Copying Quotes and Listening

Quote from My Notebook

Photo by Amy LV

Students - I woke up very early this morning with some words in my mind:

Late last night - I walked outside - and stars fell from the sky.

I didn't get out of bed right away. Instead I stayed and thought for just a couple of extra minutes, repeating these words, asking myself, "What might the next line be?" Soon I turned on the light, snapped up my notebook, and began drafting the messy lines you see below.

Morning Drafting

Photo by Amy LV

While I am not sure, I think that the idea for this poem draft came from a quote that I copied from a book into my notebook just this week:

Perhaps they are not stars, 

but rather openings in heaven 

where the love of our lost ones 

pours through and shines down 

upon us to let us know 

that they are happy.

Inuit Proverb

Copying snips and bits of beautiful writing, collecting these into my notebook and including the names of authors and writers along with them is a way for me to hold onto words I love. Sometimes these words find me in other ways, creating new ideas and poems. Had I not copied this proverb into my notebook this week, I honestly do not believe that I would have written today's magic-trimmed poem.

Allow enough space in your life to let lines drift into the window of your mind. And know this: the more regularly you write, the more often interesting sentences will surprise you when you least expect them. Keep a notebook (or a napkin!) nearby for when this happens. Listen to your inner writing voice. It may speak when you don't have a pen in your hand.

Too, remember that your notebook is your place, and in its pages you are always free to write some magical memories of your own.

I feel very lucky to have spent most of this week visiting schools and working with teachers in the Wyckoff School District in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Thank you to the teachers and students of Washington School, Coolidge School, and Lincoln School for so warmly inviting me into your classrooms. I can't wait to visit Sicomac School and to return to you all in February!

Sharing Notebooks and Writing Possibilities

Photo from the Washington School Twitter Feed

Marcie is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Marcie Flinchum Atkins with some recommendations of books to go with her WAIT, REST, PAUSE: DORMANCY IN NATURE. (I am unable to link to this post yet, but will as soon as it is available.) Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

Remember: a memory may be real....or it may be real in spirit.

xo,

Amy

Please share a comment below if you wish. 

If you are under 13 years old, please only comment with a parent

or as part of a group with your teacher.

Last Night, This Morning, Long Ago...

 

Painting

by Amy LV

Students - My reading life has been full of magic these days, books about enchantments and magic, time travel and odd connections. And I have watched the movie ENCANTO twice. So one might say that I have one half of my heart in the real world and one half of my heart in the world of the unknown. Today's poem came from that mystery-place.

Like many, my life during COVID has been a bit of a challenge, and I lost my regular writing schedule. Well, the truth is that when I write less, I am less happy. So now, I am back to writing a few pages each morning and spending real time paying attention to the bits of my life as possible writing ideas. Today's poem was a true surprise to me, a surprise I believe I was given because I am back at my desk, back in the ink and paper world.

This poem is about seeing something but not really seeing it. And now I am thinking about you, about things you might not really see but do see in your creative mind and soul and heart. Consider trying a poem that begins, "Last night..." or "This morning..." or "Long ago..." and just invent what it is that may have happened at that time. You are allowed to make it all true, or all fiction, or a blend of both. Because, you see, it will be your poem or story. So you choose, no questions needed. And if you like, you may include a pinch (or a truckload) of magic! 

Don't forget: crossing out is a healthy part of writing. Making those scribbles and big slash lines can be a joyful and physical part of a writer's life. So....I am hereby calling such pages "Messy Happy Drafts." 

Messy Happy Draft for "Surprise" - Page 1

by Amy LV

Messy Happy Draft for "Surprise" - Page 2

by Amy LV

Tabatha is hosting today's Poetry Friday roundup at The Opposite of Indifference with all kinds of puzzle goodness, from quote to book to story to poem! Please know that all are welcome each Friday as folks share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship.

May your path be sprinkled with surprises, in your days and on your pages.

xo,

Amy

Please share a comment below if you wish. 

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.

Form Play: A Unicorn Villanelle

The Unicorn I Met
by Amy LV

Students - Today's poem is a villanelle, a special old form of poetry that is structured with 5 tercets (three line stanzas) followed by one quatrain (four line stanza). A villanelle repeats two lines over and over and also two rhymes over and over. Below, you can see where the repeating lines go and how the rhyme works. I have highlighted matching lines/rhymes.

Why did I write a villanelle today?  Well, why not?  I came home from teaching a workshop and this evening, I just thought to myself, "Self...write a villanelle!" So I did. My villanelle has 10 syllables per line, but this is not true of all villanelles.

Below you can see some of the villanelle organizational play in my notebook. This is a form that requires me to read and reread and reread again, listening to the repeating line, listening for what might happen next. There is a musical feeling to writing in this form, and I find it playful and joyful all at once.

Villanelle Notebook Play

by Amy LV

If you would like to read a couple of more villanelles I have shared in this space, you can do so here:

Vulture - April 26, 2012

I Understand - January 4, 2013

It's been too long, and you can bet that I will be writing more villanelles soon.

Laura is hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Writing the World for Kids with a lovely poem inviting readers to sing our own songs. We invite everybody to join in each Friday as we share poems, poem books, poetry ideas, and friendship. Check out my left sidebar to learn where to find this poetry goodness each week of the year.

Please share a comment below if you wish.

If you are under 13 years old, please comment only with a parent 

or as part of a group with your teacher and class.