Love the Living—Prompts Inspired by Joseph Fasano

As you may know, I despise AI—its theft from actual artists and writers, its environmental impact, the pretense that a chatbot can attain sentience or overcome bias if given enough stolen data and most of all, the inhumanity and dishonesty of those promoting it to devalue actual human labor and experience. While there are some applications for it, such as medical researchers using large language models to study partial genome sequences, most is just the newest NFT scam bubble.

Living is to create and learn—whether painting, drawing, writing, analyzing or problem solving—through the process and struggle. And to sometimes fail, and by failing often learning more than by success. To outsource thinking and making choices—necessary for every creative endeavor—is to hire someone else to drink the wine and participate in the evening’s conversation or to hold the hand of a loved one dying in a hospital.

I so appreciate Joseph Fasano for his generous sharing of others’ poems and for his own poems, especially this one. Here is a link to the poem: https://poets.org/poem/student-who-used-ai-write-paper

For the first prompt, describe a list of tasks that demonstrate love of another human or for an animal or for life itself in a story, poem or essay. Perhaps that is caring for a loved one or pet, planting flowers for bees, picking up trash from a creek or beach or climbing a hill to see the best view of sunset.

The second prompt is write a love (but not necessarily romantic love) poem or story using the following list of words: “let,” “fall,” “grasses,” “life,” “precious,” “earth,” “free,” “living,” “miraculous” and “work.”

The last prompt is to write what your “miraculous task” is whatever genre you choose.

Bonus prompt: write an ekphrastic poem or story from this painting, or write about tools from an animal’s perspective.

Bonus, bonus prompt: Write about who you would choose to sit on this porch swing with and what the moment would be like. Describe the wind, the scents in the air, the water of the Gulf, sound of birds, whatever would evoke bliss for you.

Good luck writing! Remember we’ve almost made it through the challenge! Good luck!

Language without Violence—Prompts Inspired by Nickole Brown

So awed by Nickole Brown’s poem I have to share it today. If you want to listen to the poet read her poem, here is the link: https://poets.org/poem/parable.

For the first prompt, do listen to the poet read and write down the particular words that catch you. From your the word list you created, write a poem or story.

The second prompt is another word list, this time writing a story or poem using as many of the words the poet italicized you can: “broken,” “cicada,” “giddy-up,” “whoa,” “good,” “girl,” “shushing,” “that,” “come,” “here,” “now,” “mane,” “wind,” “wings,” “ours,” “let,” “live,” “Please” and “us.”

A third prompt is to use a common saying and explore what its usage indicates about society, perhaps its violence or focus on the body as its metaphor for hierarchies (“head,” “bottom,”) or its ableist origins (“blind,” lame,”). Or explore society’s agricultural roots (pun intended) through its idioms.

For the next prompt, try to imagine how another creature would understand natural phenomena, such as day and night, winter and summer, and the emotional and physical states of hunger, loss, safety and joy in a story or poem.

Another prompt is to write a poem or story using “Touch her there, gently now, touch that” as your first line; as with all ghostlines, erase that line and give credit to the poet.

The last prompt is to write a list poem of how animals tell us “Let us live.”

Bonus prompt: create a new language for the movements sculpted here.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

The Tender of Others—Prompts Inspired by Carla Sofia Ferreira

This is such a tender, loving poem from a wonderful poem shared by another great poet. Particularly now I feel the needs for such poems to read and to share.

For the first prompt, share an experience of kind words given to by a child or student. Be as gentle as you need.

The second prompt is to start a poem or story with the line “Today, ____ tell me that I look like ____,” filling in the blank spaces with your own nouns.

The third prompt is write a poem or story from this word list from the poem: “existed,” “simple,” “tender,” “care,” “heal,” “kindness,” “waffles,” “compliments,” “shared” and “garden.”

For the final prompt, describe how you would like to take care of others, whether living creatures or objects, in poem or story. Perhaps, you would like to fix the loosened spines of books, quilt baby blankets to donate, clear off nature trails and paths, socialize animals so that they can be adopted, cook stews and nourishing soups for others to warm up with, all of the million ways we can give ourselves.

Bonus prompt: write an ekphrastic poem or story based on this photo of from Washington Park in Portland.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Ghosts, Pelicans and Other Unnatural Creatures—Ekphrastic Prompts

How is the 30/30 challenge going for you? I am a little behind but think I may be able to finish the thirty poems for April. Remember there’s just a few more days left, so keep on writing!

For the first prompt, choose one of the images or let the entire illustration inspire you to write a poem or story.

An additional prompt is to write how and what you would choose to communicate to your loved ones if you could after your passing. Variation: how would you choose to communicate to an enemy.

On a similar topic, what would your chatbot tell people. What “hallucinations” would you imagine it to have?

Now let’s move from the dead to born-again pelicans.

The next prompt is to write a poem or story about this medieval understanding of the pelican, connecting it to other religious symbolism or mythologies, perhaps a persona poem from either the parent or the chick.

The next prompt is based on actual pelicans and their desire to fit the world in their beaks. Explore that hunger in a poem or story.

Write about one of these photos. What are the thoughts of the giraffe? Confusion? Amusement?

What did the pelican in the backseat of the police cruiser do? Was he innocent? Did the cops plant a half-eaten fish near his nest? Write about the trial. Will he be acquitted? Who is his lawyer, Perrican Mason?

Write an ekphrastic poem or story about the monster pictured here, or check out the Wikipedia entry for more about the movie Monster from the Ocean Floor if you wish to know more (photo is from a previous exhibit of the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA).

Bonus prompt: You probably have heard of the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Mothman or other cryptid. Write about one of them (again you can check out the Wikipedia entry on “List of cryptids” for more information), or create your own in a poem or story.

Good luck! Have fun!

Great Pantoums for Bad Times—Prompts

Joseph Fasano posts great poetry threads, and his own poetry is beautiful. If you are on the bad place (Twitter), give him a follow. I find the pantoum he shared particularly powerful, connecting to my own writing and subject matter.

For the first prompt, write a poem in which the first line is where you hear the name of a loved one who is gone or mistake a stranger for a loved one. The second line is what you heard or a description of the person you saw, and the third provides the setting. The stanza’s last line is your action in the moment. See where you go from there.

The second prompt is to use the line “I sometimes go months without remembering you” for a ghostline. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration.

“Another Lullaby for Insomniacs” was included in the thread—such a lovely poem.

For the next prompt, write a persona poem of a medical disorder or condition, such as insomnia, anxiety, reflux, asthma, etc. And of course you can use the pantoum form if you wish.

The powerful “The Black Girl Comes to Dinner” was also included in the thread. Taylor Byas is an expert of the pantoum—so much to learn from her.

The next prompt is create a poem or story using the following list of words from the poem: “belly,” “brakeless,” “mirage,” “shimmers,” “brimming,” “tires,” “croon,” “calm,” “face” and “mantras.” Try to switch the nouns to verbs and vice versa.

Bonus prompt: write a poem or story based on this image.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Fun-guy Prompts

While this is a prompt meant for Bluesky, I think it works for others too (especially the description used). I am a huge fan of mushrooms, lichen and fungus, so I am using today’s prompts as an excuse to post photos of these fascinating organisms.

For an additional prompt, use the following words from description and the alt text: “sprout,” “spores,” “bracket,” “rings,” “skinned,” “caramel,” “hint,” “crumple,” “dampshine” and “tones.”

A third prompt is to research lichen or fungus and see what sprouts (pun intended of course) an idea. Perhaps this article will prompt a poem or story: https://www.discovery.com/nature/the-largest-living-thing-on-earth-is-a-3-5-square-mile-fungus.

Write an ekphrastic poem or story about these cuties.

Or this frilly girl.

Or write about the one below as if it were an alien being. What does it want or do? How does it communicate?

Is there cooperation or competition here?

And, finally, write a poem or story using the photo and the given title (crediting both to William Aegerter).

Good luck! Have fun with fungus!

Fashion a Poem—Ekphrastic Prompts

I hope you are all keeping up with the challenge. Today did not go as planned. Yesterday’s poem was little more than a draft and today was dry as Saltine cracker in the desert. Since my well of words has dried up, let’s turn to photos.

All of the prompts will be based from the Fashion & Design exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA, which I highly recommend, along with all of the other wonderful exhibits there.

For the first prompt, write a persona poem or story of someone wearing this dress, perhaps a modern siren or mermaid.

The second prompt is to write a poem or story about a god trapped in a dress. What blessings does this deity bestow; what is asked in return? Or just describe the dress and how it would make you feel wearing it.

The photo above displays the headdress of a ruler. Describe the country and disposition of the ruler. Or imagine the weight of that upon your head if you must always wear it. How do you move through doorways, along crowded streets and sidewalks, the world? How does it change your relation to others?

Write a poem or story about a conversation between these two mannequins or two people wearing these outfits. What are their perspectives, motivations or five-year plans?

These are created by Sebastian Errazuriz, 12 Shoes for 12 Lovers (The Gold Digger, The Heartbreaker, The Boss). Imagine what the others in the series look like and write a poem or story about these other imagined shoes and who wears them.

If none of the previous photos interest you, here is another possible subject for an ekphrastic poem or story.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

It’s Adventure Time and Other People’s Prompts

My brain hurts, and I have no idea what I will write for either a prompt or for a poem (so far I’ve kept up with writing a poem a day). To save some of my gray matter (more like dryer lint at this point), I am going to share prompts from other people.

The first prompt is from a roleplaying adventure, but it could work for a fun story or poem—definitely will create a steamy scene (sorry, not sorry).

This prompt below is from Kelli Russell Agodon, whose poetry is beautiful.

2. Write about a poem about a superhero coming to your house and confronting you about something. Somewhere in the poem, you have to state what your superpower is.

For the full thirty prompts posted (which include word lists, a twist on a family recipe and various line restrictions and other constraints), check out her website: https://www.agodon.com/uploads/2/9/4/3/2943768/writing_prompts_by_kelli_russell_agodon.pdf

But if you want another adventure prompt, here is Dice Company to the rescue:

Of course you can always change the stagecoach to a motorcycle and the Bag of Holding to a purse or backpack to make the prompt less fantasy-like for your own writing. Or you could make it more surreal: chased by a deep regret, describe what you throw to help you escape or to finally sate its hunger: your abandoned manuscript runs after you, pages flapping madly, and you throw pencils and ink pens at it until its pages bleed blue. Or something even weirder.

You could use a random generator for a fantasy location and describe it in a story or poem, applying it to your own life if possible.

I definitely could describe myself wandering around a medical center today, late for multiple appointments.

For the next prompt, imagining yourself as a castle, describe the person for whom you’d lower your drawbridge. How would you let the person in?

Moving from castles to forts, personify your own or a former lover’s defenses and boundaries but gradually shift the warlike framing to one of gardening and tending. See what happens as you shift the terminology.

And for the final prompt: Write a story or poem based on this image of group of people/the tunnel.

Good luck! Have fun!

Create Your Own Historical Event—Prompts

The artist Eric Pape painted a battle—a naval battle at Gloucester—that never took place. Write a poem or story about a battle or war or some other historical event that could have—but did not—happen.

Bonus prompt: write an ekphrastic poem or story from Eric Pape’s painting.

Good luck writing today! Have fun!

“little knives”—Prompts Inspired by and by Rachel McKibbens

I was excited to learn that Rachel McKibbens is writing daily prompts for this April. I loved the previous prompts she has posted on her blog, http://rachelmckibbens.blogspot.com/. In fact her prompt 104# on the site is a great one if you are stuck.

I wanted to share this poem, which I love. Here is the link if you wish to listen to her read it: https://poets.org/poem/remember-boys. Her books—blud, Into the Dark & Emptying Field and Pink Elephant—are ones that I turn to again and again.

For the first prompt, write a poem or story about the group you wanted to join and why.

The second prompt is a to use the lines “How different would I be, / how much bigger, if I had been _____ as the start of your poem or story. As with all ghostlines, remember to erase the lines and credit the poet for your inspiration.

A third prompt is to use the following words from the “Remember the Boys” to write your own poem or story: “nest,” “hum,” “sting,” “knives,’ “crawl,” “storm,” “gospel,” “flinch,” “room” and “terror.”

Below is a prompt on Instagram from the poet. Be sure to follow her for more prompts.

Bonus prompt: write an ekphrastic poem or story from the photo below.

Good luck writing this month! Have fun!

Know This—Prompts Inspired by Kelly Grace Thomas Vojdani

I love poems that originate from an obscure (to me) fact, and this wonderful poem is no exception (I admit that I am biased though—I think her poetry collection Boat Burned and the individual poems I’ve read are all fantastic).

For the first prompt, take a random/obscure fact—perhaps that it is illegal to get an elephant drunk in the city of Natchez, MS—and build a poem or story from that.

The second prompt is to use a factual statement as a title of a poem or story (“There Are No Stop Signs in Paris”) and the first line/sentence as a result (“So cars and silk-scarved women savor time like it’s theirs”) with all subsequent lines expanding upon the results with concrete details (even if there isn’t a direct correlation).

For a third prompt, use “I remembered what it meant to / call hunger mine” for your first line and go from there. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for your inspiration. Or if you prefer, use the line for your title, still crediting the poet.

The next prompt is to write a poem or short story using the following words from the poem: “silk,” “savor,” “coast,” “lipstick,” “suitcase,” “hunger, “cost,” “flute,” “drag” and “glittering.”

Instead of the absence of signs, let’s move to descriptive (or ominous) signs.

Bonus prompt: write an ekphrastic poem or story based on one (or both) of these photos of bathroom signs.

Good luck writing! Have fun with facts today (or with signs)!

“It’s the End of the World”—Prompts for the Eclipse

…and I feel fine.” The world did not end, but when has that ever stopped a good conspiracy theory? Let’s celebrate all those eclipse apocalypse theories in a poem or short story. Or create your own!

I’ll start first: write a poem or story about a plane flying through the moon and knocking out the sun (courtesy of Bobby Goddin’s photo above).

For the second prompt, write a religious conspiracy theory. This cartoon may get you started, or at least you could write about what you win!

You cannot spell conspiracy and crypto without the letter “C”! Write your own crypto/AI/NFT/techno-bs scam of your own! Bonus points for including Elno Muskrat!

How about an ophthalmologist and US education conspiracy? Don’t forget multiple states allow creationism/intelligent design to be taught in public schools! Yay!

If conspiracies and scams don’t inspire you, how about a nice persona poem from either the moon or the sun. Or write an ekphrastic poem or story of Hannah Hillam’s drawing.

And the final prompt (apocalypse pun intended) is to write about the moon-made-of-cheese conspiracy (perhaps now melted cheese). Bonus points for including Wallace and Gromit. I love that the European Space Agency was my first search result for Wallace and Gromit and the moon made of cheese.

Good luck writing today! Have fun (and some cheese and crackers!)

Reflecting on the Infinite: Prompts Inspired by Mary Ruefle

Today is the start of the new posting schedule—Mondays instead of Sundays (although I often was late). To celebrate my increased potential punctuality, let’s celebrate by starting off with the great Mary Ruefle’s “The Imperial Ambassador of the Infinite,” shared by Simeon Berry (a great poet to follow).

For the first prompt, create a list poem of images that remind you of a particular event. Let readers make the connection.

The second prompt is to use the lines “Except when I run away from home / by hiding under the bed” as a ghostline for a poem or the catalyst for a short story. Remember to erase the lines and credit the poet for your inspiration.

For the third, write a story or poem using the following words: “garden,” “shaded,” “held,” “smashed,” “street,” “loosed,” “mirror,” “drenched,” message,” “stoned” and “forever.”

A final prompt is to create a poem from images of broken objects interspersed with mentions of time and/or the infinite.

Bonus prompt: write a poem or short story based on this image.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

On the Boat—Prompts Inspired by Daniel McGinn

As you’ve noticed, I once again did not post a prompt on Sunday. I think it will be easier for me to post on Monday as Sundays are getting busier for now.

From poems about love to those about death, we are covering all the bases here! I’ve been meaning to post this wonderful poem by Daniel McGinn for a while. I love that it works both as an ekphrastic of the tarot card and as a persona poem of Charon from Greek mythology.

The first prompt is to draw a card from a tarot card deck and flip it over. Write a poem or story that incorporates the card’s imagery and symbolism but also incorporates a well-know character or story from mythology, literature or pop culture. If you prefer, you could combine the card with a current event.

For the second prompt, write about a place in which you “are almost there” / “were always there” in your memory or your dreams. This place can be a house that you lived in as a child, the pervasive forgot-you-had-an-assignment/test school dream, or a recurring dream of a place you have only imagined. What place do you always return?

The third prompt is to use the line “while my back is turned away” as a ghostline for a narrative poem or short story. Tell us what happens next.

For another prompt, build a poem or short story from the following word list: “map,” “need,” “carry,” “just,” “hangs,” “net,” “breath,” “back,” “iron” and “shore.” Try to switch nouns to verbs and vice versa.

The final prompt (pun intended) is to describe the “other shore” and create your own afterlife. What will you find when you reach the shore? Buildings, plants and welcoming loved ones? Dust and wind and a distant wailing? Or perhaps you would prefer to give vague hints from glimpses your narrator takes on the journey across.

Bonus prompt: write a poem or story with the photo above as your setting.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Love Poems—Prompts Inspired by Paige Lewis

Love is such a powerful emotion but so difficult to convey uniquely. Love poems, their language and imagery, often are clichéd and stale especially if abstract and general. Rather than grand proclamations, small personal details often are more effective in showing the passion or caring in a relationship, as demonstrated so beautifully by Paige Lewis here. Btw, you can hear the poem read their poem on the site of the American Academy of Poets if you wish.

For the first prompt, write about a game or joke shared between you and a partner or between two characters. Use everyday language and description rather than metaphors or dramatic language. Avoid using the word “love” directly.

The second prompt is to write a story or poem using the following words: “paints,” “ties,” “corners,” “shadow,” “machine,” “game,” “stretch,” “bed,” “grips” and “kisses.” Try to switch the nouns for verbs and vice versa.

The third prompt does not need to create a love poem or story; just use the line “Our shadows get dirty just like anyone’s, so we take them” as a ghostline. See where it takes you. Remember to erase the line and credit the poet for the inspiration.

The last prompt is to use the line “and watch our shadows warm” for a horror-themed poem or story. Again remember to erase the ghostline and credit the poet.

Bonus prompt: write a poem based on this image.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

A Bright New Day Every Day—Prompts Inspired by Linda Pastan

So I got distracted with the holidays and spending time with family—all good, but again I am behind on posting. Ah, good intentions and road pavement…

But tonight I saw this Linda Pastan poem and Sean Dineen’ response and loved both. Instead of living each day as if it were the last—and likely my desperate attempts to apologize and correct mistakes—I would prefer to experience each day as a first filled “raw astonishment” and no regrets.

For the first prompt, try to create a poem that mirrors that “raw astonishment” in the poem. Start by making a list of historical firsts and weaving one or more of them into your own daily routine, treating each task as if it were the first.

The second prompt is to write a short story or piece of flash fiction in which you describe the first day of sentience for a character or creature.

The third prompt uses the first line, “You tell me to live each day,” as a jumping off point. Avoid using either the standard “as if it were your last” or the poem’s later recommended “as if it were the first” as the impetus. Instead, write about what someone told you or what you wish they had. Because the former is such a common phrase and your goal is to take a different direction than that of the poem, you likely will not need to credit the poet as you would for a regular ghostline.

The last prompt is to write a poem using the following words from the poem: “day,” “race,” “minutes,” “first,” “raw,” “ingénue,” “morning,” “roar,” “clear” and “surface.” If possible, try to write a hopeful poem (this is definitely a challenge for me).

Bonus prompts: write an ekphrastic poem using this photo, or write a surreal poem or short story about this flower hatching as an egg and describing what emerges.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Tense Times, Voice and the Partings of Speech—Editing Prompts

I’ve been thinking about the power of language to divide and categorize: the euphemisms used in war and violence by those with power; how passive voice hides the perpetrator of a shooting or a bombing; how one group of people are agents of their actions, but others recipients, innocent of deed.

What voice do you use in your poems; in spite of the constant reminder to use strong, active verbs does the passive slip in? Is there a poem or story in which your speaker denies agency? Would passive voice demonstrate that stance? As always, who is your speaker/narrator, some version of you, or another persona entirely? Some critics denigrate the use of “I” in a poem or story, but I distrust anyone who believes they can be fully objective in their own life or perform as some omniscient observer neutrally accounting an event even if I enjoy the stories written in third person.

For the first editing prompt, take an unfinished or discarded poem or short story and adjust the voice of the speaker/narrator—changing syntax and tone—to one different from the original or from your own habitual style. In Eric Morago’s workshop series, we are often asked to write in another poet’s style. Focusing on someone else’s voice taught me much about my own and offered more directions for me to move within my writing.

Even verb tense can illustrate as much as it obscures.

I am unsure how helpful such focus is in the initial draft of a poem or story, but I think such considerations are necessary in the revision and in developing as a writer.

For the next prompt, again choose a poem or a short story that feels unfinished to you, and (making a copy of that document) change the verb tense—yes, I know past tense is traditional for prose. What happens to the pacing? What other changes do you need to make for it all to fit? Does a story or narrative told in first person feel as “factual” or “recorded” in the present tense? Can the reader—or will a reader other than you—feel the weight of prior events influencing the present moment you describe?

Again, this is just for experiment, so you will probably change the tense back to your original, but it may offer insights in revising rough areas or lines/sections that don’t fit together.

Let’s move from tense to parts of speech. Since reading Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red I cannot stop thinking about this particular section:

To me, adjectives also are a way of further dividing and separating into categories. Sometimes the particulars are needed to express your meaning, setting a scene or creating an imagistic poem. While writers are often told to avoid adverbs and focus on active verbs, adjectives can build up.

For the next exercise, take a poem or story, and strip it of all of its adjectives. What happens? Do you need more nouns? Does the piece become too stark, empty or even vague? Add back an adjective one at a time but pause to consider how each one allocates the place a character/speaker or object within the described moment or place. What positions are you assigning to your subjects (objects)?

I hope these exercises will be helpful.

Bonus prompt: write a brief description of this photo of Cleveland Clinic

Now reconsider that description or combine it into a poem or the setting of a story after seeing the black and white photo of the same building (and different angle/location). What draws your eye?

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Galloping Night and Returning Grandmothers—Prompts Inspired by Rule Breaking and I.S. Jones

I often find that the rules people spout off about poetry usually are arbitrary and needlessly limiting, so I appreciate the comment by Gabrielle Bates and her sharing this lovely poem. I too enjoy poems about grandmothers and family, and even if I did not, I find being told I cannot do something my strongest motivator.

The first prompt is to take a rule that you’ve heard people state and break it. Write about the moon, the body, death, your first love, a tree, whatever subject you’ve been told to avoid and dive in. Mix a metaphor—deliberately. Use second person. Throw in ellipses or even an exclamation point. Write a love story centered on a hamster—a friend wrote an awesome story after an editor gave this as a topic no one would want to read and even included space travel. It kicked ass! (See, exclamation point).

For the second prompt, write a poem or story about one of your grandmothers (or both) to make Gabrielle Bates happy. Post it on Twitter and tag her if you like.

The second prompt is to begin with a name and use its meaning (or your assumed meaning)—try to choose a name that means a specific object or creature—and for an extended metaphor.

For the third prompt, use the title to set up a scene and take the line “Give me a truth I need to survive” as a ghostline. See where the poem leads you. Make sure to erase the line and give credit to L.S. Jones.

The next prompt is to write of a list poem of all that was “a waste of devotion” for you.

The last prompt is another ghostline: “The story goes: her presence / would remind men of their mortality.” Or you can use it for the first line of a poem or story but make sure you indicate it is a quotation and attribute it to the poet.

Bonus prompt: write an ekphrastic poem using the photo of these sculptures.

Good luck writing! Have fun!

Connectives—Prompts Inspired by Vievee Francis and Nadia Alamah

Sorry for the delay—I have been in Mississippi and planning the upcoming move to there from California.

It can be easy to overlook how much we can affect one another. When one trips, the other reaches forward to catch and winces at the fall. My worry creases my husband’s forehead; my insomnia keeps him up at night. This morning the mumbled words that escaped the shouting in my nightmare woke him, so he called my name to wake me. I wish I could express the connection as Vievee Francis does here.

For the first prompt, think of a friend or lover or relative whom you feel a deep connection with and make a list of events/actions of one or yourself and the effects experienced by the other/yourself into a poem or story.

For the second prompt, take that list and choose only one of the shared causes/effects for the heart of the poem or story.

Your third prompt is to write the “secret story” of the first line.

For the next poetry or prose prompt, describe what “once you know, you / can’t unknow” and what you (or a character) did to survive that learning.

Another prompt is to write a poem or story from the following word list: “bow,” “part,” “ravages,” “pull,” “pressure,” “need,” “grip,” “demands,” “present,” “string,” and “quiver.” Try to reverse the forms: verbs to nouns or vise versa.

The next prompts are based on two photos in a series I saw in an art installation.

Here is the artist’s statement:

“Redlining Henna I-IV”

This photographed series depicts an interpretation of redlining via body paint and henna. The two hands depicted here have lines from both district maps of Long Beach, California and Beirut, Lebanon to reflect how two entirely different cities, countries and parts of the world can experience the same discrimination-fueled sociopolitical phenomenon. The process is photographed so that the viewer can “see” the redlining happening, where the borders drawn to create districts become red, and with areas distinguished and excluded from other areas.

The choice for having this piece painted on the hands is inspired by the photos of and the act of receiving henna. Henna is usually given on holidays and weddings in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It was historically a Lebanese tradition for weddings, but with the impact of colonialism and a culturally-imbedded desire to adopt more Western wedding traditions, the tradition of utilizing henna appears to be observed less and less frequently. 

This results in an opportunity to create art that juxtaposes two phenomenons to show their relatability, with the intention to comment on our developing cities and the way in which immigrants can also become subject to redlining. 

Concept, art and model: Nadia the Llama @nadiaathellama   nadiathellama.com

Photography: Kelsey Bryan-Zwick @bindyourownbooks   

Individual Titles 

I: The Lines

II: The Cities 

III: Redlining 

IV: It Never Really Washes Away 

Write an ekphrastic poem from either image, or write a poem or story honoring a family or cultural tradition.

Using the artist’s statement and the images, write a poem or story from the persona of one city or town to another.

The next prompt is to write a story in which the actions of a one town’s residents ripple outward to another region. Try to emphasize echoes and repetition to create a sense of outward flowing.

For another poetry prompt, describe the cities and borders mapped on your body. Who drew those boundaries? What still separates them, or are the lines fading?

The last prompt is to reconcile all the places and selves you have been in a poem or short story or life. Where do you belong? I am still working on that even as I move once again.

Good luck, and please wish me the same!

Ekphrastic Prompt Stolen from Chen Chen

Happy Sunday and happy 23rd day of 30! Let’s start the week (or celebrate the weekend) with a prompt from Chen Chen and write an ekphrastic poem.

For a second prompt, reimagine the world in which humans never left the oceans, that it is dolphins and other sea creatures who became our partners/helpers in civilization. Will we be kinder, wiser, or will be tool-wielding sharks?

For a third prompt, describe what creature you wish could carry you and where do you want to go.

So of course this painting made me think of Catbus of My Friend Totoro. So for another prompt, take a character from the movie and write a narrative poem from that character’s perspective.

And a bonus prompt:

Instead of the Knights of the Round Table, what group would meet around this table? Or make it an ekphrastic. Your choice. Rule wisely

Good luck and have fun!