Searching stories for poetry

The PhoneMe poets enjoyed yet another fruitful writing session this afternoon where stories very much were the inspiration of our work!

First, we returned to one of our favourite writing prompts; we grabbed a pile of newspapers and wrote found poetry from news articles. We set a timer for twenty seconds at a time and, without allowing ourselves any time to think, frantically scribbled down sentences, phrases, and words before flipping the page to start the process over. Then, we dove in and madly edited to find the poem in the story fragments before sharing.

Next, we engaged in ‘creative note taking’ and mined one another’s stories for poetry material. We took turns telling stories while the other poets engaged in a stream-of-consciousness writing exercise, scrawling whatever resonated with us in the tale, or anything that the story reminded us of. We listened to stories that included (among other items):

• childhood successes
• small villages
• summer afternoons
• swimming
• first voyages across the ocean
• canvas
• rope
• Glasgow
• delicious breakfasts

Finally, for next week, we have homework; we are tasked with writing about an object or landmark in Vancouver, and we are strongly encouraged to visit what we choose. As always, you are welcome to join us for next Wednesday’s session!