Greetings, dear Wordsmiths!
I’m sure I've mentioned before that I receive the Poetry Newsletter from Diane Lockward, and also own the several wonderful books she has commissioned and edited on the craft of writing poetry – all of them full of a rich variety of prompts as well as craft tips. (To receive the – free! – newsletter yourself, go here.)
This week’s prompt: I’m stealing a prompt for you from one of her recent newsletters. It is to take a well-known myth or fable and write as one of the main characters (not necessarily retelling their story so much as inhabiting their skin). And tell us who; please don't make us guess!
It needs to be a well-known tale and character, so that your readers will get the reference. This means that you need not simply re-tell the story if you don’t want to – though you can if you wish – as readers should already know it, or be able to Google it with ease. You could put the person in any situation you like, even one from your own life, so long as you see it from their point of view. In the newsletter, poet Linda Pastan writes about looking at the sea and missing her husband, which she was indeed doing at the time – but she puts these reflections into the mind of Penelope, wife of Ulysses, by the simple expedient of titling the poem Penelope. (This was included in Lockward’s first craft book, The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop, and is revisited now in memory of Pastan, who has died.)
Guidelines: The prompt is optional. What you choose to share with us this week may be verse or prose, old or new. Please keep it to 369 words max, one post only per person, and link to that post in Mister Linky below. You may also say a few words in our Comments here if so inclined, about anything you like. And do have fun visiting others who link, to enjoy whatever they share this time. Don’t forget to come back a few times, so you don’t miss the treasures in the later links!
Next week, Magaly
will invite us to take a To-Do List (real or imagined) and turn it into a story or poem (share the original list in your post).
Thank you for the imaginative prompt, sweetest Rosemary. And or the link to Diane's site. I
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteI didn't writer to the prompt as I had written one already. Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. And it's fine of course to share something unprompted – though it almost fits the prompt, being about such a legendary (albeit real) character.
DeleteYes, I almost followed the rules ;)
Delete:-D
DeleteGood day, Poets & Storytellers!
ReplyDeleteIt has been sweltering heat and sudden thunderstorms over here. How I would love some cool weather.
I like this week's prompt and I will be keeping that in mind to write one. However, I am posting my third sijo in the series. I also have some work from the recent SingPoWriMo to share. š
Ah, you're that bit closer to the Equator. In Australia, things have been cooling down. Here in the sub-tropics we are thankful that we now sleep better while still having sunny days. Down south they are already complaining of the cold. Up north, I think that, like you, they are wondering when the cooler weather will hurry up and come.
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