“Someone has to”—Prompts Inspired by Wislawa Szymborska

So here we are in another bullshit war that will kill civilians, further destabilize an entire region, create refugees to be denied entry and their humanity, waste billions of money and justify the loss of more rights here and abroad, all cheered on by the same liars and racists but now with the bonus of genocide.

So here is a powerful poem about war, the slow rebuilding after loss and destruction and whatever lessons learned are forgotten. Yes, it is beautifully written—skillful use of sound and imagery—but the ones who need to read it won’t, so let’s write a poem to shout at the worthless fuckers.

For the first prompt, make a list of cleaning tasks or repairs. Now take that list and expand those tasks to a city or countryside awaiting destruction, reversing the order. End your poem or story with the first bomb dropped, bullet fired, a cloud spinning into a funnel, or the start of rain.

The second prompt is to look at the headlines advocating for this war and find out what the author did during the last war in Iraq. Take a previous op ed or article from that journalist or politician back then and collect the statements that apply to both wars for a list poem. Or make an erasure poem of either article.

For the third, write a story or poem using the following list of words: “tidy,” “rubble,” “sludge,” “shards,” “glaze,” “shirtsleeves,” “shreds,” “rusted,” “cornstalk” and “clouds.”

The next prompt is to write an essay or story about cleaning and rebuilding the exterior/physical that illustrates an emotional/interior healing or recovery.

Another prompt is to write a poem about starting a war or causing a disaster that repeats the phrase “someone has to.”

For the last, write an essay, poem or story to stop a tragedy. “Someone has to.”

Bonus prompt: write about this stand of pine trees lost to the waves from the perspective of the one tree that remains on the beach. Or write whatever this photo inspires.

Good luck.

Humanitarian—Prompts Inspired by Dr. Khawla Badwan

This is a powerful poem about the genocide occurring in Gaza. It is hard not to write of the horrors but is difficult to do so in a way without speaking over the people who need to be heard. So while it is not my story to tell, it is important to share the stories of the people living through these horrors.

For the first prompt, reflect on how the terms “humanitarian” and “aid” are used in an imposed famine. What other terms have likewise been inverted to the point of absurdity or were created to obscure facts? Even syntax deliberately misleads, such as the ridiculous passive voice used bombing or in the US for police officers attacking and murdering civilians and ICE kidnapping and trafficking residents. Newspaper headlines should provide solid examples of propaganda and Orwell’s “newspeak” for a poem or story especially as the U.S. slides further into fascism.

For the second prompt, choose a newspaper article about a targeted group in the U.S. or one abroad for an erasure poem. Cross out any phrases or sentences that originate from the perspective of a more powerful group. What words are left? Or, conversely, cross out statements, words, or even letters—remembering to not add anything—to show the missing viewpoint if you are part of that targeted group or can do so carefully if you are not. It is easy to cause harm even with the best of intentions.

The next prompt is write a story, poem, or essay about a specific event in your life or from your family history that has been either suppressed or distorted. A variation on this prompt is to structure the narrative by filling in the gaps or replacing the euphemisms in an obituary.

Good luck.

Pride—Poems Inspired by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza

This is a poem I read years ago and loved. It is perfect for defiantly celebrating the first day of June under a fascist regime.

For the first prompt, write your own origin myth for a story or poem, connecting a part of the nature or the creation of the universe to your own life. Claim the moon or a planet, a mountain, an ocean, the jet stream, or the first drop of rain in a drought.

The second prompt is to write your experience of coming out, if you have one, as if explaining a natural phenomenon in a science class in an essay, story or poem.

The third prompt is to use the line “Do you believe in the power of not listening” as your title or as a ghostline, erasing the line after you finish writing the poem or story or as your title. For either path, remember to credit the poet for your inspiration. The line would work well for a list poem.

For the last prompt, write about survival and resiliency and outliving those who want the world to be as rigid and small and narrow and cruel as they are.

Happy Pride. Good luck writing and have fun.

Prompts Inspired by Alice Notley

The poetry community lost the powerful voice of Alice Notley. She profoundly influenced so many and will be missed.

For the first prompt, create a scene of you (or a character) walking toward someone.

The second prompt is to write a poem or story using the following words: “alive,” “bare,” “shoulders,” “shell,” “ruffled,” “translucent,” “transparent,” “empties” and “air,” trying to change the usage from verb to noun or vice versa.

The third is to use the first line, “When I was alive,” as a ghostline or as your title, giving credit to the poet.

The next prompt is a writing exercise: rewrite the poem, replacing the nouns with your own. Now see if there is a line that calls out to you. If so, that line will be the first line of a poem.

For another prompt, write a list poem of the things you’ve meant to tell someone but never did.

The last prompt is to choose either poem and write a response to it, either an essay or poem.

Good luck. Write what you need to write.

“where/extinct and extant split everything”—Prompts Inspired by Rose McLarney

I hope you are all surviving the disasters and destruction of democracy. It is particularly now that I find myself reaching for poems and stories for solace. Despite the loss central in the poem, the language and imagery in Rose McLarney’s “Fossils Aren’t Found in Appalachia” are so beautiful that I am pulled out of my own worries.

For the first prompt, take a pair of words similar in sound and/or spelling but contrasting in meaning and build a poem around that relationship.

The second prompt is to use “What we have to study of history” as a ghostline for a story or poem, using the line as the starting point and erasing it afterwards but remembering to credit the poet.

The third prompt is to write a story or poem about an object given to the narrator or a character from a loved one lost to time or death. The poem’s use of “room-filling light” and “animates” is so powerful placed before “lifted from the box,” “long lain” and “buried.” Gorgeous language.

For the next, write a poem or story using the following word list: “fossil,” “extant,” “gradation,” “lingering,” “ache,” “lifts,” “animates,” “remains,” “downstream,” “buoyant” and “together.” Or read the poem aloud, and write down the words that resonate for you. Notice the skilled use of alliteration and assonance (for example, “l” and long “a” sounds and later “s”).

For the last prompt, write about what is carried within your body; what stories does it hold?

Bonus prompt: write about a poem, story or essay whatever this image inspires.

Good luck writing! Have compassion for yourself.

“Neuroses and Camaraderie”—Life and Writing Prompts Inspired by Rachel Lauren Myers

OMG, sometimes a poem just hits, and “Alternate Game Plan” by Rachel Lauren Myers certainly did. I need this poem on a t-shirt, as a reply to last month’s credit card bill, as the Ars Poetica I wish I’d written.

Ok, first prompt, write your own ars poetica. Bonus points if you reference clowns, cartoons, and/or cursed objects. For more discussion about the form and some sample poems, check out the American Academy of Poets website, https://poets.org/glossary/ars-poetica.

The second prompt is to write a story or poem based around “Build a hilltop of cursed” or “A temple to mediocrity.”

One of the aspects I love about this poem is its ability to so effectively combine conversational language with literary devices. Notice the repetition of the short “i” sound, especially in the lower third of the poem, and the “s” in “Listen: if this all goes to tits we’ll skip.” By randomly interspersing rhyming words (or slant rhymes) among lines rather than placing at the line’s end and escalating the repetition, the poem keeps building momentum without sacrificing surprise: “shit,” “manuscript,” “lit,” “relit,” “skits,” “it” and “tits” and the repetition of “Let them laugh at us.” For the third prompt, borrow a phrase from a friend and let that be the central message of your poem or story.

The next prompt is to write a poem or story using the following word list: “closing,” “dismount,” “address, “trust,” “cherry,” “asteroid,” “hilltop,” “temple,” “oil,” “hacks” and “laugh.”

For another prompt, write an essay or poem about what your characters have given up.

Write a list poem about what you will do if you someone laughs at your writing.

The last prompt is to base a poem or story on a similar structure: begin by addressing someone else about a shared worry or insecurity, include a description of spilling or dropping something or other clumsy/forgetful moment, and end on an assurance about the original concern.

Bonus prompt: write a poem or story based on the photograph I took in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Good luck writing! Have fun and support each other; times are hard.

Body for Writing—Prompt by Han VanderHart

I am still working on a longer prompt but wanted to get one out this weekend, so here is a great prompt by a poet I very much admire, Han VanderHart.

Bonus prompt: write an essay, poem or story that works in one or more of common phrases that include the word “body” in them and juxtapose the phrase(s) to the experience of your own body, its location, interactions and value in the world. Here is a list that you can look through to see what clicks for you: “body politic,” “body count,” “body double,” “body check,” “body bag,” “body pillow,” “body of evidence,” “body of work,” “body of water,” “beach body,” “mind and body,” “body and soul,” “the body of the email,” “bodybuilding” and “body shop.”

For a variation on this prompt, take one of the common “body of (something)” phrases and reimagine its parts. For example, what would the physical parts of a “body of work” be? How would they function and what are their vulnerabilities?

Bonus bonus prompt: what objects—whether found or gathered or constructed—would you rebuild yourself with? What parts of yourself would you keep?

Good luck writing! Have fun!