Selected Poems & Free Writes

Writing Contests in 2018

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Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. This is my new favorite guide to poetry.

Richard Hugo offers one chapter on his "rules of writing poetry," yet you realize he gives these rules out with grains of salt, since when you read his poems later in the book you see that he doesn't follow his rules. I enjoyed this book as much as I learned from it. For me the most rewarding and helpful chapters were the last two in which Richard Hugo shares stories of his time spent in Italy during World War II and later as an employee at Boeing. He offers poems written about those times that do as much to reveal Hugo's ideals of writing as his lecture notes and discussions in previous chapters.

I want to note strongly that if you are looking for a "how-to" book on writing poetry, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. This book is better-served as a dessert after you've feasted on a good poetry collection or anthology and a poetry textbook. Come back to enjoy this delight. How happy I am to have accidentally found this book! It's a gem, a real gem, and no writer of anything--fiction, nonfiction, poetry, should be without it.

This small book of just over a hundred pages is loaded with excellent advice for the writing of poetry, but also contains fascinating tales of Hugo's WW II days as a bombardier stationed in Italy 35 missions and subsequent return with his wife, years later. The poems which resulted are included.

The excellent advice is none I ever heard before, especially as to eliminating the unnecessary. After re-reading it, I sat right down early this morning and began revising a couple of my poems. Richard Hugo died at 59, way too soon. But at least we writers have his quirky, thoughtful, compassionate, on-the-mark advice and beautiful essays. Buy it quickly, is my advice.

Richard Hugo's a bit in eclipse now, maybe because he died way too young, but the Triggering Town remains a book all poets and poetry teachers read. If you want to read a book on how to write poetry, maybe this isn't for you, but if you want to read the mind of a poet, of his thought, ideas, creative processes and his experiences of life, then this book could be for you.

Hugo workshops two student poems and speaking as a workshop teacher myself, he offers gentle correction to the natural solipsism of many young writers of all genres. I used some of his ideas is assumptions with a student who could not write a real poem for the life of her until she used one of Hugo's stances to approach the material of her own life.

Maybe this book is more for teachers or working writers than the general public, but I think that if you approach this great collections with an open mind you will see that it is a book-length poem worthy of its own reading. One of the best books on poetry I was introduced to in my MFA program. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I really don't want to write poems or free verse so much as read about poetry and read poems. Hugo here is so much fun.

He is so wise --"Maybe there is something here to influence a few immediate poems of your own. The dump my ideas, you'll develop better ideas for you, on your own. The compassionate guidance contained in this great Collection is so rare. No mere handholding, he depicts specific anecdotes that will steer you to find Your Own Way. I read it and immediately read this short book once more Even if you are not a fan of Hugo's poetry you will be enriched from reading The Triggering Town.

Let it sink in deep. Wonderful resource for understanding and learning how to connect with one's own insensate recollections. Plumbing these depths via triggering mechanisms can free up one's writing from being too grounded in mundane details. One person found this helpful. Great book for inspiring your writing.

31 Free Writing Contests: Legitimate Competitions With Cash Prizes

See all 57 reviews. Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. Lectures and Essays on Poetry and Writing. Set up a giveaway. Customers who viewed this item also viewed. Maybe you were waiting in a check-out line at the store, or you had to stand in line to enter a concert or event.

Take some inspiration from your latest junk mail. Write your poem in the form of a recipe.

This can be for something tangible, such as a cake, or it can be a more abstract concept such as love or happiness. List ingredients and directions for mixing and tips for cooking up your concept to perfection. Do you like sweaters? Some people love their coziness, others find them scratchy and too hot.

Use your feelings about sweaters in a poem.

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Use Little Shop of Horrors for inspiration, or let your imagination run wild on what might happen if a plant or flower came to life or started spreading rapidly to take over the world. Write a poem that is about someone or something coming in between you and your goals. Locked in a Jar: Imagine you are a tiny person, who has been captured and put into a jar for display or science.

Think of the most unbelievable moment in your life, and write a poem about the experience. Write a poem about quitting or being fired from a job you depended on. What kinds of family secrets or stories might be hiding in that untouched box in the attic? Write about what it feels like when no one understands or agrees with your opinion.

Write a poem from the perspective of a high-profile criminal who is always on the run from law enforcement. Write a poem about what training you might be doing to accomplish a difficult challenge in your life. Write a poem about noticing something interesting while passing by a church near your home. Create a descriptive poem about something that has a soft glow or sheen to it. Write a poem about someone who is all business like and set in their ways of following a system.

Write about a recent or memorable experience when nothing went according to plan. Imagine you are hired to design a building for a humanitarian cause you are passionate about. Think of a recent movie you watched, and create a poem about one character specifically, or an interaction between two characters that was memorable.

Write about an experience where you had a lot of potential for success, but failed. Write a poem telling someone they are better than they think they are. Maybe They Had a Reason: Write a poem that includes the motion of going up or down a staircase. Has there ever been a time when you thought you might lose your mind?

Jot your feelings and thoughts down in verse form. Many times in our life we have to make a good guess for what is the best decision. Use this poetry idea to write about feelings related to guessing something right — or wrong. What audience enjoys reading the type of poetry you like to write?

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Craft a note to your potential audience that addresses their biggest fears, hopes, and dreams. Share your thoughts on absolutist thinking: Ladders in the Sky: Imagine there are ladders that take you up to the clouds. What could be up there? What feelings do you have about climbing the ladders, or is their a mystery as to how they got there in the first place? Always On My Mind: What would it be like if you felt like someone was watching you but no one believed you?

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Use a valuable object in your home as inspiration as a poetry prompt idea. Coming Home to Secrets: Imagine a person who puts on a good act to cover up a secret they deal with at home. Talk about your greatest struggles with time management and organization. Signs of the Times: How has a place you are familiar with changed over the past 10 years? What ideas and feelings keep you up at night?

Use one of the worst job related memories you can think of as a creative writing prompt.

You can choose any name, but think of notable figures or celebrities who share a common first name, and combine their personalities and physical characteristics into one piece of poetry. Write a poem about a time you were thankful for shelter from a storm. Create a poem inspired by the people who might be eating lunch in a cafeteria at school or at a hospital. There are unlimited possibilities for ways you can use these poem ideas to write poetry.

While not every poem you write will be an award-winning masterpiece, using these poem starters as a regular exercise can help you better your craft as a writer. I wanted to share it on here, so I hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much for this article!

I love the profundity and open-endedness of the prompts. He swung his arm with force He caused a loud bang He hurt his own hand He left with some blood. He is the man that punched the mailbox His hand dripped blood on it He left it with a dent He left it alone after that. Interesting tips and keywords for boosting inspiration.

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Here are Poetry Prompts for Creative Writing Most of these creative writing ideas are simple and open-ended. Something that will always be out of reach 2. What does your favorite color taste like? Describe something toxic and its effects on a person. Use this hammer as inspiration for a poetry prompt idea! What is it like after all party guests go home?

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