Category: poetry

poetry

A New Poetry Form – The Streetbeatina

carolyncordon

A new poetic discovery!
I found a new form of poetry the other day, and this is something that always makes me happy! I like words, and doing interesting things with them in poetic ways. So I read about it, and I jumped at the chance to give it a go myself. below is the explanation of the form, followed by my own attempts I’ve written so far. I suspect I will write more of this type of poem.

I feel my second attempt is a superior poem over my first try, but don’t feel either of them are as good as the ones written by the poet who came up with this interesting poetry form.

This website post came to my attention recently, and I was intrigued about its possibilities. The Streetbeatina consists of eight lines, each line having eight syllables. What makes the form both rather challenging and unique is that the first syllable of the first line is repeated as the second syllable in the second line, the third syllable of the third line and so on. Although it is not necessary, if the poet wishes, the repeated syllable can be emphasized by printing it either in italics, bold, or a different color. The repetition of the sound of the syllable at precise intervals provides the poem with a natural beat , and musicality.

If you wish to know more about this, from the man who created it, go here, where I found about it.

My own poetic Streetbeatina poems

Leftovers or Gourmet?

by Carolyn Cordon

Stew for dinner, yesterday’s meal

Can you eat it again remade?

Flavours drew from meat now gone, but

A hungry crew, lines up for more –

Meat tasteless as shoe leather, though

Spiced and revived, made new – chef’s friends

Garlic, chili, flavours true, real,

choices expand, cooking talents grew!

Short and ? Who knows …

by Carolyn Cordon

Yay, it’s time, good things are coming,

hooray, it’s now! Goodbye bad times,

go! I say. We’ve suffered enough

done all we may, each muscle aches

our brains fried, frayed, splattered, scattered …

What’ll come next, I say, wary ….

More bad shit, then I’m not staying!

That’s not a life, beaten, betrayed …

It’s Your Turn Now

If you like writing poetry, and you like challenges, why not have a go at this poetic style, who knows what you may be able to write!

And please, write a comment and tell me what you think about this form of poetry!

poetry

Creative Writing 5 – Poetry Presentation/Performance Poetry

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Another aspect of poetry

So today, we are going to explore ways to better present our poetry to others. Poetry in a book is heard by the listener in the way they read it. That reader may simply read word after word, after word in a monotone boring way. They may put lots of emotion into the words they read and hear inside their head and find the words exciting because of the effort they put into it.

What we are going to do is to present our poems in ways that will excite the audience, and I hope excite ourselves too. I’m sure you’ve all done some work in presenting things to an audience, but if you haven’t here are some ideas and clues on how to help make it an exciting event for the audience who is listening to you read your poem.

 

Poetry Out Loud!

We are going to firstly wake up ourselves and our voices. Stand up, make a little room for yourself. Spread your arms out to the left and right, slowly twist your body around, one way then the other repeat, repeat. Next, make fists, then spread your fingers out wide, repeat twice, slowly. Then shake your arms around while marching on the spot. OK, enough hard work, we’re ready to move onto the actual voice work.

In a clear and firm voice, say this:

La la la la la la la la la la Woohoo! Woohoo? Woohoo! Woohoo? Woohoo! La la la la la la

 

Give Your Poem All You Can!

A poem needs time to go from one person on to the next person, from you to your audience. Reading your poem slowly, and 2/3 speed or sometimes even slower, gives the listener time to properly take in your words, to think on the thoughts being presented.

You are now ready to read your own poem! Find an area in the room, imagine your audience and prepare to read your poem to your imaginary audience, putting into your reading all of the emotion your words call for.

Use your body too, hands, arms, whatever the poem calls for, gestures and so on as appropriate for your poem. In that same clear and firm voice, read your poem – clear – firm – slow – Don’t be afraid to really put on a performance, that is what we are doing here, performance poetry, and that’s what the audience is here for!

I want you to use your voice to wrap up your new poem, in love, with emotion and meaning, so any audience who listens to you read your poem, truly understands the great worth of your fine words!

I will present the poem I wrote earlier this week, that I brought along yesterday with the notes for that session. I did a little editing after I did a practise reading earlier today, and I hope I made it better. Reading your work out loud is always a valuable method for finding the places where your poem doesn’t quite flow the way you and the audience want it to.

 

Imagine me performing this poem, with actions and with emotion, giving my all, so you will feel my words in your head and in your heart.

 

image00000084

What is Freedom?

If the question blazes down on me like the sun,

blinding bright so I can barely see a thing

I do not know what Freedom is …

 

If the question sticks in my throat, making me cough,

unable to say a single word at all

I do not know what Freedom is …

 

If the question is like a flood of people

drowning me with their constant demands

I do not know what Freedom is …

 

If the question is a weight on my shoulders

burdening me so I cannot dance and play

I do not know what Freedom is …

 

But if my life is full of love, joy and wonderful things

I am able and allowed to do, I no longer need to ask –

then and only then, do I truly know what Freedom is!

 

© Carolyn Cordon 2016

 

 

 

OK, know it’s your turn, slow & steady with emotion and meaning!

 

Thank you everyone, I hope you’ve found this useful.

 

Carolyn Cordon offers sincere thanks to Martin Christmas, Poet, Performer, and fine friend. He is the person who showed me how to perform my own work with emotion, and with heart, and he will be forever be in my heart too.

poetry

Creative Writing 4 – Using Poem of Another

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No, Not Plagiarism!

Fear not, I’m not advising anyone to use poems of other poets, and saying they are your poems. This is plagiarism and is rightly against the law. What I am referring to is to use the poems of other poets are inspirations, and ‘templates’ perhaps.

I’ve done this workshop in my favorite venue in Gawler, with gratifying results in the past.

To do this workshop, I advise you either raid your own stash of poetry books, or visit the library and borrow some of theirs.

poetry books

 

Workshop details

  • Other people’s poems can be an unending supply of ideas for the writing of your own poem. Some people think that if you read the poetry of others, you will somehow copy that work, and it will be stealing, instead of being creative.
  • I certainly don’t agree with that idea, I’ve often been inspired by the poems of others, and have come up with something perhaps on the same or a similar subject, but it quite a different form. There are millions of words in the English language, and it is fine to take words from the languages of others and use them too, English is famous for that!
  • I want everyone to find one poetry collections from the ones you are using, to find one tome that seems to ‘speak to you’. This means, one that is on a topic you like, or written in a way you find interesting, or even exciting. Once you have the book you want to use, find a poem or several poems, and write them out on your paper.
  • This poem will be your inspiration for writing a brand new poem for yourself today.
  • Take a poem, and change nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and make it a new poem in that way.
  • Or you can take the poem title and use that as the inspiration for a completely new poem.
  • Another way to use the other person’s work might be to take a particularly striking image or idea in their poem, and write your own poem using that as the title of, and inspiration for your own new poem.
  • These and other ideas can be fascinating ways into poetry, and I hope you are all as excited about what might happen, as I am!

 

My Poetic Response to this Workshop

I chose a poem from the book “Tadpoles in the Torrens”, which is a collection of poems written for children, that have much interest too, for adults. My chosen poem is ‘Cat Nap’ by well known Adelaide poet, Jules Leigh Koch.

For this exercise, I have change the animal to a dog, and followed the format of Jules’ poem, but as it applies to a dog instead of a cat.

 

“Dog Doze by Carolyn Cordon

Our pet dog

as loud

as a thunderstorm

 

Makes her home

in our house

and in our garden

 

To imagine prey

large as dragons

small as mice”

 

I feel I have captured the idea of a dog, in a similar way the other poet captured a cat, and that is what I was certainly trying to do. I am also thinking about writing a haiku poem, similar to the famous poem by well known Japanese Haiku poet Basho, which was written about a frog jumping into a pond.

My poem, if I manage to complete it to my satisfaction, will be about the well known birds, galahs, Australian birds who live around where I live. I love to see them as they fly all around, squawking loudly!

 

Carolyn

Carolyn Cordon, President Adelaide Plains Poets, writer, poet, dreamer, cloud watcher …

poetry, writing exercise

Creative Writing Workshop 2 – Writing an Ode

carolyncordon

An Ode is a celebration, a lyrical poem praising something. It can be something wondrous, or it may be something so-so that the poet can make wondrous through their words in praise of it. John Keats has a well known Ode – Ode to a Grecian Urn, and another titled Ode to a Nightingale. They are both fine Odes, but today we are going to look to more contemporary times with the odes we will write. When writing a ode, you have permission to go overboard with the imagery and metaphor!

 

 

And that’s it. With an Ode, you can rhyme or not, as you choose, you can be as silly or serious as you wish, it’s all up to you and your thoughts. The most important thing is to go beyond the obvious, and take your love of your chosen thing as far as you can, lauding it all the way to the sky and stars!

Ode to the Op Shop

Oh wondrous home to much –

glorious treasure trove  

Of love and possibility

Staffed by precious volunteers

Those whose freely-given time benefits many –

Small-time hoarders like me,

Or those in the know who buy much

Then onsell to many

But a delight for those searching

Looking for their next fashionable fancy

And when finding such, our joy

Is met with smiles.

Named junk shops by some

Those who think a label

Rather than a look, is the fashionable thing

But limited new ‘range’ to choose from

Is just the so-called latest thing

Ignoring the clothes of yesteryear –

The best of their time, made best again,

At a bargain price, when payment gives back

To those who have little.

My wardrobe & drawers

Are filled with many found treasures

from within your worthy walls

And walls of other stores like you,

Clothes that have lived a life

Before they came to me,

That could tell such stories!

Each item willingly given up

To be worn again with pride and thanks

Is testament to the love shared

In one of these slices of community

And humanity, wonderful Op Shops,

Shared spaces, filled with memories of the past

And hopes for the future.

Op Shops, oh how I love you, Op Shops

Fine resting places for my unwanted items,

That I bring to an Op Shop such as you,

Knowing that when my need for them is over,

They will be with those who understand

The Op Shop’s fine and long tradition

And who realise the wonders to be found

In the taking up of clothes, both pre-worn and pre-loved,

Knowing the impermanence of such clothes

And relishing it. What has been with one,

Can be again with another, and once lived with

For a while, can move on again, via an Op Shop

And so it goes on, treasure donated by one

Found by another, one who in time,

May donate again, and so it goes,

Op Shops building community,

Community loving Op Shops,

All sharing the love, and the clothes.

We are many, those who share the love

of these wonderful Op Shops –

Treat them well, care for the treasures

found within, and share them with others

at an Op Shop when the proper time comes …

                                                         © 2017 Carolyn Cordon

 

 

You could choose to write an ode to your football team, your pet, a flower, anything, just as long as it’s something you love and have many thoughts about!

 

So think of the subject of your Ode, and start writing down thoughts about why you love it so much, then get working!

 

Carolyn
Carolyn Cordon, kittycordo@gmail.com

poetry

Social Media, Novels, Poetry, Blogger

carolyncordon

This blog post brings together some of my used and usual writing styles, all into one post. a poet friend, suggested I write a poem about something I’d written in a Facebook comment and the more I thought about it, the better it seemed as an idea. So I did it. I can’t decide whether to post the poem here, or attempt to get it published somewhere else first.

By the time I finish writing and posting this blog post, I will have made up my mind about it all. So here are my comments to clarify (maybe!) what I’m writing about here.

“I’m feeling very radical at the moment, this morning after the basket of cleaned washing was tipped on the bed, I folded and put away everything, but I DIDN’T MATCH MY OWN SOCKS! I just put them away in my sock drawer in a colourful unmatched JUMBLE!

I’ve been wearing unmatched socks for about six months now, putting together unmatched socks and wearing them like that, so a striped black and white sock on one foot for instance, and a green plain one on the other foot, for instance.

But to not match up any socks at all, that feels really out there!

One day I may even be radical and brave enough to wear striped clothes with something ‘floral”

That’s it, I’ve sent an edited version of my poem off to The Drabble to see if they will publish it on their site – fingers crossed.

Well I didn’t write about novels, but now I’m wondering whether the main character in one of the writing I have on the go might wear unmatched socks too … Who knows what might happen, that’s what I love about writing fiction!

I have to say thank you to Sarah Jane Justice, the poet who suggested I write this poem, Many thanks!