Allyson Whipple

Tag: poetry

  • May Poetry Contest: Blackout

    Photo by Filipe Delgado on Pexels.com

    Maybe you tried to write a poem a day during National Poetry Month, and now you’re feeling a little tapped out. When I want to create but don’t feel I have anything to say, I like to turn to blackout poetry. If you’re unfamiliar you can check out “The History of Blackout Poetry” and “Erasure and Blackout Poems: Poetic Forms.”

    This month, create an erasure or blackout poem. If you’re struggling to choose a source text, consider a long-form newspaper or magazine article. You can draw over a hard copy source text, or use your word processing software to black out original material.

    You can send your poem as a Word or PDF file; I will also accept .jpg and .png files if it makes more sense to send your poem that way. Please also include the name and author of the source text in your submission.

    Email your poem to allyson@allysonwhipple.com by 11:59 pm on May 20th. The winner will receive a gift certificate to the independent bookstore of their choice, or I will make a donation in their honor to a nonprofit.

    View past contest winners here.

  • The Best of It: Last Day of National Poetry Month Edition

    1. “Cream Soda” by Wade Martin
    2. “How to Write a Poem” by Cindy Huyser
    3. “What Mothers Withhold” by Elizabeth Kropf
    4. “There’s a Way the Body Speaks” by Jenny Keto
    5. “Coronas” by A.R. Rogers

  • April Poetry Contest Winner

    Another month, another surprising entry in my monthly poetry contest! In April, the winner of the contest is not an individual, but a SurvivalWolves, a creative collective.

    Pieces from the SurvivalWolf Instagram account

    The collective asked that the $25 donation be made directly to Kaze Shadow, the leader of their team. You can read their poem below.

    It is my time

    For the ones who are unaware, it is my time
    I have come from a position that is a far
    In my forgotten spirit, I’ll become greatly divine

    For the words within the book of me will evolve from its line 
    Ignite more flames of passion than the bright stars
    For the ones who are unaware, it is my time

    I was lost, so lost that all I could find 
    Pushing me forward was my hatred and scars
    In my forgotten spirit, I’ll become greatly divine

    I soon found more within me, more within life
    Something beyond the smoke and blinding bars
    For the ones who are unaware, it is my time

    Now I move quick, quicker than a piercing knife
    Empujando obstáculos, con fuego para ganar
    In my forgotten spirit, I’ll become greatly divine

    For the people who believed that I wouldn’t strive
    Now beyond the clouds, I fly on heaven’s radar
    For the ones who are unaware, it is my time
    In my forgotten spirit, I’ll become greatly divine

  • A Birthday Poetry Giveaway

    Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

    I admit, this time last year, I figured we’d have this pandemic issue all sorted out, and I’d be able to have a big dinner party with all of my friends. Turns out that prediction was incorrect! This year is still better than last year, because I do get to have a small gathering with my quarantine pod, and everyone in it is fully vaccinated. Still, I miss being able to have big gatherings. I have a good feeling 2022 will be the year.

    Even with the pandemic, though, I feel celebratory. Especially because my birthday falls during National Poetry Month! So I thought I’d offer some presents to you, dear readers. So I’m hosting a drawing for four books!

    1. A copy of my first chapbook, We’re Smaller Than We Think We Are
    2. A copy of my second chapbook, Come Into the World Like That
    3. A copy of Cooking With the Texas Poets Laureate, edited by Elizabeth Ethredge
    4. A copy of Eat This Poem by Nicole Gulotta

    To Enter

    1. Comment on this post telling me which book(s) interest you the most
    2. You will get a bonus entry if you link to a poem you love
    3. Deadline to comment is Sunday, April 18th at 11:59 pm
    4. I will draw winners at random and notify recipients within four days of the deadline

  • The Best of It: National Poetry Month Part 3 Edition

    1. “Love Poem for a Non-Believer” by Sandra Cisneros
    2. “Mambo Cadillac” by Barbara Hamby
    3. “Good Bones” by Maggie Smith
    4. “Wild Turkeys: The Dignity of the Damned” by Brigit Pegeen Kelly
    5. “If We Were Honest” by Albert Goldbarth

  • The Best of It: National Poetry Month Part 2 Edition

    1. “My Heart” by Frank O’Hara
    2. “With Lorenzo at the Center of the Universe, El Zocalo, Mexico City” by Sandra Cisneros
    3. “Grace” by Jake Adam York
    4. “Say Thank You Say I’m Sorry” by Jericho Brown
    5. “There Are Two Magics” by Rachel Zucker

  • The Best of It: National Poetry Month Edition

    1. “The Truth the Dead Know” by Anne Sexton
    2. “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver
    3. “The Best of It” by Kay Ryan (scroll about halfway down the page)
    4. “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams
    5. “Steps” by Frank O’Hara

  • April Poetry Contest: Villanelle

    Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

    April is my birthday month! And the villanelle is my favorite form. So this month, the contest prompt is to write a villanelle incorporating at least one of the following:

    • Glitter
    • Peonies
    • Oolong tea
    • The beach
    • A word in a language other than English
    • Spaghetti carbonara
    • Craftsman furniture
    • Cedar Point

    Email your poem to allyson@allysonwhipple.com by 11:59 pm on April 20th. The winner will receive a gift certificate to the independent bookstore of their choice, or I will make a donation in their honor to a nonprofit.

    View complete contest rules and past winners here.

  • Let’s Spend a Year Studying Form

    Photo by Wallace Chuck on Pexels.com

    While I mostly write in free verse, most of my poet friends know that I love form. In fact, even in my free verse, I usually incorporate some formal aspect… Something that my MFA thesis advisor and I butted heads about on a regular basis! Even though I don’t regularly write with rhyme and meter, I do enjoy incorporating some formal structure into my work. Sometimes that means only writing in tercets, or repeating a specific word, or making the poem fit a predetermined shape. I find the challenge a major source of inspiration.

    Starting this April, I’m launching A Year of Forms. Whether it be meditation, writing, or some other endeavor, I’ve found long periods of practice and study to be invaluable. I’ve decided I want to spend the next year of my life studying form, and I want to study it with you!

    While I’ve created a yearlong program, I know that might not work for everyone. To that end, I’ve divided the workshop into four themed series. That way, you can still get the benefit of some longer structured study. Single workshop sessions are also available. Finally, if you’re looking for one-on-one critiques, I’m offering optional private sessions to supplement the program.

    Check out the program page for details. I look studying form with you this year!

  • March Poetry Contest Winner

    I received a record number of entries this month! I think that the theme of equanimity resonated with a number of readers. This month, I am excited to announce that we have our first international winner!

    Photograph of Ojo Taiye by Downtown Studios

    Ojo Taiye is a Nigerian poet whose work appears in the Rumpus, Glass Poetry Journal, and a number of other places. His poem, “Hereditary Blues,” has a subtle connection to the theme. I appreciated the way his work made me pause and think.

    Due to challenges related to international transactions, this month, I made an exception and gave the prize directly to Ojo himself. I definitely didn’t anticipate having international poets enter this contest, so I didn’t anticipate this issue. But I think it’s a good problem to have!

    Hereditary Blues

    for some years now, you lay out your blue-coated pills & thank them
    for their taste buds: the dilating seas that neatly occupy your bed
    with a living dream. the sky today is made of your lover’s breath. you
    realize your love for him is like a city on fire: mother of all balm &
    each growing desire is a wing shaped by time. you dream of homeland
    only in your poems. this is always what you wanted: to hold your
    breath when no one else will. all day you watch for the mail—lost in
    the reverie for some news from a distant place. you are an un-happy
    thing—a grey country quietly waiting for the catastrophe of its own
    beauty. haven’t you travelled enough—to end the chore. to be lost in a
    suspension of time. it maybe the coldest month of the year— & you are
    an odd spot of calm misled by want. how your imprecise side stayed up
    to watch the sun eat the moon. this morning you woke up to snows &
    skies of laughter not enough—