Not a plant but a seed, not a poem but a plan
October 15, 2007
Well, it is certainly high time I started pulling my weight around this patch of land. Here in the northeast, it is what my mother, a farm girl, refers to as time to put the garden to bed. Here at Fertile Ground, it is time to start tilling.
Before we get carried away, dreaming of the giant zucchinis and tractor-trailer tire size sunflowers, perhaps we should start small. Say, with a plan. A poet’s plan. A poet’s statement, so to speak.
Why are you a writer? Why are you a poet? Why do you write? Why do you NOT write? Paraphrasing Mary Oliver (she’s one of our heroes around these parts!), what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious poetic life? This is our innaugural prompt. Think about your desire to write, your history as a writer, your future as a writer, your goals as a writer.
I am a firm believer in the notion that if you put it out there for the universe to notice, it will happen. The hope is, if you put your loftiest goals in writing, you will attain the height you need to attain them. Ahem, sorry for the strange turn in metaphor. We are not astronauts or balloonists…or are we?
Your first fertile ground mission, if you should choose to accept it, is to turn your soil and plant your seeds. Write your poetic statement. Then post your link in the comments. If you need a little nudge, a little toe in the dirt, I will be posting my poetic statement at http://www.jillypoet.blogspot.com
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1.
Shelley | October 16, 2007 at 10:29 am
Hello, you lovelies! I’m in:
http://butwait.blogspot.com/2007/10/poetry-and-my-life.html
2.
polkadotwitch | October 16, 2007 at 10:31 am
hi, shelley! I’m excited that you’re stopping by to see us.
I’m still working on my statement so i’m not going to read anyone else’s until it’s done, but i hope to drop by and read yours soon!
3.
polkadotwitch | October 16, 2007 at 11:34 am
here’s mine.
off to read shelley’s and jill’s!
4.
Rob Kistner | October 16, 2007 at 12:48 pm
You posed a question in the third paragraph of this post, namely: “Why do you write?”
To answer, I send you to a post I wrote months ago on my prior creative writing blog, Image & Verse. It’s entitled Why I Write
5.
Tiel Aisha Ansari | October 16, 2007 at 3:52 pm
I wrote my statement about a year and a half ago… and it’s still true.
http://knockingfrominside.blogspot.com/2006/02/my-manifesto-part-iv.html
6.
polkadotwitch | October 16, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Rob–thanks for sharing the essay about your writing and your process. I couldn’t find a place to comment there, so i’m saying thanks here!
TAA–i read the statement and can sense how passionate you are about the poetry that comes through you. it was amazing to read about your writing being a religious experience.
if i follow that metaphor, maybe mine is an exorcism.
7.
mariacristina | October 17, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Thanks for offering us this chance to create a vision for our writing. Here’s my link: http://mariacristina.wordpress.com/2007/10/17/a-poets-plan/
8.
Kimberley | October 17, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Ok, here’s mine. A little fear, a little truth.
http://watercolorblues.wordpress.com/2007/10/17/poetic-statement-and-confession/
9.
Jessica | October 17, 2007 at 9:21 pm
I love manifestos! Thanks for the awesome prompt!
Here’s mine:
http://9to5poet.blogspot.com/2007/10/manifesto-313.html
10.
Poet With a Day Job | October 18, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Jilly and PDW - congrats on the project launch, sounds like it is going to be a great resource.
I noticed you are linking to contest web sites, and even have a list of your own - please feel free to use the contest lists I keep at my blog contest central if you want.
In prep for nanowrimo, maybe I will do a manifestowrimo. Thanks for the prompt.
11.
Poet With a Day Job | October 18, 2007 at 4:18 pm
address for the contests is http://fondakowski.wordpress.com - sorry.
12.
Poet With a Day Job | October 18, 2007 at 4:39 pm
okay, here’s my arspoeticafestowrimo.
http://poetwithadayjob.wordpress.com/2007/10/18/poetic-statement/
13.
polkadotwitch | October 18, 2007 at 6:49 pm
PWADJ–thanks for sharing your manifesto and for offering your contest link/s. they’re up and live now under our contest page.
14.
...deb | October 21, 2007 at 1:31 pm
I’m jumping in the pool:
Why I Write: …deb’s Manifesto
15.
secretagentartist | October 24, 2007 at 4:39 am
Thanks for sharing this prompt, found it through nablopomo. Here’s mine:
http://secretagentartist.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/statement/
16.
tom | October 29, 2007 at 12:07 am
A manifesto, of sorts, and a poem
17.
thisgirlremembers | November 2, 2007 at 1:32 am
Well, I got to the October Challenge on November 1st, but at least I’m here!
My poetic (and a little more) statement is post on my blog at
The Why
I put off reading all the others until I’d done mine, because I thought I’d get stage fright after seeing all your lovely and accomplished statements, so now I have a whole lot of exciting reading to do!
Thanks for putting me up to this. It was good for me.
18.
sbpoet | November 8, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I’ve reposted a ‘poetic statement’ of sorts that I wrote some time ago, a photo essay.
But this prompt also inspired this week’s snapshot poem, so I have two!
19.
tom | November 12, 2007 at 11:03 am
I know this post is a bit old and probably no one will check it out, but Robert Hass talking about the gift economy and poetry might be of interest.
20.
polkadotwitch | November 12, 2007 at 6:44 pm
tom–i checked out the video and the transcript … that’s an excellent concept. things we exchange and count vs. gifts. it speaks to our motivations for what we do. thanks!
21.
thebluestbutterfly | November 18, 2007 at 8:42 am
I am working on writing a statement.