excitement, or fear. There is no better current example of this than "Jabberwocky." And why did I use the word "current" in the preceding statement, you ask? This brings us to today's poetry prompt. Poetry Prompt: Will you write the next great dragon or creature poem using nonsense words? That's this week's challenge here at Tweetspeak. Use hyperbole. Create adjectives and adverbs. Name your creatures with ferocity. Above all else, though, have fun and share your poems with us in the comments. ____

Tweetspeak’s April Dragons and Creatures Poetry Prompt:

This month’s poetry theme at Tweetspeak is Dragons and Creatures, and we’ll be composing poems epic poems. I'm sure of it. How do you participate? 1. Pick a creature...any creature. Need some ideas? Check out this complete list of mythical creatures. Or listen to our very own Dragons and Creatures playlist. 2. Compose your own poem about a dragon or creature. 3. Tweet your poems to us. Add a #TSCreatures hashtag so we can find it and maybe share it with the world. 4. If you aren’t a Twitter user, leave your poem here in the comment box. 5. At the end of the month, we’ll choose a winning poem and feature it in one of our upcoming Weekly Top 10 Poetic Picks. Last week, Monica Sharman took an unexpected approach to discussing creatures, exploring the angst of Wile E. Coyote in his efforts to catch the road runner. In "For Wile E. Coyote," she wrote:

In his own name, sarcasm and irony were embedded like the way his own head stuck right through the edge of the cliff he tried crossing with all those light-bulb ideas— skis on wheels, bow with himself as the arrow, hot-air balloons stocked with sticks of dynamite. Road runner always took off with a beep-beep and a puff of dust like the one he left at the bottom after falling off the edge. Fade out, fade in, and he’s still alive to dream up another over-complicated contraption only to get blown up by his own dynamite again. And he could’ve made it so much simpler if he realized road-runner meat won’t satisfy after all.

I'm not sure I've ever read a Looney Tunes poem before. Needless to say, I loved this offering. Now, let's create some poems with a bit of Jabberwocky nonsense. Photo by Dave_B_, Creative Commons via Flickr. Jabberwocky sketch by Sir John Tenniel, circa 1871, via Wikimedia Commons. Post by Seth Haines. ________________ Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $5.99 — Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In April we’re exploring the poetry theme Dragons and Creatures.

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A Book of Beginnings: Story Over Tea

L. L. Barkat — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:00:53 +0000

"Once upon a time," I say. You look up from your morning tea. "That is not a very good beginning. I've heard it before." "Once upon a time," I say again. "Are you writing another book?" You set your teacup into its saucer. Clink. "It doesn't sound too promising." "What's this?" I ask. "The Princess Bride? Am I the grandfather and you the child, giving me a hard time?" "You might be my grandfather. But you are a little young. And, besides, you're a woman. Dark-haired, 5'4". My grandfather was 5'11", blond." "A time, once. A book, once. But not a book, because I am too tired and busy to write one. And yes, I know I have a history of saying no-book before a book comes along, but this time I mean it." "You mean it?" "I mostly mean it." "That sounds suspicious to me. You are giving yourself an out. Or an in, as the case may be." "Beginnings are like that. You need an out. Or, an in, as the case may be." "What are you starting here then? Are you going to tell me a story?" "I think not. I think it is just a book of beginnings." You take another sip of tea. French. The Bagatelle. "Only beginnings? That doesn't sound too promising." "I've heard that before," I say. Photo by Claire Burge. Used with permission. Story by L.L. Barkat, author of Rumors of Water: Thoughts on Creativity & Writing. ___________ Want to easily follow A Book of Beginnings? Grab a button for your blog...

___________ Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $5.99— Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In April we're exploring the theme Dragons & Creatures.

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THIS WEEK’S TOP 10 POETIC PICKS

Seth Haines — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:00:24 +0000

The best in poetry (and poetic things), this week with Seth Haines.

1 Art

Do you enjoy the spoken word, Shakespearean sonnets, and New York City? If so, we have a project for you. According to The New York Times, 154 actors are setting out to read each of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets in 154 different locations across New York City. The project is the undertaking of the New York Shakespeare Exchange, a collective that seeks to combine contemporary culture with "Shakespearean poetry and themes in unexpected ways." For a taste of "the sonnet project," check out this video featuring "Sonnet 83."

2 News

Nearly 40 years ago, Nobel prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda died suddenly after a military coup in his home country of Chile. Though it was assumed that Neruda passed of prostate cancer, new questions have arisen about his death. In fact, some speculate that General Augusto Pinochet, the prevailing coup leader and eventual Chilean dictator, had Neruda eliminated to prevent the poet from being the voice of opposition against the regime. The controversy may soon be resolved. It appears that the remains of Neruda will now be removed from his grave, and investigators will determine whether the conspiracy theory holds water. And just how is it alleged that Neruda was murdered? Make sure to check out this article at the Guardian for the rest of the story.

3 Publishing

Move over Kindle Direct Publishing; Barnes & Noble is coming to the party. This week, it was announced that mega-bookseller Barne's & Noble is launching a new, simpler solution to self publishing. The program, called Nook Press, will replace the Nook's previous self-publishing program, Pubit!. The program is specifically designed for Nook users and will allow self-publishing authors to retain up to 65% of the royalties from any sale. If you're interested in a simple solution for direct Nook publication, don't miss this piece on Nook Press at The Christian Science Monitor.

4 Poetry at Work

My wife, a poet in her own right, stays at home with our four small children. She often feels the tension between being a stay-at-home and pursuing some other employment opportunity, some other calling. It turns out, she's not the only one feeling the tension. In this piece for the Huffington Post, Dr. Peggy Drexler deconstructs the dichotemy of the domestic woman versus the career woman, and she does it with a poetic flair. She writes, "in homes and offices and laboratories and classrooms, wherever we exercise our life's calling--or callings--we share more similarities than the debate over 'a woman's place today' suggests." Drexler then turns to poetry to create a a "common space... for reflection." Carve out some time today to celebrate that work poetically.

5 Creativity

It's a brave new world, one filled with social media, virtual realities, and robots to boot! In this age of new-fangled contraptions, exactly how do you get the younger generation interested in poetry? Robotics, claims Sue Melton, a California gifted support coordinator for the Allegheny Valley School District. Imagine it--a blue plastic-wrap lake that lights up and vibrates at the push of a button when a student reads the word "water" in Robert Frost's poem "Pasture." This is all part of Melton's strategy to get students to "engage" poetry. She encourages them to create "visual imagery and symbolism," so that they more fully understand the work. Are you a teacher looking for a creative way to get your students engaging poetry? Make sure you read this article discussing innovative strategies to encourage student creativity in the learning process. And after reading it, don't be surprised if you want to create your own robotic poetry project because, let's be honest, robots are just plain cool.

6 Write-It

Want to be a better poet? Here's a tip: write more poems. Seems simple, right? Maybe. As any good poet knows, though, sometimes the well can run dry. That's why we at Tweetspeak offer Monday poetry prompts to our loyal readers. Check out this week's poetry prompt, in which we challenge you to pen verse of mythical proportions. Writer's Digest is challenging its readers to write more poems, too. Follow Robert Lee Brewer's 2013 Poem-a-day challenge, as he gives daily prompts that will help get your creative juices flowing. In yesterday's PAD challenge, Brewer challenged readers to write a poem on suffering and wrote his own piece on the topic. In "burn," Brewer writes:

a black night, she thinks, a dead man reflecting the sun. stars explode before we see them. stars explode

in a vacuum & burn. they burn without our permission, she thinks, unseen until after they’re spent.

Are you up to the Poem-A-Day challenge? Visit Writer's Digest for more.

7 Poems

This month, Tweetspeak is exploring the poetic theme "Dragons & Creatures." This, of course, has made for some interesting poems being delivered into my email inbox by Every Day Poems, and none has been more interesting that this piece by Idra Novey entitled "The Visitor." In it, she writes:

Does no dishes, dribbles sauce across the floor. Is more dragon than spaniel, more flammable than fluid. Is the loosening in the knit of me, the mixed-fruit marmalade in the kitchen of me. Wakes my disco and inner hibiscus, the Hector in the ever-mess of my Troy. All wet mattress to my analysis, he's stayed the loudest and longest of any houseguest, is calling now as I write this, tiny B who brings the joy.

I love the way Novey turns the imagery of the dragon on its ear, makes it an endearing (even if fierce) character. Are you receiving Every Day Poems in your inbox? It's only $5.99 a month, and I promise you won't regret the gems it delivers. And while you're at it, consider following Every Day Poems on Facebook and Twitter.

8 People

I am a sucker for handwriting. I've always found it to be an incredibly personal expression, a way in which the art in each of us comes spilling out (whether intentionally or unintentionally). There is an intimacy implied in handwriting, a sort of laying bare. So, you can imagine how excited I was to catch the Atlantic's piece that takes a look at the hand-written poems of Mary Shelley, Emily Dickinson, Bob Dylan, and others. I was most impressed by Dylan's "Little Buddy," which was written when he was only a teenager, and demonstrated a very deliberate and tight stroke. (Something tells me his penmanship might have developed a bit of a loopier, looser feel in the sixties.) As a bit of an added bonus, the Atlantic references this article at Brain Pickings, which collects several hand-written poems by Marilyn Monroe. I must be honest, Monroe's poems don't do a lot for me, but they provide a sort of self-commentary of her life and career. A bit like reading someone's diary? Sure. But in reading Monroe's work, it's difficult not to empathize with the troubled actress.

9 Books

One of my first projects here at Tweetspeak was to compose a book spine poem centered around the theme "Rain." I've loved bookspine poetry every since. It should be no surprise, then, that this excerpt from Nina Katchadourian's new book, Sorted Books, grabbed my attention. In it, Katchadourian describes her journey to bookspine poetry, how it arose from a weekend art collective, an experiment in finding art in the world around her. Reading Katchadourian's guiding principals for bookspine poetry made me want to take another crack at the form. Perhaps I'll do it and share it with you in the comments below. Perhaps you can take a crack at it, too. If you do, share it with us in the comments. We'd love to read your found poetry.

10 Sound n Motion

Last week, a dear friend sent me Billy Collins' poem, "On Turning Ten." I have always liked Billy Collins, the approachable nature of his poetry. But if you want to see the most approachable reading of Collins, make sure to watch this video of a 3-year-old reciting Billy Collins' poem "Litany." Cover photo by StewC. Article photos by Claire Burge. Used with permission. Post by Seth Haines. ______________________________ Buy a year of Every Day Poems, just $5.99 — Read a poem a day, become a better poet. In April we’re exploring the theme Dragons and Creatures.

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