Hi, and thanks for reading! Today is Monday, so we’re going to talk about poetry.
If you want to go directly to the poetry exercise, and skip all this “recipe blog” backstory, scroll to the next subhead.
Late last week, I saw what I thought was a pretty innocuous tweet thread about productivity, discipline, writing and time management. I’ve screenshotted the whole thing for you, but the main thesis is: if you want to be creative, sometimes you have to skip other fun, social stuff to do your craft well.
Now, none of this seemed particularly revolutionary to me. It was a nice reminder that, yes, hard work does pay off, especially when it’s driven by passion and love instead of a need for money to survive. It also didn’t seem too incendiary! “Sometimes you need to skip going out with your friends so you can stay home and get things done, especially if those things are important to your lifelong goals,” strikes me as a pretty tame statement. But then again, my perspective may be skewed since I have the entirety of Legally Blonde: The Musical memorized. Elle Woods turned down invites to the Spring Fling Beer Bash Extreme to study for the LSAT, and now she’s a lawyer!
On Twitter, of course, people reacted in a non-normal way, saying the original poster was feeding into a restrictive, puritan mindset of unhealthy work ethics, or accusing him of making the whole story up for internet clout. Look, take it from me, a person whose calendar has consisted of “social engagements” and “getting sick and canceling social engagements” for the last three months…my writing has suffered! And as my to-do/to-see list winds down after July, I’m going to take a nice long break from doing anything with other people that isn’t “sit our butts down quietly and work on stuff.”
But still. I love a good party. Hell, I love a bad party. I love casual hangouts that turn into sleepovers on the basis of chitchat alone. And I love any excuse to wear little outfits.
All of this is what inspired today’s poetry prompt. One more addition to the soundtrack before we get into it:
Poetry Exercise: You’re Like a Party
Grab something to write on/in/with and a timer!
Think about a party you didn’t attend. Big or small. Recent or long ago. Is it a high school party you weren’t invited to? A wedding that got called off? A going-away party for a friend that you had to miss due to work?
Set a timer for one minute. Quickly, list every single person who might have been at the party you’re half-remembering, half-imagining. Include people you’re sure were invited, people who might’ve dropped in as a nice surprise, and people who probably stopped by despite being unwelcome.
Set a timer for one minute. Describe, in as much detail as possible, the outfit you would’ve worn to this party, including shoes, jewelry, watch, makeup, fragrance.
Set a timer for one minute. What would’ve been served at this party? Did you see photos of the wedding cake, which you vaguely remember years later? Or can you guess what drinks would’ve been served based on what the host was into at that particular point in your lives? If there was a potluck, who brought what? Write it down.
Set a timer for one minute. Do you think there was music at this party? What about activities? Write out the songs that might’ve been played (even Happy Birthday). If there were games or crafts or a photo booth, describe them.
Set a timer for one minute. How would you have felt before, during, and after the party? Did you skip it because you’d just had a fight with someone? Did you feel too anxious and stay home because you panicked trying to find an outfit? Imagine the interactions you would’ve had with other people. If you can, make up dialogue.
Now. Set a timer for five minutes. Write a poem, using everything you just generated, about this party you did not attend. Depending on the energy of the event, it could sound like this Jane Kenyon poem, or it could sound like this Anne Carson poem. If you need a title, a good oblique option is the date of the event; you can also be more specific by referring to the event itself, or go super-broad and choose a thematic title instead.
Okay! That’s it! I hope you all have pleasant working weeks ahead…and something fun planned for the weekend, whether you attend or not.