Waystation Whistle
  • Home
  • whistle-stop blog
  • Mission

Poetry by chance: 3 steps to calling yourself a poet

4/4/2020

2 Comments

 
Blackout poetry sample
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.

Blackout poetry instructions

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?
Blackout poetry how to photos
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.

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.
2 Comments
Kathi Lohry
12/20/2020 02:42:21 pm

Christine,
I'm not into poetry, but I happen to LOVE Stopping by the Woods, so much so that I bought an illustrated picture book:
https://www.amazon.com/Stopping-Woods-Snowy-Evening-Robert/dp/0525467343/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SB9XYY1Q5LOI&dchild=1&keywords=stopping+by+woods+on+a+snowy+evening+illustrated+by+susan+jeffers&qid=1608504001&sprefix=stopping+by+the+woods+susan+jeffers%2Caps%2C1797&sr=8-1

Reply
Chrissy link
12/21/2020 05:29:48 am

Hi Kathy,
Isn't it funny how one poem can capture your attention. I love an illustrated book ... it transforms it into a story with all of the illustrations.

Reply



Leave a Reply.


    Picture
    Like to write? Get your writing prompt now.

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020

    Categories

    All
    1 Hour Or Less
    Animals
    Baking
    Beginning
    Birds
    Books
    Bored
    Cabin Fever
    Carpentry
    Collage
    Collecting
    Cooking
    Craft
    Cursive Writing
    Dance
    Drawing
    Flowers
    Food
    Forest Bathing
    Gardening
    Give It A Go
    Half Day
    Hand Lettering
    History
    Hobbies
    Holidays
    I Write Letters To Say
    Journaling
    Letter Writing
    Library
    Maps
    Music
    Nature
    Organizing
    Pastime
    Persistence
    Photography
    Playbook
    Poetry
    Posters
    Progress
    Puzzles
    Reading
    Recipe
    Seasons
    Secret Messages
    Sewing
    Sharing
    Shorthand
    Skill
    Snail Mail
    States
    Statues
    Traditions
    Typewriters
    Valentines
    Walking
    Watercolor
    Winter
    Workshops
    Writing

©2020 / WayStation Whistle LLC
PO Box No. 5290
Portland, ME 04101
Got a question?  Drop us a line.

Blog
Home
Returns
Mission
Privacy
Terms of Service
  • Home
  • whistle-stop blog
  • Mission