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Today we have a guest who has helped me with the prompt. Amy Jo Sprague who shares her writing form https://amyjosprague.wordpress.com, She has basically written this for me, but I have cleaned it up a bit. So maybe it’s a cocreation.
To inspire you with some free writing to create free verse let’s start from Jack Kerouac who shared his Belief and Techniques for Modern Prose as follows:
1. Scribbled secret notebooks, and wild typewritten pages, for yr own joy
2. Submissive to everything, open, listening
3. Try never get drunk outside yr own house
4. Be in love with yr life
5. Something that you feel will find its own form
6. Be crazy dumbsaint of the mind
7. Blow as deep as you want to blow
8. Write what you want bottomless from bottom of the mind
9. The unspeakable visions of the individual
10. No time for poetry but exactly what is
11. Visionary tics shivering in the chest
12. In tranced fixation dreaming upon object before you
13. Remove literary, grammatical and syntactical inhibition
14. Like Proust be an old teahead of time
15. Telling the true story of the world in interior monolog
16. The jewel center of interest is the eye within the eye
17. Write in recollection and amazement for yourself
18. Work from pithy middle eye out, swimming in language sea
19. Accept loss forever
20. Believe in the holy contour of life
21. Struggle to sketch the flow that already exists intact in mind
22. Dont think of words when you stop but to see picture better
23. Keep track of every day the date emblazoned in yr morning
24. No fear or shame in the dignity of yr experience, language & knowledge
25. Write for the world to read and see yr exact pictures of it
26. Bookmovie is the movie in words, the visual American form
Maybe you can imagine how Allen Ginsberg used this to create (HOWL), which is crazy good free verse. Even a form-junkie like Björn cannot cease to enjoy listening to his reading.
Free verse which we aim for today is, as Robert Frost said, “like playing tennis without a net”. But there are a few ways to use these in a way to create a sense of structure, like repetition of certain phrases and punctuate use for rhythm and structure. I think free writing involves a VERY close, attentive ear for sound. It would be fun if you could share your very own reading of the poem you create.
Amy said to me:
“The moment I officially fell in love with writing was when I read and heard Allen Ginsberg’s HOWL in my sociology class in the liberal arts college I went to. I was HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE with this free writing, this outpouring of passion yet written with a sharp ear for that flowing conversation it must offer—the speed in which Ginsberg reads it-the speed with which you read it yourself, is breathtaking. If you are so inclined, it is on YouTube—his reading of it part 1 and 2 and you can also find online. What made my heart pound aside from the incredible language, assonance, repetition (as if it sprung a rhythm of its own in its telling) was the subject matter—the times he was living in. The times he and his fellow friends and mates and strangers—he spoke for everyone, “angel-headed hipsters” and the madman and angel bum, the business man, the veteran, the forgotten boys after the war. The displaced and misplaced, homosexuals who didn’t have the freedom to express without society’s rejection and judgment.
My favorite parts from HOWL:”
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by
madness, starving hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn
looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat
up smoking in the supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across
the tops of cities contemplating jazz,
who bared their brains to Heaven under the E1 and saw Mohammedan angels
staggering on tenement roofs illuminated,
who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating Arkansas
and Blake-light tragedy among the scholars of war…
and
who coughed on the sixth floor of Harlem crowned
with flame under the tubercular sky surrounded by orange crates of theology,
who scribbled all night rocking and rolling over lofty incantations
which in the yellow morning were stanzas of gibberish…
who dreamt and made incarnate gaps in Time & Space through images juxtaposed, and
trapped the archangel of the soul between 2 visual images and joined the elemental
verbs and set the noun and dash of consciousness together jumping with sensation
of Pater Omnipotens Aeterna Deus
to recreate the syntax and measure of poor human prose and stand before you speechless
and intelligent and shaking with shame, rejected yet confessing out the soul to
conform to the rhythm of thought in his naked and endless head,
the madman and angel beat in Time, unknown, yet putting down here what might
be left to say in time come after death…
I remember when I listened to HOWL during an intercontinental flight and then wrote a poem in that strange state of being inside an aluminum capsule between one time and another. I found the passages about Moloch starting like this especially inspiring:
What sphinx of cement and aluminum bashed open their skulls and ate up their brains and imagination?
Moloch! Solitude! Filth! Ugliness! Ashcans and unobtainable dollars! Children screaming under the stairways! Boys sobbing in armies! Old men weeping in the parks!
Moloch! Moloch! Nightmare of Moloch! Moloch the loveless! Mental Moloch! Moloch the heavy judger of men!
If you really want to get into the mood, try listening to Allen Ginsburg’s reading on Youtube.
Now for the prompt we’re going to break this idea down and write about the times we have lived in—describing/living the life of the decades you have gone through. You can be as specific as a dusty dodge Monaco your father drove in his plaid shirt and bell-bottoms, your mother’s perm or yours, how it felt when a certain movie came out and shaped you, or you can shoot for a bigger picture—politics, war, technology, literature, and/or what is happening to the common person in our country right now — on and on the sky is the limit. But remember to pour your own emotion(s) into it.
- Write down key words you want to use for the theme.
- Now set your timer for nine minutes. Free-write whatever comes to mind–pen to paper, do not stop do not edit. Let yourself get lost in memory or history or today—what it’s like (or was like in the past) for you, YOU, living in this world.
- Then, when your time is up, write that free verse poem.
When you do your free-write it can be helpful to work backwards and create the lines of your poems around those key words to flesh it out.If you feel like you want to clean it up, maybe adding some creative enjambment or punctuations. Maybe you find an internal rhyme you want to emphasize or maybe you feel you need to cut it down like you do black-out poetry. Maybe a list-poem works for you. But try not to destroy that raw feeling from your initial free-write. (Björn, this is not the right time to write a sonnet.)
It would be great fun if you could share a photo of your first scribbled notes as well, and tell us a little bit of your thoughts about how you thought when creating your poem. And when you are done, this is how you do it:
- Leave a small comment below, and participate in our discussion.
- Enter a link directly to your poem and your name by clicking Mr Linky below
- There you will find links to other poets, and more will join during the next 48 hours
- Read and comment on other poet’s work, we all go here to have our poems read
- Promote your site and poetry you like on social media of your choice
- Please link back to dVerse
- Have fun
Good evening everyone… I hope you can share your impressions of HOWL and how you manage to capture a poem out of 9 minutes of freewriting…
This is the last prompt of 2015… next prompt will be in a fresh new year.
Two week holiday coming up, and then we are back on January 4 ~ Thank you Bjorn and to the rest of team for all your hard work, encouragement and support to all of us ~
What fantastic advice: “Write what you want bottomless from bottom of the mind”
And this: “Accept loss forever”
I admire the list techniques…thank you Amy & Bjorn ~
Reading Allen’s Howl always make me feel my voice is weak and pale, compared to his robust and exuberant voice, wow !!
When I wrote my poem, it started out like a story or narrative, and then with a few choice words, I edited it to make it more poetic ~ But I see that Allen’s format resembles a bit of the list poem and just letting go of emotion and passion ~ A terrific example Bjorn ~
It was fun to write this as a collaborative prompt… 🙂
yes it was!
Thank you so much Amy… it was a great way to end this year… 🙂
A collaborative prompt…..ah, in relationship. A good thing!
That’s exactly how I felt doing this exercise.
And what a Bang we are going out in; Ginsberg is as big an influence on me as Whitman, Bukowski, & Leonard Cohen. They call me the “Last Beat Poet” in Tacoma. Free Writing has always been my go-to form, but thanks to dVersian influences over several years, my type has bulked up, become more versatile. I was dreaming of the stream of thoughts this morning, had to get up early & jump into a scribbling frenzy; like I told Bjorn, I write fast & type slow, & had a hell of a good time doing it.
Oh, when you said you might be on leave Glenn, I felt almost sorry, as i expected you to really do this..
Yeah, I really dig this prompt; got lucky & got back on line last night, & it really gave me joy to get Word Loose.
Glenn I love a fellow Ginsberg/Beat lover!!! Can’t wait to read what you crafted
Hi everyone! Thank you Amy and Bjorn! I always admired this poem – for Ginsberg and his bravery. The technique and style are not for me. I actually find such an abundance of freedom to be a restraint. I always have smiled at Kerouac’s rules and admired them. I’ll keep to my technique of forming in my mind. Having to laboriously handwrite made my brain stutter!!! keyboarding is more me – my fingers keep up with my thoughts – I keyboard at about 198 WPM….
I agree.. but I still felt that as if your freewriting loosened up some thought… you just have to write and write… decouple yourself from the writing… and then after 9 minutes, you use a sieve to collect the remains… 🙂
Good advice. But, it just isn’t for me. TS Eliot’s poems were what made me fall in love with Poetry. I grew up in the age of Ginsberg and Kerouac and all the Beat Gens. I think the pretentious wannabes who copied and tried to be so cool and intellectual turned me off. Ginsberg was real. Sean Anders was not. I used to hang a lot at the poetry/coffee houses and often came away disappointed. Ginsberg came to Duke for a reading – the place was SRO – that did not disappoint.
Ha..yes I think it’s always like that… and you know I probably look more towards the past in my iambic excursions… 🙂
And you know how firmly rooted in the past my poetry is! I actually always think of Eliot as the first Beat Poet. 🙂 and even more so, Whitman. Now that was one brave guy!
I would guess I’m closer to Frost… 🙂
And Frost…..my oh my….he makes my scalp tingle at times with his quiet intensity and observation. I often like to think I channel Frost when going on my insomniac walkabouts, but know I will never come close, so I just read and admire.
It can be like a restraint, that’s for sure. I’m excited to read! I think free verse is always a surprise when it’s over, that’s why I love it!
It is indeed like a surprise – exactly! 🙂 I often write free verse, but only when it is ready to come out of my head. I guess mine is more free form. LOL, I’m an anal Japanese poetic form writer….
Lol
I’m looking forward to adding my recitation to my piece today (have done almost 600 of them for my poems now) but wouldn’t you know it, am experiencing technical difficulties with Garage Band this morning; isn’t that always the way?
I just added audicity to my software and it worked fine 🙂
I hope it works out for you. the audio is always extraordinary when you read.
Thanks, I always enjoy the performing.
Helllo, hello everyone! And thank you so much Bjorn for including me in on this, it was so much fun! My free-write turned into a tornado of thoughts on the military and social media that actually went a bit viral in the “22 too Many” facebook page that is a nonprofit organizaiton for vets who have committed suicide from combat PTSD. It started out with a list of what was bothering me in the world, but I couldn’t get this picture out of my head that I had seen on that page of the late Veteran, Curtis. It was a freeing write, really. Thanks everyone and I look forward to reading yours!!
The first poem I wrote after listening to Ginsburg turned into to a rant about Syria and the war of Ukraine, of rape and terrible deeds of the world… This time I went back to my younger days before computers was at our disposal.
Thank you so much for co-writing with Bjorn on this. Having a friend who returned from Viet Nam who committed suicide soon after returning, PTSD has always been important as an issue to me. I spend several hours volunteering at the Vet Hospital – doing nothing but listening to rants and pain and fear – and mainly, they just want to be heard. It’s the least I can do – listen. I encourage them to write and refer them to Howl so they know poetry doesn’t have to be refined, elegant, rhyming or written like the person is from outer space. They meet every two weeks and share their poems – for themselves only. But listening to them talk, I can just imagine. One life lost to PTSD is one too many.
To be beat might actually be a lot about PTSD…
Maybe. One man wants to write sonnets instead of stream of consciousness, free form. I wish he would let me read some. I think that would be an incredible fusion – sonnet and PTSD.
The Beat poets and PTSD – indeed!
Amy, thanks for all the work you put into sharing this with us. I don’t think this is my thing…maybe when I’m in California, I can get some medical marijuana and that will loosen me up a bit. :0)
Lol that’ll do it ahahah
Hi Bjorn and all…just stopping by to say this is a bit too complex for me to think about this busy time of year, so I won’t be sharing this time. And, as far as Ginsburg, I guess his type of writing either resonates or it doesn’t. Inspires or doesn’t. But do have a great weekend, everyone.
I can understand that.. sometimes the prompt does not resonate with us… anyway the freewriting was quite interesting to try… I might try it again when I’m stumped for ideas…
You have a good one! to be honest, I like your trimerics much better.
I’m more in to trimerics, too. But I tried. Not so successful.
And my comfort zone is in sonnets… 🙂
And I think by now we know where my comfort zone is – arranging paper thin slices of tuna to look like a rose on the sushi platter – LOL!!!
I’m off, speaking of moritsuke, to fix sushi for friends tonight. You all have a wonderful, happy, healthy inspired rest of the year – on into the new year! I’ll be back later to read and comment. I’ll be posting regardless of the lights being off in the Pub. Again – safe, happy, inspired, hopeful time of light for you all.
Oh, I found this so hard–maybe that has something to do with the era I grew up in and wrote about today. And then I completely missed the 60’s. Maybe this will help me catch up. Had I not been MIA, I’m sure I would have been right up there at the Haight…right close to where I worked in the late 80’s early 90’s.
Have a wonderful time off, celebrate well, everyone, whatever it is you celebrate or if you celebrate nothing at all. Thanks for all each of you bring to this poetry community. Come back relaxed and refreshed.
I will be a bit tied up the rest of today and perhaps the beginning of tomorrow but I figure I will have time to catch up eventually.
Peace and joy to each of us.
I think this was fun but challenging… i went back to the decades that fitted the theme, which were right at the end of the 70s early 80s….
LOL Victoria, I missed out on the 60’s as well but not for the same reasons. I told Glenn I liked the way he did his poem but there is almost a whole decade I do not remember! The medical marijuana gave me a good laugh! Have a lovely happy healthy inspired Christmas and season of light. Love to you and your family, my dear triplet.
Smiles. You, too–“sis.”
I will head to bed now.. I will be back in the morning… Hope to see a lot of wonderful experiments..
Hey everyone,
Well I sort of traveled back into the past and had a reunion with my younger self 🙂 hope you guys like her too!!
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Great prompt! I just wrote and hit publish… I feel free today.
Nice exercise. Back in October I wrote a post “Playing Tennis Without a Net” that spoke to my proclivity at that time to (syllabic) structured poems. In the past I stayed clear of these of kind of structured poems, and lately have been feeling more pull back towards the free verse form. Both of them offer something to play against that, if we are open to it, can take us to places (within ourselves) we wouldn’t otherwise.
I think switching back and forth between form and no form is a good thing… I have been stuck in form a while so this was most liberating.
change does keep us on our toes
Thank you, Bjorn and Amy for a most interesting prompt that made us dig deep. Well, I tried anyway. Growing up in the 50s and 60s took me through some heavy emotions and then I eventually kind of evened out (thank goodness). 🙂 See everyone next year!
I liked to do it 🙂 it was great fun.
I have a question for you, Bjorn. Is free-style writing the same thing as prose poetry writing? I started wondering as to whether or not there is any difference.
What a great way to look back on the happenings of your life. Thanks for a wonderful prompt. Hope everyone has some fun and relaxation on the break. Thank you to everyone who welcomed me to the dVerse group. I’ve so much enjoyed reading everyone’s work. You’ve all been so encouraging. I appreciate every visit and comment . 🙂
And we appreciate your participation with us. See you back here in a couple of weeks! 🙂
Gayle ~
Amy, kudos & gratitude for creating a liberating prompt. My wife & I are off to a rented cottage at the ocean for the 24-25-26th. Our kids are all obligated to visit with their in-laws since everyone was at our home for Thanksgiving. We just don’t want to be “home alone”. So happy holidays to all you wonderful poets & cyber-friends out there. Recharge your batteries & limber up your poetic perspectives.
@Glenn
That sounds unbearably romantic. *sigh*
You really know how to live ^_^
Enjoy your seaside getaway, Glenn, sounds very relaxing. Happy holidays to you!
On my first creative writing course, that’s exactly how we started to write poetry, and it feels really natural to me to write like that, even though my love affair with form poetry took over for a long time. I have a fraught day ahead, but will try and find 9 minutes somewhere for this lovely prompt.
I never did it in my course, but I have tried it before a few times…
I’ve actually used that technique (or something similar to it) to kickstart myself into writing after a very long break. It is an excellent ‘loosening up’ exercise, although at first glance I’ve seen many a brave soul blanche when trying it out!
I’m afraid I haven’t been able to replace my laptop yet and it’s still very temperamental, regularly losing my work or going to random other pages or closing pages etc. But I look forward to seeing your links and wish you all a very happy and restful holiday season!
I’m sad I missed this last night. I am helping prepare for family to arrive and I was baking cut-out sugar cookies. I am happy to see the linky is open and I will attack this prompt this morning. I’ll tell you right now I have no business doing it because I have 2 prompts backed up and a book review to write. But I want to!
I am not a Ginsberg fan and I won’t get into the why’s of it here or now, but I am a fan of freewriting. I used to home educate my children and my dear first-born was held back by a touch of perfectionism. I hate labels but she would use the same word. She had trouble writing because she had to know it in her head first and it would always defeat her. I got her free-writing once a day and it unlocked her words.
I read and enjoyed everyone’s comments but there are too many to reply to. I will say that this stuck with me Björn, when you said “And my comfort zone is in sonnets…”. Immediately I started thinking, what is my comfort zone? But rather than be distracted I will leave that thought to simmer and answer it later.
I homeschool my oldest, and she has the same need to have her words unlocked. She is by no means a perfectionist; she just can’t seem to “get started” when it comes to writing. But we still have time. At least she loves to read. That’s really the first step.
We did that dance for years. I got some results from freewriting, but that still involved beginning. So I said, I won’t read it, it’s only for you. Write and say what’s on your mind and you can show it to me if you want to. That worked tremendously, though I didn’t always read it the journaling was good for her and I knew she was writing.
The other thing that worked (sometimes) was a starter sentence. When that didn’t work, I gave her three to choose from. That worked better.
She is 25 now, and has a master’s degree. ^_^
I hope everyone has a good holiday season.
“Howl” is well worth listening to. I highly advise you all to set aside 20 minutes, close your eyes, and really let it wash over your ears.
Whoa….quite a different experience to read and write this particular free verse. Very entertaining, enjoyed this one. Thank you Bjorn and Amy! Be by later this evening.
This one got me riled up! Brought back, in full force, all my convictions. They never left but they quieted quite a bit. As always, awesome prompt!
Ah.. yes sometimes we find those pebbles of the past that formed us…
That’s the truth!
Serendipity this comes up this week. I’d been free-writing in my journal for a few days — just the “stuff” of my life. Added to it and then circled in red (hmmmm….symbolism in the red?) the key points, themes etc and then culled it down, wrote and edited and came out with Shrink Wrapped. I think of the world shrinking….and then I think of the porches we used to have where neighbors sat outside to watch the fireflies and talked across their yards. The world has “shrunk” and we can now “talk” with the world….but are we really communicating? Do we have “relationships” the way we used to? Just some pondering, my first time sitting in the pub!
What a wonderful coincidence. I will check into the pub a little later and the result… 😉
By the way, have you ever been to City Lights in San Francisco? Home of the Beat Generation — just an amazing place to spend a few hours meandering. Just the drawings on the wall will enthrall you, never mind the amazing collection of books. Here’s a link that talks about the Beat Generation and City Lights — if any one cares to look….https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-beat-poets
I have heard of it.. But never visited.. Last time in San Fransisco my agenda was full..
Hi Bjorn,
I would have tried the prompt but, I have just been too busy. I wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday and I look forward to seeing what next year brings.
ps – Bjorn, the bear was meant to dance…