Tag Archives: dc metro area

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Day 2: Haiku

NaPoWriMo_sunriseOkay, one day down, 29 to go! Today’s prompt should be a snap (Don’t worry, we have some more challenging prompts to come!)

Prompt #2: Traditional Verse- Haiku

I know that traditional verse can be intimidating for those of us who don’t usually write in it, so we’re going to ease into traditional verse. We’ll start with a Haiku. A haiku in English is usually understood as a 17-syllable, three line poem that follows the syllable pattern of 5-7-5; in Japanese, a Haiku is somewhat different (see this link for more detail).

They often use nature imagery, seasons, etc. and there is generally some sort of twist or surprise in the last line. Traditionally, haiku do not have titles; however, you can choose to add one to the poem to bend the 17-syllable constraint a little.

Additional Resources:

  • NaPoWriMo.net will also be blogging daily prompts, so if this prompt doesn’t do it for you, you can always surf over there to check out their daily prompt.
  • Poets & Writers: has a section on their website for writing promtps.
  • BONUS Links:
    • Haiku Hitmen-for a more contemporary spin on haiku, check out this facebook page; these folks gave an amazing feature last night at BloomBars; if you were there, you know; if you weren’t see them at your next opportunity!
    • Times Haiku
Upcoming Events:
RECURRING EVENTS:
  • MONDAYS: The Garden open mic, (8:30 sign-up) @ BloomBars, $7 donation
  • THURSDAYS: Spit Dat open mic, 8:30pm – 11:30pm, @ Emergence Community Arts Collective (ECAC), 733 Euclid Street NW, Washington, DC ($1.00 Admission).
  • THRU April 28th, “Poetic Likeness” exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery
  • BusBoys & Poets has too many events to list individually, but you can check out their schedule on their website.
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National Poetry Writing Month 2013

April is coming! April is coming! Image

Which, of course, means it is time again for the National Poetry Writing Month or NaPoWriMo Challenge (sometimes referred to as the 30/30 challenge because it challenges poets to write 30 poems in 30 days during the month of April).

I first learned about the challenge in 2011 when I teamed up with Bloombars, a community arts space in Washington, D.C.’s up and coming 11th Street corridor, to organize area poets to participate in the challenge. For my part, I came up with an array of prompts–some borrowed, some invented–and created a google group to handle daily distribution of prompts to anyone who signed up.

Last year, I failed–both to organize any events or coordinate the distribution of prompts and in meeting the challenge myself.

This year, I am determined to succeed. I am again partnering with Bloombars and Small is Beautiful (the poetry workshop I host and run, based in NW DC) to create and distribute daily poetry prompts throughout the month of April.

If you’d like to receive the daily prompts, you can sign-up (regardless of whether you are in the DC Metro area). This year, I am organizing my prompts around a couple of themes*:

  1. Ekphrastic Poetry
  2. Recycled Poetry (re-using old material in new ways)
  3. Traditional Forms
  4. Imitation and/or Persona Poetry

I’ll mix and match these throughout the month. A few other wonderful resources if you want to participate in the challenge:

  • NaPoWriMo.net is run by NaPoWriMo founder and poet Maureen Thorson. She also posts daily prompts on the site and has a place where anybody can register their websites/blogs where they are sharing their work from the challenge. Check it out!
  • Poets & Writers also has a general prompt section on their website.

You can also follow my blog, Facebook Page, or Twitter (@jonbarrows) to access my daily prompts.

*If you have prompts that fit into these themes, that you’d be willing to share, please send me an email, and if I still have space, I’ll try to work it in.