Poetry by chance: 3 steps to calling yourself a poet

We're all poets, even you(!) ...

I think it was in middle school. The assignment was to memorize and recite a poem. I chose Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.

I think I liked it because it sounded poetic, but it also made sense to me.

The poem isn't terribly long, and I practiced well enough to remember now that I felt pretty good when I sat down after my presentation.

I can't say the exercise inspired me to write poetry, but I have churned out a few poems using the blackout poetry method.

It's easy enough, and I've created a worksheet (2 pages) that makes it even easier if you want to give it a try.

Chances are you've got some extra time on your hands, it's Poetry Month afterall, and given the circumstances we're all in, a little distraction goes a long way.

Share the worksheet and invite someone to try it with you.

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Here’s what you do. Find a short story or article (a printed page from a newspaper, magazine, an old book, or something you've written). Read through the text and select an anchor word. Something that catches your attention. String together a few others words to form a thought or sentence. Be sure they read as traditional writing does. Left to right, top to bottom.

Blackout the words outside of the words you circled and you’ve got a poem.

Here’s one I did. It's remarkable how simple yet thoughtful is it ... don't you think?

Now it’s your turn.

Click on the poetry sample above to get your worksheet download. It’s two pages (instructions and a short poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) that will get you started.

I selected Longfellow because he was from Maine and he is my choice for a writer/poet in this week’s This State of Mine playbook challenge.

Longfellow is a prominent figure here in Portland. There’s a fabulous statue of a seated Longfellow at the intersection of Congress and State in downtown Portland. He's positioned so that he's looking down Congress Street, toward the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, his boyhood home and home of the Maine Historical Society.

p.s. Did you pick a writer or author for the April Playbook? Haven’t picked anyone yet? It's not too late, grab the state fact sheet and get started.