Everyday Poetry

Day 4:   "Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem about living with a piece of art.  It’s the rare human structure – be it a bedroom, kitchen, dentist’s office, or classroom – that doesn’t have art on its walls, even if it’s only the photos on a calendar." Not a lot of people know this,  but a couple of years ago I treated myself to an afternoon photo shoot - boudoir style. It was great - hair and make up were professionally done before I went through to the studio and changed 'into something less comfortable'. Several flutes of prosecco and a lovely young woman photographer completely took away my shyness, and I had a blast.  What an ego boost! And now two of those (very tasteful) images sit in our walls, and on my profile pictures, reminding me that I'm a damn fine looking woman, in the right light.   Yes, look this way, lovely,  Now over here, perfect, reeeally good... Her camera an instrument of magic, Wielded lightly like wan...

Day 3: contd. I've been mulling this over since I pressed publish on the last one.    What me? A poet? Nah, you've got that wrong,  I mean look at me! Do I look ethereal? Highbrow? Away with the fairies? Mad, bad, or dangerous to know? But should you ask Do you jot down phrases at odd times of the day?  Do you play with words until they sound right in your head?  Do you get a kick out of the shape of your writing on a page? Well, you got me there. © Copyright 2025. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved

Day 3: today's prompt features a poem by Frank O'Hara, a founding member of the New York School of poets who I've come across recently in my OU course.   His poem “ Why I Am Not a Painter ” is pretty characteristic, with dialogue and a playfully offhand tone. The  challenge is to write a poem  obliquely explaining why I am a poet and not some other kind of artist.  I see things differently sometimes,  The light and shape and connections emanating from an object, an event,  Feel the need to capture it, hold it safe in my failing, fading memory, Seek out the perfect form for each word, line, pause, repetition, To bridge the space between how I see what you may see As you stand next to me, reading these words. A photographer sees the light and shade, the drama in a moment, Picks the angle, depth of field, exposure; An artist chooses how much to include, what can be ignored, Which medium to best express the beauty of their image; A songwriter finds the essence ...

Day 2:  write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,” and something that seems out of place in time. My statement of "fact" is my admonishment to children that they need to toughen up - an attitude that is definitely out of place in this age of child-led, soft parenting.   You children, With skin so thin the pain inside Presses hard against its translucency Like fish under a frozen lake, Learn to shrug your shoulders, Deflecting perceived hurts From your heart, down, down, To where your feet Stand poised to trample them. Learn the lesson of centuries Of those who suffered just like you, Who grew a personal armour  To keep the pain outside. © Copyright 2025. Chris Auger. All Rights Reserved

And so it begins! Napowrimo 2025 starts today with a corker of a prompt: to  take inspiration from  this  glossary of art terminology , and write a poem that uses a new-to-you word.  I've chosen the word 'calotype' which is a photographic process invented in 1841 and was the first time a stable negative image could be fixed and then contact printed. The glossary explains:  " The process involves exposing a sheet of sensitized paper in the camera then developing, fixing, and washing it.  Though calotypes are soft and hazy, with visible paper fibers, the invention revolutionized image-making by making it possible to produce multiple prints from one negative image." This seems like an appropriate metaphor for the process of fixing an idea into a poem!  (How I'm going to fit Napowrimo poems in with my upcoming trip to WiFi-less Lundy and OU assignments remains to be seen,  but I'm determined to give it a try!) Calotype An image floats hazy, undefined,...