take the 2024 dostoyevsky-official challenge: every month, learn one poem by heart. it could be in any language, it could be poetry you already know, it could be poetry you're reading for the first time, it could be a sonnet, it could be a ballad: go wild (but for this, i recommend choosing canonical poetry in your chosen language, not poetry in translation, nor something new). above all, poetry, language charged with meaning to the ultimate degree, is meant to be read aloud, to be felt with the tongue. by the end of the year, you'll have a better intuitive understanding of the poet's craft, of the possibility and beauty of language, an improved reading style, and, through the memorization process, a deep knowledge of each chosen poem—and you'll have committed 12 poems to heart, sitting around for any occasion, keeping you company wherever you go

if anyone else is doing Escapril please let me knowwwww !! i'd love a poetry writing buddy for next month <3

For the 2024 dostoyevsky-official challenge by @dostoyevsky-official:

It's 静夜思 or "Thoughts on a Quiet Night" by Tang Dinasty poet Li Bai (李白).

I already knew the poem but now I've memorized it (and practiced writing it).

Haven't decided on a poem for February yet, but I'll keep it short...

NaPoWriMo Vol. 3, 4.1.24 “A Sword-Of..."

By any rights there is a tip In which to puncture, pierce, or point To take direction, or which to lead Articulated as one would a joint From that tip, so sharp as to let blood drip Befalls a blade as sharp and shattered as battle let It serves its purpose in its own service bled To execute all direction, duty-pointed who have met From tip to blade to hefted-hafted handle Across from whom would so carefully guard Where upon I place my hand To carry this is not awfully hard With swift movement to darken nightlight’s candle This is not a heavy thing, yet burdensome to bear Pommeled steel hold all so tight; yet little goes as planned By my side with ease to wear From heft to hit a sword is held As civil shield or callous cutpurse; with it the world – be felled

@env0writes C.Buck   Ko-Fi & Venmo: @Zenv0 Support Your Local Artists!   Photo by my friend Mika

William Blake's Augeres of Innocense has some killer lines, but it just goes on and on.

Trying to figure out which poem to do next. To memorize for my poem of the month I mean. Might do something by Edgar Allen Poe, Annabelle Lee perhaps. Might do I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud, at 24 lines it's long enough to not be embarrassing and short enough to not be too much.

I'm still re-doing Howl part 1 but I suspect I'm not going to be motivated to do part 2 or 3 and it's probably just going to be a background project throughout the year and not, like, the main event any given month. The Nutritionist was a lot, and free verse is harder to memorize, so I'm inclined to stick to poems with actual meter and rhyme from here on out.

So far: January: Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, February: The Nutritionist by Andrea Gibson, March: Jabberwocky by CS Lewis (which was kind of a cheat, I already had it mostly memorized, so in practice I spent most of March working on Howl.)

I guess I’m pretty / emotional

Found poem sourced from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, arranged on the NYC Tarot

From that structure, I constructed the rest of the story, figuring out which verbs felt like they belonged together. For example, being almost twins in sound, I sat "underlining" and "undermining" next to each other. "Undoing" and "uprooting" were powerful verbs of change, one that I strategically placed at the end for emphasis.

#poetry

If you are reading

This right now, please reblog it

And write a haiku.

Even a begging man / holding darkness / can continue to dream.

Found poem sourced from The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, arranged on The Muse Tarot

long past my teenage years I find myself blushing under the gaze of a stranger I won’t see again and I giggle as I tell the anecdote to a friend like oh finding someone who pulls on my curiosity after so long feels like a small miracle meeting someone by chance and connecting with a few words and glances and the feeling of being understood without having to explain myself makes me feel the energy shifting around me whispering you don’t have to do anything but you could it's the possibility that plays with the feeling you cannot deny when it’s so clear there is no room for insecurity or confusion because you both know it’s there invisible but palpable the gravity between two people naturally drawn to each other for more than simple looks or status I know that if we had our eyes closed we would find each other it's inevitable how life works

written for Escapril day 22 — desire

@moonstruck-writing Do NOT repost or use my writing in any way Reblogging is okay

#SPARKSINSEPTEMBER 2023 HAS ARRIVED ✨

You might recall my writing prompt challenge I bring back every year. Or if you're new around here, let me introduce you to #SparksInSeptember!

Back in 2020, I was so used to sharing my words that I wanted to turn the status quo on its head and hear what YOU had to say. Since then, I've read hundreds of creative pieces and even used these prompts to write a book in 30 days. Who knows what this year might bring?

Make sure to @ me and use the hashtag so that I can read your poems/words/art/creations - you're welcome to use them as figuratively or literally as you like. I'll be keeping an eye out both here and on Instagram.

Below are 2023's prompts, but I'll also link the previous lists for you as well if you want to check them out! Have fun and let's make some magic xx

2022 Prompts

2021 Prompts

2020 Prompts

ok poetry challenge update cause i am doing fuck all in this library anyway: struggling with @8-bitdyke's submission for february - shortest month and probably longest poem i'll learn this year but a communist never gives up. for march i'm gonna pick one from čolak's little anthology of the lyrics of poets of the people's liberation struggle, haven't decided which one yet but i will let you know. that leaves april free for any submissions in either srpsko-hrvatski or english (i can do french as well) and may is reserved for cesarić's balada iz predgrađa cause it's my aunt's favourite poem and that's her birthday month

It took me a while to choose my February poem for the 2024 dostoyevsky-official challenge by @dostoyevsky-official.

I read several poems by 杜甫 (Du Fu), another Tang dynasty poet, and eventually chose 春望 because it is a bit easier for me atm and seems more widely known and quoted, but I'd like to talk about the runner-up, another poem I liked very much: 登岳阳楼 (dēng yuè yáng lóu, Climbing Yueyang Tower):

登岳阳楼

昔闻洞庭水，今上岳阳楼。

吴楚东南坼，乾坤日夜浮。

亲朋无一字，老病有孤舟。

戎马关山北，凭轩涕泗流。

Yueyang Tower

It made me curious about the tower (I expected it to be somewhat taller lol) and interested me because of the historical reference (historical wars and the ongoing war) and the bittersweetness of the scene.

I was going to translate it to English, but this has been sitting in my drafts for days so here is a translation by Stephen Owen:

And a translation to Brazilian Portuguese from Antologia da Poesia Clássica Chinesa:

The book explains that Du Fu and his family were traveling with the intention of returning to Chang'an after years displaced due to wars, but a new conflict, with Tibetans, caused them to remain in that region. Du Fu's health was very debilitated (Wikipedia says he'd had several health issues throughout his life, including asthma and probably malaria, and had diabetes and tuberculosis at the end of his life), and he would never finish the trip.

Haikuesday Challenge - Intro

What is it? Weekly posting of haiku poems!

When is it? Every Tuesday starting next week! The night before, Mondays at 7pm Atlantic Standard Time (GMT -4) I will post the prompt/theme of my haiku for that week if anyone wants to try their hand at one but doesn't have any inspiration. I'll then post my haiku at 8am Tuesday morning, but you can post yours at any time of the day!

What do you need to do? If you post your own, use the tag haikuesday challenge! Tag me in it and I'll share it! If you can't come up with one don't stress! This is a low commitment challenge/event :)

What is a haiku? For anyone who doesn't know, a haiku is a traditional Japanese poetic form. It has 3 lines and 17 syllables total, with the first and third lines having 5 and the third one having 7. You can experiment with different syllabic measures, but that is the traditional format.

Personal note: A lot of the ones I'll be posting at first are pre-written as I have a bunch collected over the years. Once I post all of those, I may struggle to publish a haiku every week but I will still be checking the tag and sharing prompts!

Please rb for more exposure!

first post for Escapril! :)

My writing journey began with Erotic poetry.

I haven’t written any new poetry in over a year!

This April, I wanna challenge myself to write 30 new Erotic poems.

Help me create a new batch of erotic poems. All you have to do: Comment one SFW topic. I have over 2,000 followers across all platforms. Obtaining 30 SFW topics should be easy. There is no limit to what you can say—I like a lil challenge.

*Do not expect a complete poem every day. That is not my artistic process.*

Each day I will pick a new topic and share a few lines.

Fellow writer? Join in! Challenges are always fun together.