Monday, July 25, 2011

AUGUST IS ALMOST UPON US...LET THE POETRY GAMES BEGIN

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Some of you may recall my going on about the postcard poem exchange I participate in in August. You sign up, make a copy of the list you're on, get yourself a bunch of postcards and stamps (mostly US; Paul E. Nelson and Lana Hechtman Ayers started it about 5 years ago and they're from the Seattle area so the majority of participating poets are from the States) and write/send a card a day for the entire month. More details and/or sign up here .

Some of mine from 2007 are right here on this blog. I picked up some neat postcards earlier this year in anticipation of the August poetry fest. 

For the truly masochistic among us there's the 3:15 Experiment. Every night for the month of August you set your alarm for 3:15 AM, wake up, grab your pen and notebook which will be waiting expectantly by your bed, and write whatever comes into your sleepy head. You can post the resulting poems on the website, but NO EDITING first!

And today I'm off to Kaslo, BC, for Holley Rubinsky's Summer Camp for Writers. I'm looking forward to the writing time. 


I'll leave you with an old postcard image and the poem that went with it:


THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

You escape into a corner
pull out some cards
and begin to write.
Then someone wants to know
what on earth you’re doing 
that for, a twitter of disbelief 
flitters round the room
where people come and go
talking of vanishing glaciers
and pink snow.
If the door opened right this moment
and an elephant walked in
it would probably cause
less of a fuss.

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2 comments:

bridgeanna said...

So, Linda, is there going to be a 3:15 group this year? I seem to be waking up in the middle of the night any way...

Blessings on your day!

Bridget

Linda Crosfield said...

Hi Bridget,

Yes, it's on. There's a Facebook group, Danika Dinsmore has info, and all you have to do is do it. Not everyone puts their poems on the website; that is optional. Group is "The 3:15 Experiment".

And I hear you about being awake half the time anyway!

Linda