Allyson Whipple

Tag: april

  • Weekly Writing Prompt: Random Number Poem

    Get a random number generator. Random.org is a good one, and they also have a great app for your mobile device.

    First, decide what you want your first pass with the generator to determine:

    1. The number of total syllables in your poem OR…
    2. The number of total lines in your poem

    If you went with option 1, set your range between 5 and 500. If you went with option 2, set your range between 1 and 50. (You can go higher if you like writing long poems.) Generate a number. You now have the required total required number of syllables or lines for your poem, depending which option you chose.

    Continue using the random number generator as you write. If you went with option 1, use the random number generator for each new line. Use it to determine the number of syllables for the new line, adding lines until you reach the number of total syllables.

    If you went with option 2, use the generator to determine the number of words per line, writing until you reach the maximum number of require lines.

  • Remix, Repeat, Reply: Playing with the Villanelle

    If you hang around me long enough, you’ll find out that I’m obsessed with villanelles. They’re my favorite poetic form. For this year’s creative challenge, I have two goals. First, I want to immerse myself in the villanelle. While I won’t write exclusively in form, I will spend the year reading, studying, and practicing. I love this form, so why not give it my full attention?

    My other goal is to teach more workshops. I love teaching. I’ve taught workshops here and there, but this year, I want to make them a commitment the way I made giving readings a commitment. Given that preparing a workshop requires more effort than a reading (at least in my opinion), I’m not going to shoot for one a month. Instead, I’m going to go for 10 between now and March 31st, 2016.

    Where is all this leading? To announce that I’ll be re-running the villanelle workshop I taught at the Flor de Nopal Literary Festival last year!

    Workshop Description:  Many poets are intimidated by the prospect of writing formal poetry. The villanelle, with the constraint of repeated lines, can seem especially daunting. This workshop will explore different ways of creating villanelles, including using found lines, to push the boundaries of constrains and make the form a fun exploration of sound and rhythm.

    When: April 25th, 2015 from 3-5 4:00-6:00 p.m. (note the time change) at my home in East Austin (address provided after registration is finalized) OR April 26th from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. online (via Google Hangout)

    Cost: $25 for the Austin workshop; $15 for the online workshop

    Want to sign up? Fill out the registration form here. Payment can be sent via Paypal to literaryaustin@gmail.com, or contact me at that address to make other arrangements.

  • Big Poetry Giveaway 2012!

    It’s time for National Poetry Month, and to celebrate, I’m participating in the 3rd Annual Big Poetry Giveaway!

    For any new visitors the giveaway has brought to this blog, welcome! Allow me to introduce myself (readers who know me might want to skip down a few lines): I’m an Ohio native now making my home in Austin, Texas. I adore my adopted state (well, not the politics of it…), and constantly drawn on the landscape as fodder for my poetry. Although I have been writing since I was twelve, I only became truly serious about poetry in 2009. Since then, my poems have appeared in a variety of places (click here for the full list), and I now have a chapbook manuscript out for submission. In addition to poetry and a day job, I love to dance, and compete in west coast swing. Finally, I have an obsession with avocados.

    I’ve been reading Kelli Russell Agodon’s blog for years, which is how I came to learn about the Big Poetry Giveaway. The other writers who inspire me are Drew Myron (a recent addition to my blogroll, but nonetheless important to me),  Christine Hennessey (she’s been on my blog radar the longest — since 2006, I think), Shanna Germain, Chuck Wendig, and Bon Steele.

    Although I don’t have a book of my own to give away this year (here’s hoping for 2013!), I’m offering up two excellent collections.

    First up is Susan Wheeler‘s Ledger. Structured around the concept of finance, Wheeler’s text is no dull accounting textbook. It draws on history and art in its discussions of money and consumerism, spanning hilarity and sorrow. And it’s also the kind of collection that doesn’t feel constrained by theme. It’s not rigidly tied to it; none of the poems here feels forced.It has a concept, but is free to move around as necessary.

    I’m also giving away Allison Benis White‘s Self-Portrait with Crayon. This book uses Degas paintings as a frame for the theme of loss that runs through these pieces. It’s a collection of prose poems rather than verse, and I have a particular fondness for this form, which is another reason I chose it.

    The drawing is open to anyone, anywhere, and will run through the entire month of April. If you’d like to enter, please leave a comment here with your name and email address before 11:59 p.m. on April 30th. I’ll randomly select two winners on May 1st. Good luck!