Poetry class

Another great day at poetry class.

We read and gave feedback on our poems.  This is a really good collection of people, all highly skilled, and Sarah Westcott, our tutor said all(!) our poems were of publishable quality, and encouraged us to participate in the monthly poetry reading at City Lit, and reminded us to submit our poems to the annual City Lit poetry anthology.

My poem was about an object - Lino

Lino

I remember Lino cutting at school.
The blunt tools and crumbly Lino put me off for years.

Lino for schools has changed.
Soft, pliable, blue and easy cut.
A 5 inch by 4 inch slab.

I have my design.  Anxious.
I carve my first line.
A smooth glide. I don't remember this!

My lack of skill is apparent.
My lines wobble.
I dig too deep and too shallow.
The Lino is chewed.

I remember 'cut away from you',
I remember 'cut with a careful sweep',
I remember 'don't cut too deep'.
Only after I've done it wrong.

This Lino has been cut by an amateur.
Wobbly lines. Uneven surface.
Disappointed with the proofs.

"Reduce the image
Chop out more
Line up accurately and overprint. "

Not great quality.
But I'm delighted.
It's mine and it's original.

A simple manual technique creates a thing of joy
from a slab of Lino, when executed with skill.
I want those skills.

My feedback was that I had successfully linked the present and past.  I had rediscovered youth.  It had narrative and was immediate.  Class suggested it might look good as an artwork, if printed on Lino.


We spent time reading poems. Great poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, with her speaking on a Youtube video.  Had a rap metre, and was about teenagers from her community in the US.  Looking at line endings.  Enjambment means the lines run on.

1959. Gwendolyn Brooks

We real cool.  We
Left school.  We

Lurk late.  We
Strike straight.  We

Sing sin.  We
Thin gin.  We

Jazz June.  We
Die soon.

We had a go at haiku (5-7-5 syllables) and Cinquain (2-4-6-8-2 syllables), working from postcards as inspiration.  My postcard was of beach huts.  When responding to a piece of art, it is Ekphrasis.

Seaside at Walton

Beach huts at Walton
Shelter from the elements
Blue sky of summer.

Playing on the beach
Brilliant sun, wind and sunburn
Seaside and freedom.

Walk to sea to swim
Picking my way over stones
Cold water, quick dip.

I hate gritty towels.
Stickness from salt water.
Can't dress easily!

Sand in sandwiches
Tepid tea and sun cream smell
Fast melting ice cream.



Beach huts

Beach huts
Rainbow colours
The height of the summer
Each one uniform but different.
So bright

Lime green
Cerulean blue
Colours of the seaside
Scarlet and fluorescent orange
Sun bleach.


For homework, we blind-picked a title from a bag - we have to write a letter poem.  I chose "write a letter to a toy you once owned".  This suits me.  Tom, sitting next to me, chose "write a letter to the moon".  He liked it but I was glad I did not get that one.

Sympathy Letter

Dear Dolls Cot

I look back now with regret for how I ignored you.

My Mum had put so much effort
into choosing you.  My Mum
had put so much effort into making the cot sheets.

The cot sheets matched the dress I had that Christmas.
I was astonished that Father Christmas
had chosen cot sheets in the same fabric as my dress.

My Mum expected me to play the little Mother.
Through you, I disappointed her.
I'm so sorry you weren't my thing.

With regret.

Cathy