[Newspoetry] More assignments

[William Gillespie]

Newspoets,

Here are a couple of lists of assignments from last year:

<http://www.newspoetry.com/1999/991113.html>

<http://www.newspoetry.com/1999/990801.html>

Last year's editorial stanza encouraged writing about the news experimenting
with poetic form (as Mark described), with the web's potential for image,
sound, color, multiply-linked "hypertext" pomes, slow-loading Flash animations
with endless midi drum loops, and pornography. There is also, more poignantly,
the potential the web offers serious (and even silly) journalists to, by
linking, include their sources within their reporting (see Suck.com for
examples of how this can be serious and silly). If you have access to a
scanner, you can even draw, write, collage, or type newspomes. (I recommend
that images be no more than five inches in width to avoid horizontal scrolling
on cheap monitors)

You should also entitle your poem "Picnic in Urbana" just to drive the
Newyorkers and Chicagoans nuts.

No alliteration please.

-William

Mark Enslin wrote:

> here's a response to David's request for assignments.
>
> two assignments I've been stuck on (not to say infatuated with) for a
> while: 1. create hybrids of established poetic forms (in the instance
> below, villanelle (aba aba aba aba aba abaa, repeat line 1 as 6, 12,
> 18, line 3 as 9, 15, 19) and psapphic ode (syllables: 11, 11, 11, 5; I
> think there might be some standard emphasis pattern, which I
> disregarded))(your note/poem was sort of a hybrid of confessional and
> political poetry).
>
> 2. make non-rhyming versions of usually rhymed forms (I did start off with
> a rhymed version of this villanelle, which was awful not only for the
> forced rhymes but also for the steady beat).
>
> I guess another assignment is to try to come up with clear statements
> about politically ambiguous or complex situations.
>
> UNION BOYCOTTS BOSS
>
> Patrolmen's Benevolent Assn: Bygones
> Black Law Enforcement Who Care call on Black artists
> poet calls for beatless, bulletless rock, cops
>
> wounds opened; called old
> survivors: extend work stoppage, remember
> Patrolmen's Benevolent Assn: Bygones
>
> Madison Avenue, Square Garden to merge
> rock star sings of shots
> poet calls for beatless, bulletless rock, cops
>
> June 12, 4700, fragment found
> in stuffed crocodile, Sappho connection probed
> "men's Benevolent"
>
> lone phrase thought to be part of longer poem
> BLEWC supports Springsteen
> poet calls for beatless, bulletless rock, cops
>
> jobs more difficult
> of whom, what are slain cops' families victim
> Patrolmen's Benevolent Assn: Bygones
> poet calls for beatless, bulletless rock, cops
>
> _______________________________________________
> Newspoetry maillist  -  Newspoetry at ganymede.isdn.uiuc.edu
> http://ganymede.isdn.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/newspoetry