Category: Writing Prompts
Writing Prompt Wednesday: Emulation Poetry
William Carlos Williams’ poem “This Is Just to Say” is a short, accessible poem that’s well known and easily adaptable. You may have even encountered poems inspired by “This Is Just to Say” on the radio, around the web, or even on Twitter. Written as though it were a note left on a kitchen table, Williams’ poem appears to the reader like a piece of found poetry.
This Is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Write your own poem and include ONE line from “This Is Just to Say” (this is called a “ghost line”). Use similar organization, structure, and style. Brainstorm some ideas by free writing about how “This Is Just to Say” makes you think, feel, and/or remember. Write without stopping, using sentences or not, about whatever comes to mind.
Then, using ideas from your free writing, use one of three options to start writing your poem:
- Start with your “ghost line.”
- Start with a clear image the reader can picture.
- Start with a strong image.
Use the same organization and format of “This Is Just to Say.”
Here’s an example poem by Daniela:
This Is So You Know
I have not worn
the clothes
that still sit
in my closet
the dresses
I once loved
spent
good money on
I forgive
my changing body
so strong
and so bold
You can find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital. Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
Writing Prompt Wednesday: Creative Recipes
Write a creative recipe for something! What are the “ingredients” in your life that make you you? What are the “ingredients” that make something you love amazing or special? Create your own recipe!
Once you’ve chosen a topic for your recipe, start by choosing at least six ingredients. Then use cooking verbs to write an explanatory sentence for each ingredient, which you’ll use for the “Directions” section of your recipe.
In the example poem below, cooking verbs are in bold. Use these same verbs or look up other recipes to incorporate cooking language into your recipe.
Recipe for Basketball Bliss
Ingredients:
Basketball signed by Stephen Curry
Teammates with heads that can turn 360 degrees.
Lightning-laced sneakers
Velvet springs inside that help you dunk
Basketball jerseys that smell like rotten eggs
Nose plugs for just your team
Crowd of super-fans
Half-time show with Beyoncé and Jay-Z
Directions:
For a game of pure basketball bliss, do the following steps. First, sauté a basketball signed by Stephen Curry and sprinkle in teammates with heads that turn 360 degrees. This way, your teammates will always see you’re open. Next, fold in lightning-laced sneakers. On a fast break, you’ll sprint down the court so quickly that the audience will get whiplash from watching you. Toss in velvet springs inside your sneakers. How else will you dunk even though you’re only 5’7”? Stir in basketball jerseys that smell like rotten eggs. Your opponents will never dare to get close enough you to guard you. Blend in nose plugs for your team. Sprinkle in a crowd of super-fans. They will roar like lions each time you score. Mix in a half-time show with Beyonce and Jay-Z and bake everything at 350 degrees.
Need some ideas? You could write a recipe for peace, for happiness, for a fantastic year, for the best day ever, for the perfect birthday, for the most wonderful school trip, most amazing brother, or something completely different!
You can find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital. Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
Writing Prompt Wednesday: Setting-O-Matic
Begin by creating a collage using magazine pictures (National Geographic or travel magazines are a great place to start!). Once you find a photo you like, use it as the starting point for creating a new world and setting for an original character. Is your character a human? A monster? A person with super powers?
Use the questions below to round out how this setting should inspire your story:
- What is this place called?
- Pick a specific location that your story will take place. (Example: A submarine, a cave, ancient ruins, etc.)
- Use the five senses to describe what this place is like. (Example: A rusty, miniature submarine that constantly smells of rotten eggs and is filled with framed portraits of fluffy kittens in teacups.)
- What are a few details about the LARGER world this story’s setting is within? Is this submarine on Earth? Beneath Chicago? On a distant planet far, far away?
- What are the rules/boundaries of this world? Do inhabitants have magical powers? Are there inherent dangers to this world?
- What sort of people/creatures live in this world? What are their daily lives like?
Consider including an unexpected “rule” of this new world. Do fish turn to paper when it snows? Does everyone turn into a rainbow-crying fairy at midnight on Halloween? Does everyone use magic? All of the rules of a story can be written through the setting!
“This is the story of a lifetime, starting in the village called Dullahan Village. The village was a kingdom ruled by a king. The village was made up of brick houses, a forest, mountains, and a huge waterfall. The village was like a festival, full of decorations, pearls, crystals, and jewelry. All of the Dullahans were half-man, half-horse, with no heads. They wore decorations like rings, headbands, bracelets, and necklaces. All the jewelry gave them great powers like magic defense, magic attack, and magic strength. They were fearless.”
–”Mighty and the Three Kids” by Oscar, 826CHI
Read more of Oscar’s story, download a classroom handout, and find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital.
Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
#WritingPromptWednesday: Grab Bag Stories
Grab Bag Stories
Have you ever done a bag skit? It’s a drama exercise where a team of actors is given a bag that contains a variety of unrelated objects, and they must create a short skit that makes use of all the objects in a sensible or funny way.
Write your own Grab Bag Story
Grab Bag Stories are the writing equivalent of a bag skit. Use the three objects in the prompt above (stopwatch, a loaf of bread, a globe), or choose objects from your surroundings. Use these items as a starting point and write a story that uses all of them.
Need more of a push? Here are some questions to get you thinking:
- What kind of person would have all of these objects?
- Are the objects close to each other in physical space, or are some of them elsewhere (like part of a memory)?
- Is your story from the perspective of one of these objects?
- Is the object important to the plot or narrative, or just part of a scene?
#WritingPromptWednesday: Write a haiku about the last thing you ate
Haiku is a form of poetry, first made popular in Japan, which conveys a vivid message in only 17 syllables. Haiku are valued for their simplicity, openness, depth, and lightness. Haiku poems can describe anything but are usually simple and easy to understand.
Many haiku have a main idea that appeals strongly to one of the five senses. Traditional haiku focus on a season of the year by describing an element from nature. For example, blossoms can indicate spring, snow can evoke winter, or mosquitos can imply summertime. A haiku’s seasonal words aren’t always obvious, so sometimes the reader must consider the theme of the poem to discover the season. For example:
Clouds appear and bring
to men a chance to rest from
looking at the moon
The seasonal word in this haiku is “clouds,” indicating the rainy season.
Try writing your own haiku.
- Use exactly 17 syllables
- Arrange syllables in three lines of 5-7-5
- Avoid similes and metaphors
- Make your haiku a traditional, seasonal one by referring to a season of the year OR write a modern haiku about the last thing you ate
#WritingPromptWednesday: Riddles
It can be cracked.
It can be made.
It can be told.
It can be played.
What is it?
A joke!
A Riddle is a type of poem that describes something without actually naming what it is, leaving the reader to guess. A riddle is a light-hearted type of poetry which involves the reader.
How do you write a riddle poem?
Riddles can be about anything, from riddles about animals to riddles about objects. They can rhyme or not rhyme. Have your students select a subject, and list words or phrases to describe it. Have them name the subject at the end. Easy peasy!
We are now accepting submissions for the 5th Annual Pizza Poetry Project. Consider having your students try to write a riddle poem and submit it for consideration!
#WritingPromptWednesday: Odes
Ode to the Mall
Getting things done.
Their nails and eyebrows
slayed, ‘cause if you’re not
slayin’ then what you saying.
Getting new clothes
and shoes, but those
new hairdos are the best;
it’s better than the rest.
I love the mall
because I love the shopping and the clothes,
and the mall loves me.
Me and the mall,
both so happy.
—Carmen, Grade 6, ARISE Academy
An ode is a poem of praise. They often highlight “ordinary” things, things that don’t typically get praise. Last year Carmen charmed us with her Ode to the Mall, and the things that made her happy about that special place.
How do you write an ode?
Odes do not have a set structure. To help students start their odes, have them pick a subject and brainstorm:
- The reasons why they praise the subject
- Feelings the subject gives them
- Adjectives to describe the subject
- Actions the subject does
Have students circle words and phrases that stick out to them from their brainstorms to include in their poem. Ask students to try writing directly to their subject:
Oh ice cream,
You are cold and delicious
I love you on a hot day.
We are now accepting submissions for the 5th Annual Pizza Poetry Project. If you are not able to bring us to your classroom for a free workshop, consider having your students try to write an ode and submit it for consideration!
#WritingPromptWednesday: Pizza Poetry Fractured Nursery Rhymes
Everyone needs a little help sometimes to get started writing poetry. Changing the words of a well-known poem could be a good jumping-off point. Fractured Nursery Rhymes do just that. It’s fun to take a familiar nursery rhyme and change some of the words to make it funny.
How do you write a fractured nursery rhyme?
Fractured nursery rhymes have many different structures. To be successful, they should follow the same rhyme scheme/pattern of the original rhyme they are imitating.
Give Mary an animal other than a lamb.
Maybe something else twinkles other than a star.
Try giving the Old Woman a place to live other than a shoe.
Try your hand at a fractured nursery rhyme and share it with us!
We are now accepting submissions for the 5th Annual Pizza Poetry Project. If you are not able to bring us to your classroom for a free workshop, consider having your students try to write a fractured nursery rhyme and submit it for consideration!
Pizza Poetry Blog Post #6: Prose Poems
Teachers: Want to incorporate Pizza Poetry into your classroom, but not sure where to get started? From now until April 7th, we’ll be posting bi-weekly poetry writing prompts here on our blog! Remember, anyone ages 6-18 in Greater New Orleans can submit poetry to be published on a pizza box. And don’t forget: the deadline to submit poetry is April 7th.
Prose Poetry
A prose poem is a poem written in sentences. Often, it appears as a block of text and resembles a paragraph more than a typical metered poem. A prose poem however, is not a story, focusing more on the characteristics of poetry, such as poetic meter, language play, and images.
Prose poems first appeared in 19th Century France as an act of rebellion. Poets like Charles Baudelaire and Aloysius Bertrand wanted to protest the predominance of the Alexandrine metered line and the typical content that followed it. Breaking out of metered form, they wrote in a block of text that resembled prose, but behaved like poetry.
Many prose poems are written in second person, meaning the poet is addressing somebody or speaking to them.The second person uses the pronouns “you,” “your,” and “yours.” Often second-person prose poems resemble letters or postcards.
Below are two examples of prose poems written in second person. Now, it’s time to try writing your own prose poem. Think about WHO you want to write your prose poem to and what you want to say! Remember, you’re still writing a poem so imagery, devices and rhythm are important!
from Citizen, I
By Claudia Rankine
A woman you do not know wants to join you for lunch. You are visiting her campus. In the café you both order the Caesar salad. This overlap is not the beginning of anything because she immediately points out that she, her father, her grandfather, and you, all attended the same college. She wanted her son to go there as well, but because of affirmative action or minority something—she is not sure what they are calling it these days and weren’t they supposed to get rid of it?—her son wasn’t accepted. You are not sure if you are meant to apologize for this failure of your alma mater’s legacy program; instead you ask where he ended up. The prestigious school she mentions doesn’t seem to assuage her irritation. This exchange, in effect, ends your lunch. The salads arrive.
A Supermarket in California
Allen Ginsberg, 1926 – 1997
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!—and you, García Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?
I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in a hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we’ll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?
—Berkeley, 1955
Pizza Poetry Blog Post #5: Awake At Night
Teachers: Want to incorporate Pizza Poetry into your classroom, but not sure where to get started? From now until April 7th, we’ll be posting bi-weekly poetry writing prompts here on our blog! Remember, anyone ages 6-18 in Greater New Orleans can submit poetry to be published on a pizza box. And don’t forget: the deadline to submit poetry is April 7th.
Lesson Plan: Awake at Night (7th-12th grade)
Hanging Fire
BY AUDRE LORDE
I am fourteen
and my skin has betrayed me
the boy I cannot live without
still sucks his thumb
in secret
how come my knees are
always so ashy
what if I die
before morning
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.
I have to learn how to dance
in time for the next party
my room is too small for me
suppose I die before graduation
they will sing sad melodies
but finally
tell the truth about me
There is nothing I want to do
and too much
that has to be done
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.
Nobody even stops to think
about my side of it
I should have been on Math Team
my marks were better than his
why do I have to be
the one
wearing braces
I have nothing to wear tomorrow
will I live long enough
to grow up
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.
-
Read Hanging Fire together as a class. Then ask students to read the poem silently a couple more times.
-
Brainstorm both concrete and abstract things that keep students awake at night worrying. Encourage them to list things that might seem trivial (how come my knees are always so ashy) to grander things (will I live long enough to grow up?)
Depending on the comfort level and culture of the classroom, this brainstorm might be more fruitful if done individually.
-
Now encourage students to write their own poems modeled after Hanging Fire.
Email us at pizzapoetry@bigclass.org to let us know how the workshop went, and submit your students’ poems. Are you especially proud of any of the poems? Let us know and we’ll feature them on this blog! Click here to learn more about the Pizza Poetry Project.
Writing Prompt Wednesday: Emulation Poetry
William Carlos Williams’ poem “This Is Just to Say” is a short, accessible poem that’s well known and easily adaptable. You may have even encountered poems inspired by “This Is Just to Say” on the radio, around the web, or even on Twitter. Written as though it were a note left on a kitchen table, Williams’ poem appears to the reader like a piece of found poetry.
This Is Just to Say
I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox
and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast
Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold
Write your own poem and include ONE line from “This Is Just to Say” (this is called a “ghost line”). Use similar organization, structure, and style. Brainstorm some ideas by free writing about how “This Is Just to Say” makes you think, feel, and/or remember. Write without stopping, using sentences or not, about whatever comes to mind.
Then, using ideas from your free writing, use one of three options to start writing your poem:
- Start with your “ghost line.”
- Start with a clear image the reader can picture.
- Start with a strong image.
Use the same organization and format of “This Is Just to Say.”
Here’s an example poem by Daniela:
This Is So You Know
I have not worn
the clothes
that still sit
in my closet
the dresses
I once loved
spent
good money on
I forgive
my changing body
so strong
and so bold
You can find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital. Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
Writing Prompt Wednesday: Creative Recipes
Write a creative recipe for something! What are the “ingredients” in your life that make you you? What are the “ingredients” that make something you love amazing or special? Create your own recipe!
Once you’ve chosen a topic for your recipe, start by choosing at least six ingredients. Then use cooking verbs to write an explanatory sentence for each ingredient, which you’ll use for the “Directions” section of your recipe.
In the example poem below, cooking verbs are in bold. Use these same verbs or look up other recipes to incorporate cooking language into your recipe.
Recipe for Basketball Bliss
Ingredients:
Basketball signed by Stephen Curry
Teammates with heads that can turn 360 degrees.
Lightning-laced sneakers
Velvet springs inside that help you dunk
Basketball jerseys that smell like rotten eggs
Nose plugs for just your team
Crowd of super-fans
Half-time show with Beyoncé and Jay-ZDirections:
For a game of pure basketball bliss, do the following steps. First, sauté a basketball signed by Stephen Curry and sprinkle in teammates with heads that turn 360 degrees. This way, your teammates will always see you’re open. Next, fold in lightning-laced sneakers. On a fast break, you’ll sprint down the court so quickly that the audience will get whiplash from watching you. Toss in velvet springs inside your sneakers. How else will you dunk even though you’re only 5’7”? Stir in basketball jerseys that smell like rotten eggs. Your opponents will never dare to get close enough you to guard you. Blend in nose plugs for your team. Sprinkle in a crowd of super-fans. They will roar like lions each time you score. Mix in a half-time show with Beyonce and Jay-Z and bake everything at 350 degrees.
Need some ideas? You could write a recipe for peace, for happiness, for a fantastic year, for the best day ever, for the perfect birthday, for the most wonderful school trip, most amazing brother, or something completely different!
You can find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital. Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
Writing Prompt Wednesday: Setting-O-Matic
Begin by creating a collage using magazine pictures (National Geographic or travel magazines are a great place to start!). Once you find a photo you like, use it as the starting point for creating a new world and setting for an original character. Is your character a human? A monster? A person with super powers?
Use the questions below to round out how this setting should inspire your story:
- What is this place called?
- Pick a specific location that your story will take place. (Example: A submarine, a cave, ancient ruins, etc.)
- Use the five senses to describe what this place is like. (Example: A rusty, miniature submarine that constantly smells of rotten eggs and is filled with framed portraits of fluffy kittens in teacups.)
- What are a few details about the LARGER world this story’s setting is within? Is this submarine on Earth? Beneath Chicago? On a distant planet far, far away?
- What are the rules/boundaries of this world? Do inhabitants have magical powers? Are there inherent dangers to this world?
- What sort of people/creatures live in this world? What are their daily lives like?
Consider including an unexpected “rule” of this new world. Do fish turn to paper when it snows? Does everyone turn into a rainbow-crying fairy at midnight on Halloween? Does everyone use magic? All of the rules of a story can be written through the setting!
“This is the story of a lifetime, starting in the village called Dullahan Village. The village was a kingdom ruled by a king. The village was made up of brick houses, a forest, mountains, and a huge waterfall. The village was like a festival, full of decorations, pearls, crystals, and jewelry. All of the Dullahans were half-man, half-horse, with no heads. They wore decorations like rings, headbands, bracelets, and necklaces. All the jewelry gave them great powers like magic defense, magic attack, and magic strength. They were fearless.”
–”Mighty and the Three Kids” by Oscar, 826CHI
Read more of Oscar’s story, download a classroom handout, and find more resources for this writing prompt on 826 Digital.
Interested in using this Writing Prompt Wednesday or other writing activities in your classroom? Create a free account on 826 Digital, which provides engaging, adaptable, standards-based resources designed to captivate young writers and empower their educators.
#WritingPromptWednesday: Grab Bag Stories
Grab Bag Stories
Have you ever done a bag skit? It’s a drama exercise where a team of actors is given a bag that contains a variety of unrelated objects, and they must create a short skit that makes use of all the objects in a sensible or funny way.
Write your own Grab Bag Story
Grab Bag Stories are the writing equivalent of a bag skit. Use the three objects in the prompt above (stopwatch, a loaf of bread, a globe), or choose objects from your surroundings. Use these items as a starting point and write a story that uses all of them.
Need more of a push? Here are some questions to get you thinking:
- What kind of person would have all of these objects?
- Are the objects close to each other in physical space, or are some of them elsewhere (like part of a memory)?
- Is your story from the perspective of one of these objects?
- Is the object important to the plot or narrative, or just part of a scene?
#WritingPromptWednesday: Write a haiku about the last thing you ate
Haiku is a form of poetry, first made popular in Japan, which conveys a vivid message in only 17 syllables. Haiku are valued for their simplicity, openness, depth, and lightness. Haiku poems can describe anything but are usually simple and easy to understand.
Many haiku have a main idea that appeals strongly to one of the five senses. Traditional haiku focus on a season of the year by describing an element from nature. For example, blossoms can indicate spring, snow can evoke winter, or mosquitos can imply summertime. A haiku’s seasonal words aren’t always obvious, so sometimes the reader must consider the theme of the poem to discover the season. For example:
Clouds appear and bring
to men a chance to rest from
looking at the moon
The seasonal word in this haiku is “clouds,” indicating the rainy season.
Try writing your own haiku.
- Use exactly 17 syllables
- Arrange syllables in three lines of 5-7-5
- Avoid similes and metaphors
- Make your haiku a traditional, seasonal one by referring to a season of the year OR write a modern haiku about the last thing you ate
#WritingPromptWednesday: Riddles
It can be cracked.
It can be made.
It can be told.
It can be played.
What is it?
A joke!
A Riddle is a type of poem that describes something without actually naming what it is, leaving the reader to guess. A riddle is a light-hearted type of poetry which involves the reader.
How do you write a riddle poem?
Riddles can be about anything, from riddles about animals to riddles about objects. They can rhyme or not rhyme. Have your students select a subject, and list words or phrases to describe it. Have them name the subject at the end. Easy peasy!
We are now accepting submissions for the 5th Annual Pizza Poetry Project. Consider having your students try to write a riddle poem and submit it for consideration!
#WritingPromptWednesday: Odes
Ode to the Mall
Getting things done.
Their nails and eyebrows
slayed, ‘cause if you’re not
slayin’ then what you saying.
Getting new clothes
and shoes, but those
new hairdos are the best;
it’s better than the rest.
I love the mall
because I love the shopping and the clothes,
and the mall loves me.
Me and the mall,
both so happy.
—Carmen, Grade 6, ARISE Academy
An ode is a poem of praise. They often highlight “ordinary” things, things that don’t typically get praise. Last year Carmen charmed us with her Ode to the Mall, and the things that made her happy about that special place.
How do you write an ode?
Odes do not have a set structure. To help students start their odes, have them pick a subject and brainstorm:
- The reasons why they praise the subject
- Feelings the subject gives them
- Adjectives to describe the subject
- Actions the subject does
Have students circle words and phrases that stick out to them from their brainstorms to include in their poem. Ask students to try writing directly to their subject:
Oh ice cream,
You are cold and delicious
I love you on a hot day.
We are now accepting submissions for the 5th Annual Pizza Poetry Project. If you are not able to bring us to your classroom for a free workshop, consider having your students try to write an ode and submit it for consideration!
#WritingPromptWednesday: Pizza Poetry Fractured Nursery Rhymes
Everyone needs a little help sometimes to get started writing poetry. Changing the words of a well-known poem could be a good jumping-off point. Fractured Nursery Rhymes do just that. It’s fun to take a familiar nursery rhyme and change some of the words to make it funny.
How do you write a fractured nursery rhyme?
Fractured nursery rhymes have many different structures. To be successful, they should follow the same rhyme scheme/pattern of the original rhyme they are imitating.
Give Mary an animal other than a lamb.
Maybe something else twinkles other than a star.
Try giving the Old Woman a place to live other than a shoe.
Try your hand at a fractured nursery rhyme and share it with us!
We are now accepting submissions for the 5th Annual Pizza Poetry Project. If you are not able to bring us to your classroom for a free workshop, consider having your students try to write a fractured nursery rhyme and submit it for consideration!
Pizza Poetry Blog Post #6: Prose Poems
Teachers: Want to incorporate Pizza Poetry into your classroom, but not sure where to get started? From now until April 7th, we’ll be posting bi-weekly poetry writing prompts here on our blog! Remember, anyone ages 6-18 in Greater New Orleans can submit poetry to be published on a pizza box. And don’t forget: the deadline to submit poetry is April 7th.
Prose Poetry
A prose poem is a poem written in sentences. Often, it appears as a block of text and resembles a paragraph more than a typical metered poem. A prose poem however, is not a story, focusing more on the characteristics of poetry, such as poetic meter, language play, and images.
Prose poems first appeared in 19th Century France as an act of rebellion. Poets like Charles Baudelaire and Aloysius Bertrand wanted to protest the predominance of the Alexandrine metered line and the typical content that followed it. Breaking out of metered form, they wrote in a block of text that resembled prose, but behaved like poetry.
Many prose poems are written in second person, meaning the poet is addressing somebody or speaking to them.The second person uses the pronouns “you,” “your,” and “yours.” Often second-person prose poems resemble letters or postcards.
Below are two examples of prose poems written in second person. Now, it’s time to try writing your own prose poem. Think about WHO you want to write your prose poem to and what you want to say! Remember, you’re still writing a poem so imagery, devices and rhythm are important!
from Citizen, I
By Claudia Rankine
A woman you do not know wants to join you for lunch. You are visiting her campus. In the café you both order the Caesar salad. This overlap is not the beginning of anything because she immediately points out that she, her father, her grandfather, and you, all attended the same college. She wanted her son to go there as well, but because of affirmative action or minority something—she is not sure what they are calling it these days and weren’t they supposed to get rid of it?—her son wasn’t accepted. You are not sure if you are meant to apologize for this failure of your alma mater’s legacy program; instead you ask where he ended up. The prestigious school she mentions doesn’t seem to assuage her irritation. This exchange, in effect, ends your lunch. The salads arrive.
A Supermarket in California
Allen Ginsberg, 1926 – 1997
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees with a headache self-conscious looking at the full moon.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images, I went into the neon fruit supermarket, dreaming of your enumerations!
What peaches and what penumbras! Whole families shopping at night! Aisles full of husbands! Wives in the avocados, babies in the tomatoes!—and you, García Lorca, what were you doing down by the watermelons?
I saw you, Walt Whitman, childless, lonely old grubber, poking among the meats in the refrigerator and eyeing the grocery boys.
I heard you asking questions of each: Who killed the pork chops? What price bananas? Are you my Angel?
I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you, and followed in my imagination by the store detective.
We strode down the open corridors together in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes, possessing every frozen delicacy, and never passing the cashier.
Where are we going, Walt Whitman? The doors close in a hour. Which way does your beard point tonight?
(I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)
Will we walk all night through solitary streets? The trees add shade to shade, lights out in the houses, we’ll both be lonely.
Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love past blue automobiles in driveways, home to our silent cottage?
Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?
—Berkeley, 1955
Pizza Poetry Blog Post #5: Awake At Night
Teachers: Want to incorporate Pizza Poetry into your classroom, but not sure where to get started? From now until April 7th, we’ll be posting bi-weekly poetry writing prompts here on our blog! Remember, anyone ages 6-18 in Greater New Orleans can submit poetry to be published on a pizza box. And don’t forget: the deadline to submit poetry is April 7th.
Lesson Plan: Awake at Night (7th-12th grade)
Hanging Fire
BY AUDRE LORDE
I am fourteen
and my skin has betrayed me
the boy I cannot live without
still sucks his thumb
in secret
how come my knees are
always so ashy
what if I die
before morning
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.
I have to learn how to dance
in time for the next party
my room is too small for me
suppose I die before graduation
they will sing sad melodies
but finally
tell the truth about me
There is nothing I want to do
and too much
that has to be done
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.
Nobody even stops to think
about my side of it
I should have been on Math Team
my marks were better than his
why do I have to be
the one
wearing braces
I have nothing to wear tomorrow
will I live long enough
to grow up
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.
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Read Hanging Fire together as a class. Then ask students to read the poem silently a couple more times.
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Brainstorm both concrete and abstract things that keep students awake at night worrying. Encourage them to list things that might seem trivial (how come my knees are always so ashy) to grander things (will I live long enough to grow up?)
Depending on the comfort level and culture of the classroom, this brainstorm might be more fruitful if done individually.
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Now encourage students to write their own poems modeled after Hanging Fire.
Email us at pizzapoetry@bigclass.org to let us know how the workshop went, and submit your students’ poems. Are you especially proud of any of the poems? Let us know and we’ll feature them on this blog! Click here to learn more about the Pizza Poetry Project.
