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Hi everyone! I am pleased to introduce our guest host, Stacy!!
According to the English Dictionary, ‘folk’ refers to a group of people in general, specifically those in a certain class or region. Folk literature is a type of writing that articulates the base origins, traditions, rituals, festivals, and celebrations of a certain group of people. To put it simply, folk poetry is like paying homage to history, to old things, to the forgotten practices and beliefs of forefathers who shared our same culture at some earlier time.
For this reason, folk is a many-faceted thing. For example, the folk traditions of Native Americans would be vastly different from the folk traditions celebrated by Native African tribes. Think in terms of the legends and traditions of a common people and you’ll get a good idea of how to write a folk poem. Folk poetry, like folk art, also can be written as a remembrance or celebration of places or seasons. Prose and verse meant to capture the essence of wilderness, holidays, familial relationships or themes in nature, or even people, can also constitute as folk poetry.
For a great example, refer to this excerpt from the poem Autumn Hills, Wind by contemporary poet Wendy McVicker as she speaks of the woods of her childhood:
In my dreams we enter
the woods, you
slip between tall
trees (think, pillars
of stone in the old
cathedrals)
leaves on the ground so thick
we are ankle–deep
in gold.
These things whisper:
hair–thin branches
in the trees’ high crowns,
the leaves as we pass,
a black bird’s wings —
Or perhaps you’d like to go the folk-song route with a political statement or with the glorification of someone from history, as icon lyricist Bob Dylan did in many of his songs, one such as Tambourine Man:
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come followin’ you
Though I know that evenin’s empire has returned into sand
Vanished from my hand
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping
My weariness amazes me, I’m branded on my feet
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street’s too dead for dreaming
Tambourine Man, 1965
Some other excellent contemporary folk lyricists/poets to consider for inspiration:
Iron and Wine
Jewel
Bon Iver
Gordon Lightfoot
John Denver
You may also enjoy perusing the vast collection of Folklore and Myth poems found here.
So for today, I challenge you to write your own folk poem. It may seem challenging, but in order to write a folk-type poem, you need only to dip into your own history. Rather the history of your town/region or your personal family history. Excavate old memories of times gone by, old family customs, celebrations, dinners, etc. Think in terms of old farmhouses, country roads, hills and trees, the four seasons and even religious beliefs/rituals, or people from history who have touched your life/influenced you in some phenomenal way. Most of all, just enjoy putting words on the page!
If you are new to the pub, this is how it works:
• Write your poem
• Post it on your blog or website
• Leave a comment below to say hello
• Click on Mr. Linky at the bottom of this post and enter your name and the direct URL of your post
• Visit other poets’ work and let them know what you thought
• Spread the word on social media with the #dVersePoets hashtag
My Bio:
Stacy Lynn Mar is a thirty-something American poet. She has published four chapbooks of poetry, the latest titled Mannequin Rivalry. Her poetry has been showcased in over 45 online (and print) literary journals/magazines. Her previous work was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Web. Stacy is editor and founder of the small, independent press Pink.Girl.Ink. She obtained her undergraduate studies in psychology at Lindsey Wilson College, then concluded her education endeavors with several graduate degrees (and Certification) in Mental Health Counseling from Capella University. Her formal undergraduate studies in English Literature were conducted at Ellis NYIT. Stacy dabbles in digital art, art journal collage and enjoys the occasional indie music binge. She homeschools her nine-year-old daughter and is a yogini wanna-be. Stacy also has a well-known coffee addiction. Currently, she lives and writes in Kentucky.
Hello everyone… at first I thought this was very challenging, but then I thought of magic songs from our own region… the mystery of the midsummer nights and the stories of love between men and women from the woods, and then my story wrote itself… so glad to have you hosting Stacy, I so admire your poetry.
thank you so much, bjorn! likewise, i adore your work.
can’t wait to hop on over and see what you’ve written.
Sorry, your comment was not published right away ~ Its all good now ~
its quite alright. 🙂 i read everyone’s poem, then came back to visit the comments. i’ve had so much fun today, Grace.
thanks to the dverse community for having me today. i loved being among so many gifted writers!
So nice to see you hosting, Stacy! I took the word folk — and wrote a tale about Boston’s history. Don’t know if it’s a song — but it is American folk lore from a page in history.
Really an interesting challenge! 🙂
I liked what you came up with Lillian… so nice to have you linking up early.
thank you, lillian!
can’t wait to read what you’ve come up with, the history of Boston sounds really interesting. 🙂
Hello poets !!!! Thanks to Stacy for the is exciting prompt ~
I am still in the office and will visit your poems shortly ~
the thanks is on me! honored to be among such great writers today. i’ve had a blast reading everyone’s response to the prompt!
Hello Stacy. Welcome and thank you for the prompt and for hosting the pub comments.
Thanks for dropping by Toni and hope you are feeling better ~
you are so very welcome. i am happy you enjoyed as well! 🙂
Stacy, thanks for the great prompt that took me a long way out of my comfort zone. So nice to have you join us, today.
Good to see you here Victoria ~
hello! you are most welcome. i found it a bit challenging as well. but it took me into some great memories. thanks for joining in!
Hello everyone,
This was a really interesting prompt 🙂 sharing my poem “Ghosts of the Past.” I chose to highlight the superstitions and fears of the folks back home where I live.
Thank you Stacy for the wonderful opportunity.. hope you like it!
Lots of love,
Sanaa
I can relate to those superstitions and fears of the folks specially the older ones ~ It may look puzzling to us, even questionable, but if one has believed in it (their whole life), its true for them ~ Thanks for joining us Sanaa ~
i so enjoyed reading your poem. ghosts and superstitions and old folk tales are right down my alley (hence the prompt!). thank you for joining in on the prompt today!!
You’re most welcome 🙂
Great prompt, Stacy! So happy to see you hosting. I went the folk song route, which IS part of my history…a favorite from my childhood.
Love your share and that video inspiration De ~
i visited your poem earlier…absolutely adore your take on the vintage storybook idea. so much love for the old things (many forgotten in these modern days of digital books). thanks so much for joining. 🙂
Thank you for an interesting prompt to write on, Stacy. I chose one group of the Native Americans of Florida. My heart really resonates with our Native people. It’s not a song but touches on their beliefs and how they consider the earth and its resources.
reading your poem felt like opening a gift! so much love for my fellow native ancestors. thank you so much for writing with us today!
I feel honored by your words, Stacie…thanks so much.
Gayle ~
Hi everyone! I’m going to have think long and hard about this one. In England we have so many folk tales. I have also lived in Ireland, very close to the Hill of Tara, which has a wealth of legends all of its own! I also have my daughter staying with me at the moment and we have an appointment for her to try on her wedding dress later on today, with a view to alterations. So I will have to come back later to post and then read.
It’s so much fun to go with folk tales, and so many variations
yep. there’s so much variety it can be really hard to pick just one little thing to write about. 🙂
So sorry that there are so few linking up… April seems to be an overload of prompts.. but this one was too good to miss… some truly awesome poems this time. I will check back in the morning and hope for some late linkers.
I am sure there will be many more. It has only been an hour so far ^_^
🙂 the prompt went up yesterday..
Oh see my head is in the clouds writing today. It is Wednesday. I am embarrassed
If you are still there, how much longer will the linky be up?
Plenty of time still 😉
Well it’s NaPoWriMo month so there’s a plethora of sites with prompts up around this time. 🙂 Especially over at the official page, seems a lot of people are going by her daily prompts.
Maybe we’ll get a few more in. 🙂
I enjoy folk stories and music so much. I have a few in my blog but I will try and come up with something new.
I entered a little silly story I wrote that would fall under the heading of legend or lore in the town where I heard it from
i’m on my way to read right now!
thanks for joining in with us. 🙂
i love a good legend.