Allyson Whipple

Tag: may

  • The Best of It: Creativity Edition

    Nancy the Cat pays a visit
    1. Getting all of my poems organized in a spreadsheet.
    2. Exciting calls for submissions.
    3. Creating the design for my next quilt project.
    4. Ordering supplies for my next quilt project.
    5. My work email inbox is down to a manageable size.

  • The Best of It: Garden Delights Edition

    Thai peppers, shishito peppers, and Japanese eggplants starting to come in!
    1. I’m starting to get produce in my garden!
    2. The mystery squash that I didn’t plant but has nonetheless taken up residence
    3. TinyWords
    4. I’ve got a date set to fix my deviated septum
    5. Juiceland

  • Weekly Writing Prompt: Listen

    Go to a restaurant or coffee shop that’s has a decent crowd in it. Ideally, it will be busy enough that there will be multiple conversations going on around you at once. Sit down, open your notebook or laptop, and listen. (And don’t forget to order something to support the establishment!) See what snippets of conversation you can pick out. Write things down. You don’t have to follow just one conversation. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. Pick out sentences, phrases, and words. Write them down as they happen. Let everything be fragmented and disjointed. I recommend listening for at least 30 minutes.

    Once you’ve gotten a solid amount of material, you can go one of two ways. First, you can find a phrase or sentence that really resonates with you, and build a story or poem using that as your inspiration. Alternately, you can take your hodgepodge of sentences and create a poem using only what you’ve transcribed.

  • Weekly Writing Prompt: A City that Mistakes Itself for Another

    Write a persona poem from the perspective of a city that has mistaken itself for another. How has it changed its weather, its climate, its flora and fauna. What are the buildings like? Do we know why the city is experiencing this confusion? Can it be resolved?

    (Inspired by Saundra Goldman, who posted earlier this week that Austin had apparently mistaken itself for Seattle.)

  • Another Go at the 30/30 Project

    Back in 2013, I participated in the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project, an ongoing fundraiser for the press in which volunteer poets commit to writing a poem a day for 30 days, and those who are inspired by their work can make donations in their honor.

    I had so much fun in 2013 that I knew I wanted to participate again. I’m writing alongside a slew of amazing poets, and having fun. My initial poems have come from The Daily Poet prompts and politics. The title of my Day 4 poem popped into my head while I was washing dishes.

    You can check out the May 30/30 poems here. If you’re interested in donating, you can do so here.

  • Big Poetry Giveaway Winners!

    With the help of a trusty random number generator, I have determined the winners of the Big Poetry Giveaway!

    Jessica Goodfellow won America Zen: A Gathering of Poets

    Laurie Kolp won We’re Smaller Than We Think We Are

    Congrats, poets!

    I also won two books in the giveaway, and I’m thrilled. I always love getting new poetry in the mail.

  • Weekly Writing Prompt: Happy Dog Edition

    Keeping it simple this week. A line and a photo:

    A happy dog transcends language.

    Happy Simon!
    Happy Simon!