WAYSTATION WHISTLE
  • Home
  • WhistleStop Blog
  • About
  • Shop
  • My Life's Not That Interesting
  • Home
  • WhistleStop Blog
  • About
  • Shop
  • My Life's Not That Interesting
Search

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.

Chances are you've got some extra time on your hands, it's Poetry Month after all, 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.

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?
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
    WhistleStop Blog
    Uncover, write, and share your best stories

    Picture
    Get yours!

    Categories

    All
    Activities
    Activity Book
    Animals
    Baking
    Beginning
    Birds
    Bookmaking
    Books
    Bored
    Cabin Fever
    Carpentry
    Collage
    Collecting
    Conversation
    Cooking
    Craft
    Cursive Writing
    Dance
    Drawing
    Envelope
    Flowers
    Focus
    Food
    Forest Bathing
    Gardening
    Give It A Go
    Good Things
    Hand Lettering
    History
    Hobbies
    Holidays
    I Write Letters To Say
    Journaling
    Letter Writing
    Library
    Magic
    Mandala
    Maps
    Memoir
    Micro Memoir
    Nature
    Paper Flowers
    Paper Mache
    Pastime
    Persistence
    Pets
    Photography
    Poetry
    Pop Up Book
    Posters
    Progress
    Recipe
    Seasons
    Secret Messages
    Sewing
    Sharing
    Shorthand
    Six Word Stories
    Skill
    Snail Mail
    Stationery
    Statues
    Stories Worth Sharing
    Storytelling
    Typewriters
    Vintage
    Walking
    Watercolor
    Winter
    Writing

Waystation Whistle
Uncover, write, and share your best stories.
©2025 Waystation Whistle
Collage and photography by Christine Richards
Black and White Vintage illustrations ©Dover Publications

Got a question?  Drop us a line.

Home
Terms of Service
  • Home
  • WhistleStop Blog
  • About
  • Shop
  • My Life's Not That Interesting