Firestarter Challenge (9/28/07)
Firestarter Challenge Week 8 Title: On Uneven Ground
(the categories of the exercises will change weekly)
- First Line: (take a line from a famous poet and use that to jumpstart your poem. “Calm Down. No one’s listening. Of course” from The Bad Muse by Lawrence Raab. It has the great assonance of ivy/ties and Tolkien’s famous cellar door. What’s not to like about it?.
- Imagery: The taste of sour milk.
- Form: Write a Rhaptzung. Confused? It’s essentially just rhyming couplets with a concentration on sonic devices like assonance, or feminine, inner, and multi-syllabic rhyming. Here is how to write a rhaptzung. Here’s an example of one.
- Historical Time and Place: Lima, 7/15/07 (7.9 earthquake)
- Fact: Use a scientific fact in your piece: Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper.
I couldn’t find a copy of Lawrence Raab’s wonderful poem The Bad Muse, but it’s from his terrific New and Selected Visible Signs, (right now at amazon they have 2 used copies for $.50, so it totals $4.49 with shipping. Please try him. He’s very accessible, poignant, and one of our truly great living American poets. It’s cheaper than an imported draft beer. Just drink one less, and get in on the Lawrence Raab Revolution) The Bad Muse was originally in his book What We Don’t Know About Each Other, which also has 3 used copies for sale under a buck. Do yourself a favor, and buy one of them right away.