Tag: Karen Benke

SOL 17: Poetry Is…

Catherine Flynn13 Comments

Stuck for an idea for a slice, I reached for Karen Benke’s Rip the Page: Adventures in Creative Writing. (Read another post inspired by this book here.) On page 56, I found “Juxtaposition.” This exercise begins by folding a piece of paper in half lengthwise, then choosing ten words from one of the many word lists in the book. Next, add a descriptive word in front of each of the chosen words. Turn the paper over and follow the directions for what to write next. When you unfold the paper, write “Poetry Is” at the top. Try various combinations from the assortment of words and phrases you wrote until you find a “juxtaposition…two unlike things (side by side) to wake up your ears and make your mouth smile.” Some of these pairings aren’t really a surprise, but I liked the images they conjured.

Poetry Is…

Poetry is a blizzard of fireflies
blinking with joy
in a meadow teeming with life.
Poetry is crickets
buzzing autumn’s song.
Poetry is an iridescent peacock
strutting under the mellowing sun.
Poetry is popcorn
jumping and jittering
in a cobalt blue pot while
the grandfather clock chimes
on a Tuesday afternoon.
Poetry is the glimmer of dawn,
tip-toeing onto my pillow,
creeping through my eyelashes,
into my imagination.

© Catherine Flynn, 2017

Thank you to Stacey, Betsy, Beth, Kathleen, Deb, Melanie, Lisa and Lanny for creating this community and providing this space for teachers and others to share their stories every day in March and on Tuesdays throughout the year. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.

Slice of Life: Honeysuckle

Catherine Flynn18 Comments

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The word challenge is a appropriate on so many levels for this Slice of Life Challenge! How do I make the time to write everyday? How to read all the terrific posts being shared? How do I come up with an idea of what to write about Every. Single. Day.

It’s not that I don’t have ideas. It’s that they don’t always cooperate, or I don’t have the time I need to develop them. So what to do on those days?

A few months ago, I received an intriguing postcard advertising Rip the Page! Adventures in Creative Writing (Roost Books, 2010) by Karen Benke. The jacket copy goes on to say that the book “Includes wordplay, open-ended writing experiments, encouragement from writers and poets, and enough blank pages to let your words roam…” I ordered it immediately.

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To say that this book is full of inspiration is an understatement. I could open up to any random page and have a topic to write about in under a minute. Today’s slice is courtesy “Favorite Words,” a page with sixty random words. Benke describes this as “a list of some of my favorite words to snack on.” I chose the word “honeysuckle,” which unleashed this:

This is the magic…

A word.

Honeysuckle,

d

  r

    i

      p

        p

          i

           n

              g

with sweetness,

conjures a memory

of summer afternoons,

walking through meadows

lined with masses of

yellow and orange blossoms.

Vying with bumblebees

and hummingbirds

darting

     in

and

     out,

        hovering

in mid air,

to steal

the nectar stored inside.

Liquid sunshine.

© Catherine Flynn, 2015

By Aftabbanoori (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Aftabbanoori (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
The potential of this book for classroom use is endless. I can’t wait to see what my students come up with based on their favorite words!

Thank you to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, and Beth for this space for teachers and others to share their stories each day during the month of March and on Tuesdays throughout the year. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.