Poetry Prompt Round-Up 1

July 17, 2008

The first weekly round-up of last week’s ‘Poetry Prompt 1′ has arrived and I am delighted by the number of contributions for this new poetic adventure. It’s always a bushel of uncertainty when embarking upon such exciting conceptions as to whether they will appeal to others and indeed, catch alight and spread. This week’s results are therefore a very gratifying sign that the new weekly Pen Me A Poem Poetry Prompt is germinating with invigorated assuredness.

At the time of writing this, there are eleven entries that have been submitted into the comments section. For a website that is a month old and for an extremely new prompt, this is wonderful.

The very first poem submitted to last week’s comments section was ‘To Go Back In Time‘ by Nunyaa. It’s tick-tocking repetition in a similar vein to a Villanelle is a wonderfully rich allegory to the subject of the piece.

Second was a blogger from Texas who shared her very first prose on a new blog called ‘Veracruz Flowers‘. I certainly hope she continues. I do share the views of another commentator about the spacing of the piece being a little compact but that is not a big problem at all.

Then there is the intensity of the chase followed by the depression of captivity from Beamer which used a very suitable structure to provoke the desired emotions I’m sure he intended.

Scott Killen masterfully creates an allegory to Christ in his poem ‘Inspiration‘ which is a beautiful oblation to religious poetry and faith. I especially like the ending.

The fourth entry was a dark and haunting piece titled ‘The Only Escape‘ by the prolific writer Jane Doe. She uses imagery that would marry perfectly with a horror film and that is an asseveration to the quality of this poem.

Kat Rice uses short repetition, indicative of thoughts flickering through the mind, throughout ‘Stifled Serenade from the Soul‘. This is perfect for an internal reflective piece about romance and the pains associated with it. Her use of words to describe the fears and hurts are an intelligently polished example of a gifted writer.

The first French visitor to the Poetry Prompt section was Tiniak who wrote ‘The Lady Rose Higher‘. For a poet to write in a language which is not their mother tongue is an impressive task and I feel this poem is an enchanting result of such an effort. The picture accompanying the poem as well as the silky softness reminds me of ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint Exupéry.

Keith of Keith’s Ramblings poem ‘Because‘ was structurally as simple as the title yet extremely profound in possible meanings and depth. It’s a sad piece that as a fellow commentator said, can be taken in a number of ways.

‘Black‘ by Lissa sent my mental visuals into overdrive. It was much like drinking a flaming cocktail and the resulting ‘wow’ afterwards.

The final entry, at the time of writing this, was ‘Protecting the Innocent‘ from the blog ‘Empty Garden’. It’s an interesting piece that reads like a devoted lover torn by separation which they are trying to figure out with the action of writing words on paper. The terrible emotions being released as tears. Well worth a read.

I would like to conclude this round-up with a thank you to all those who contributed a poem to the very first Pen Me A Poem Poetry Prompt. There will be one every week starting on Fridays at 6pm, London time. As with today, I will complete a general round-up of entries, depending on the number of entrants, on the following Thursday. If you enjoyed your visit and participation, I would be delighted if you could spread the word and link back to the site. In the ‘widgets’ section you will see a number of pictorial links, if you are of an artistic persuasion, to put on your blog or website, if you so choose.

Posted by Edward | Filed Under Weekly Poetry Prompt | 3 Comments

Diane Vogel Ferri

July 17, 2008

Diane Vogel Ferri

A few days ago I had the good fortune to stumble upon a blog which both inspired and intrigued in equal measure. The author of Coexist, Diane Vogel Ferri, is a poet and novelist from Ohio in the United States. She has had work published in Poet Lore, Rockford Review, Epitome, Tributaries, Storyteller and Sacred Journey. When not writing she works as a special education teacher and dabbles in painting and playing guitar.

I invited Diane to answer a few questions especially for ‘Pen Me A Poem’ and I am most grateful for her acceptance and enlightening responses.

Welcome Diane. When did you start writing poetry?

It’s very interesting to me how I started writing poetry because I knew nothing about poetry and did not even read poetry at the time. About 15 years ago I was going through a very traumatic time in my life and poetry just started coming out of a place in my subconscious. It was mostly raw and angry and full of emotions and questions. A few of those poems I would actually still consider pretty good, although I have learned what “good” (acceptable) poetry is through a lot of classes, workshops and critiques over the years.

Who have been the greatest literary influences in your life?

I have no influences in poetry because I wrote poems before I read any contemporary poets. In my fiction writing however, I think I’ve been influenced by every novel I’ve ever read. I can’t choose one particular author, but over the years I just felt that I could express myself in writing fiction as they had. Hopefully I have a style all my own.

What was the process you went through when getting your poetry published and the resulting thoughts and feelings?

I have published individual poems in a number of journals at this point, but I am working on a book collection to publish soon, I hope. A poem is like one of your babies- you work on it and nurture it over a period of time and you come to love it. It’s part of you. When a poem is accepted for publication is very satisfying, even thrilling. You will see all your efforts come to fruition and your work is validated. Publishing is a long and tedious process. The markets for fiction and poetry are competitive and your chances of publication are slim, but you’ll never be published if you don’t try. Another poet advised me that when a rejection comes in, just refold the poem, stuff it in another envelope and send to the next place!

‘Flying Over Midnight‘ was your first novel. What is it about?

To be honest it is about that traumatic time in my life that I mentioned earlier. It is about a woman with two children whose life is turned upside down and the emotional and spiritual crises she goes through. I wrote the book I would have liked to have read at that time in my life in hopes that it would touch someone else and give them hope. I call it my learning book - instead of studying writing I actually did it.

You write a blog called “Coexist” How important is religion in your life and the issues that face the world today?

I saw “Coexist” on a bumper sticker one day and thought that one word provided the solutions to all the world’s problems. Just think if we all knew how to coexist peacefully! We’d have no need for newspapers and news programs! While I am a churchgoer, I find the word religious somewhat confining. Religion is a set of man-made traditions and rituals for the most part. I find many of those rituals meaningful and important, but I also believe that religion is not always Godly. I am a very spiritual person and I believe that we all are spiritual - it’s just that the world we live in pushes out the opportunities to know our spiritual sides unless we make concerted efforts to know ourselves and have a relationship with God.

Who is Anais Nin?

She was a writer of the 1930’s who was ahead of her time as a female writer and a bit of a feminist. Her most famous work is her seven published diaries, which I admire for her honestly and her beautiful writing.

You are a special education teacher. What does your job mean to you?

I love kids and have always been proud to be an advocate for special needs children. The job is thankless and often stressful, but most of that comes from government and administrative decisions and not the children.

Tell us more about your family and how they have influenced your writing.

I think being a mother has had the biggest influence on my life and my writing. The focus of my new book is really a young unwed mother’s struggles to raise her daughter. I didn’t plan this story , it sort of wrote itself. I was not an unwed mother, but the sacrifice and love that mother’s have for their children is universal. I have a son and daughter both in their twenties now and I can’t imagine my life with out them.

Diane Vogel Ferri, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions for ‘Pen Me A Poem’. I appreciate it greatly. Below is one of your poems which you very generously agreed to share.

Stalking

The blue heron has been at the edge
of the pond all morning stalking fish
with surreal patience, with the stillness

of a lawn ornament or my unmoving
body lying next to yours at night.
He makes no sound, just like us.

The fish does not know that the heron
is there, even though surely it could look up
and see what is so close.

The heron crouches low, just as I am
sometimes, as we are,
half of what could be.

Then the great bird sees what it wants,
its mouth plunges into the water and pulls
out the prize that will sustain its life.

The fish does not fight the inevitable.
The heron stands proudly upright to savor
the moment before swallowing the fish whole.

Posted by Edward | Filed Under Interviews with Poets | 2 Comments