Tag Archives: Spoken Word SA

27 – Waving to the Big Day

Well, the reading went today & it went pretty well. Though I really am exhausted now.

Today’s entry is really a series of very fast games. Because it was my last day, I wanted to choose a book in a different way to usual … so, to the irritation of a librarian who didn’t like me looking at books in the reserved collection, I found a book waiting for someone that I myself have been wanting to read for ages. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancy.

I selected it because of its great last line. Then again because I liked it’s opening line. Again because of its chapter titles. & finally, just to make me day complete, I wrote out the first & last sentence of each chapter (or at least a bitesized phrase thereof). Then I played a number of games — that number, of course, was predetermined before I began!

five waves

i — first & last lines of every chapter (in order they appear)

aliens are stupid …
… i am the battlefield
call me zombie …
… you will be my battlefield
it should have been easy …
… and ran
as ways to go …
… you saved me
through the smudged window …
… if you want to see, i can show you
Ben Parsh is dead …
… in the spirit of vengeance
you saved me …
… you have to find something you’re willing to die for
the world is screaming …
… we’re plugging you into wonderland
we fell asleep last night …… the siren goes off
two hours …
… flash flash flash blinkblinkblink
the siren’s blare is so loud …
… his smell, sayings, my brothers
the green eye looked at me
… & yes, he’s toast
i want to drink in …
… obliterating the dark in a burst of golden light

ii — first lines of every chapter
aliens are stupid …
call me zombie …
it should have been easy …
as ways to go …
through the smudged window …
Ben Parsh is dead …
you saved me …
the world is screaming …
we fell asleep last night …
two hours …
the siren’s blare is so loud …
the green eye looked at me
i want to drink in …

iii — last lines of every chapter
… i am the battlefield
… you will be my battlefield
… and ran
… you saved me
… if you want to see, i can show you
… in the spirit of vengeance
… you have to find something you’re willing to die for
… we’re plugging you into wonderland
… the siren goes off
… flash flash flash blinkblinkblink
… his smell, sayings, my brothers
… & yes, he’s toast
… obliterating the dark in a burst of golden light

iv — chapter titles (in reverse order, both in name & chronology, with some licence)
the hole is dark & black — because of kismet or chance, i don’t know — the sea infinite in its ways — thousands of raindrops go into the flower — with a vengeance of spirit — that would kill a lesser heart — the day humans know they are winning — is the day the fly may fall into — silence — land — wonder at our last intrusion — i do not want to be, earth’s final historian

v — first & last line (put together as the first line) followed by chapter mashup
there will be no burst of golden light
through your window
reminding you of the world’s wonder
there will only be a winnowing
a thousand ways of silence
a loss of wonderland, mayfly days
black holes of human hearts
vengeance spirits flowering
rain in infinite seas
intrusions, last histories
because …

invasion wavesCROP.jpg

Day 20 – All the Games, All at Once

Today was Day 3 of my Poet’s Residence (yep, already 3/4 of the way through it) & it was a wonderful day. When I arrived there was already someone waiting to start (Christine), and within a minute Kim arrived (I had spoken to him last week & he came back to participate this week). Within an hour, both had written quite lovely poems. Kim said he will post his on his blog. I hope he does & if so, I will link to it.

Neither Christine or Kim could stay for the whole session, but overall I had five people in today, including my friend & fellow poet Sarah Radford, who whipped off a wonderful poem based on the Last Line (Gone) of one of the books Kim chose (“bleed like me” was the line.) Kim also wrote a great poem using that prompt. My “bleed like me” poem, however, needs further work before I’ll share it.

The day ended with another new arrival, Rohan – who created in under an hour, a very sparse, elegant landscape poem which he also promised to put on his blog.

I also wrote a poem I was extreeeeeeeeeemmmmllllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyy pleased with (tentatively called lift, the title’s the main thing that needs tweaking). I’m not sharing that one day here, but will read it next week during the performance phase of my final day.

But here’s the one I will share. It was made by combining the games Judging a Book By Its Cover, Last Line (Gone) & even, First Line to End It.

game of thorns

to live a life — where you are happy — more often — than you are not — where the jagged thorns — don’t puncture skin — too often — where your world is framed — by bramble — hidden away — in a castle — long ago abandoned — by disney — where the darkness — reflects — where stars salt the sky — where the cold — is sharper than sleep — where the zig zag path — always leads — to the crescent moon — & where — ‘once upon a time’ — actually meant something

thorn closeup CROP

Games played with the cover, first line & last line of Spinning Thorns by Anna Sheehan (reworking of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale). Last line: “And that really is all anyone can hope for” & first line: “once upon a time”.

Day 6 – 2016 Miles Franklin Longlist

dry-salt-creek-murchison-western-australia-DJ7R9X copy

Whichever way you spin it, today was a good day. As an earlier post stated, it was the first day of my Poets Residency at Adelaide City Library. For three hours I was paid to be a poet, paid to interact with the public and talk poeting, and paid to write poems.

Today I am spoiled for choice (I wrote several title poems today). Today is also the day of my first truly solid poem.

I chose, as the clever among you may have worked out, to use the 2016 Miles Franklin Longlist titles as the basis for my Title Poem today. The longlist was announced yesterday and the titles are all glorious. I defy anyone not to write a good poem using them. However, to be fair, I was the most lax/playful/non-rule-bound today of any Word Game so far this NaPoWriMo. & so …

 

Australian pastoral

the hands that work the earth
know the natural way of things

of the never coming rain
of the hope we farm

this burnt black rock
so far from the white city

the river’s a ghost, the creek salt
where fish no longer leap

these dirty hands know
the world will go on, without us

…

..
So yeah! Pleased with that. That is pretty much an archetypal roi jones kinda poem.

Tomorrow will be a new game for a new week.

Here for those interested, is the full list. Look forward to reading them…

Tony Birch for Ghost River (UQP)
Stephen Daisley for Coming Rain (Text)
Peggy Frew for Hope Farm (Scribe)
Myfanwy Jones for Leap (Allen & Unwin)
Mireille Juchau for The World Without Us (Bloomsbury)
Stephen Orr for The Hands: an Australian pastoral (Wakefield Press)
A.S. Patric for Black Rock White City (Transit Lounge)
Lucy Treloar for Salt Creek (Pan Macmillan)
Charlotte Wood for The Natural Way of Things (Allen & Unwin)

& a link to a Sydney Morning Herald article about the announcement.

dry-salt-creek CROP flip.jpg