OULIPOST #3: DEFINITIONAL LIT

The prompt:

Select a single sentence from a newspaper article. Replace each meaningful word in the text [verb, noun, adjective, adverb] by its dictionary definition. Repeat this treatment on the resulting sentence, and so on, until you’ve had enough! Note that after only two such treatments with a relatively compact dictionary, even a two-word sentence can produce an accumulation of 57 words.

*Note: I've seen all these gorgeous blogs and websites with images..I felt jealous. I am web designer by day but can't bring myself to do it at all at night.

When I read this prompt, I got nervous. I thought how the heck will I do this. I then realized..I can stop when I want to. I stopped after finishing the third lines third verb. I felt it wrote and completed itself. I did remove some "a's", "to's" and cut off longer definitions. I am not too sure of this piece but it is something and I am writing again so yippee!!!


Now, I found one of the most ridiculous sentences I've ever read on the front page of a newspaper. It was probably the first that I read today and I couldn't stop laughing.....

"It had all the appearances of a serendipitous selfie."


To possess
The whole quantity or extent of a particular group or thing
The way that someone or something looks
Occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way
A photograph that one has taken of oneself,

Have as belonging to one,
All of, entire
The amount or number of a material or immaterial thing not usually estimated by spatial measurement,
the area covered by something
Used to single out an individual member of a specified group or class

A number of people or things that are located close together or are considered or classed together
An object that one need not, cannot, or does not wish to give a specific name to,
a method, style, or manner of doing something
Unknown or unspecified person
direct one's gaze toward someone or something
Happen,
Find
A possibility of something happening

Source: Farrell, Michael B. "White House selfie furnishes a closeup of the marketing world." The Boston Globe, 3 Apr 2014.

OULIPOST #2: LIPOGRAM (NEWSPAPER TITLES)

A lipogram is a text that excludes one or more letters of the alphabet. The ingenuity demanded by the restriction varies in proportion to the frequency of the letter or letters excluded. For this initial exercise, you will compose a poem using only words that can be formed from letters that are NOT found in the title of your newspaper. For example, if you are working with the Washington Post, you must avoid using words that contain the letters A, G, H, I, N, O, P, S, T and W.


Well, today I did not hit the jackpot when it comes to newspaper titles. All the good letters live inside The Boston Globe. This was difficult but I survived.

Quirk

I park car
Pay away fraud
Firm wick
Draw
May day...
Kid
3, 2, 1....


Sources: Various The Boston Globe Articles from Sections A and B, April 2, 2014.

Official Oulipost #1: Quote Cento

Prompt

Oulipost #1: Quote Cento

When composing a cento, poets take lines from existing poems (traditionally without any alterations) and patch them together to form a new poem. Today, create a cento using only quotes referenced in newspaper articles. For example, if a newspaper article contained the line “It was a tragedy,” commented Detective Smith, the line, “It was a tragedy,” would be available for you to use in your poem. While you can’t change anything within the quotes themselves, you may choose to break a longer quote in half or use just part of a quote as needed.

Variations:

• Purist? Challenge yourself to write your cento using only complete quotes (sentences) as they appear in your articles.
• Add an additional constraint by challenging yourself to use only quotes sourced from a single article, single newspaper page or single newspaper section.

Here is my stab at it. I actually enjoy this poem a great deal. I think it came out well for a first try. Now my MLA sourcing..yikes! Totally not alphabetized. That's an F++.

Beloved Vigilante

The weight of the evidence warrants

This dangerous armed felon clearly

Not moving as fast

People are still angry

You could not find someone more respected and beloved

For me it’s a walk down memory lane

I thought to myself, maybe I shouldn’t

I really wasn’t thinking

I didn’t really realize anything

I couldn’t believe how
 a consummate academic and collaborative pillar

Didn’t intimidate me

Fearing for his life

I backed off

I think we all have to take a deep breath and give him some time

I want to keep it going

Sources:

Wallack, Todd. "Academy faults its former president." The Boston Globe 1 Apr. 2014: A1-A11.

Leung, Shirley; Casey Ross. "Unease over go-slow BRA."  The Boston Globe 1 Apr. 2014: A1-A11.

Kahn, Joseph P. "With echoes of '91, Anita Hill back in spotlight." The Boston Globe 1 Apr. 2014: A1-A14.

Andersen, Travis; David Filipov. "Shots fly, cars swiped, crashed in long chase." The Boston Globe 1 Apr. 2014: A1-A7.

OuliPost #3: Belle Absente or as I like to call it: I am absent.

This prompt threw me for a big loop. I am not sure it's entirely correct or done properly. Next time, I was use digital text rather than an actual newspaper. I am old-fashioned, what can I say. Also, I feel the poem lost meaning 4 words in. There's always next time. :)


WARM-UP #3: BEAUTIFUL OUTLAW (BELLE ABSENTE)
The outlaw in question is the name of the person (or subject) to whom the poem is addressed. Each line of the poem includes all the letters of the alphabet except for the letter appearing in the dedicated name at the position corresponding to that of the line: when writing a poem to Eva, the first line will contain all letters except E, the second all letters except V, and the third all letters except A.
Choose someone mentioned in your newspaper to whom to address your poem. Compose a beautiful outlaw poem following the procedure outlined above and using words sourced from your newspaper text.
As with the previous warm-ups, please feel free to share the results in the comments.

Here it is.

For S.H. Jun:

Foreign Fixes

Organized culture joined yet maligned with average, fixed, and dependable equipment deteriorate into a wreckage

Six sized images object to legal environmental pressures likely lowering quality

Firm lengthy planning builds visual clashes between kind experts and quoted

Joint barriers accept expanded deliveries of the seized wooden goods from Kyrgyzstan

Assumed job curves suggest flexible officials expand weekly with zero equity


Sources: Multiple articles in The Boston Globe, March 24, 2014: "Besieged rail firm seeking new deal.",  "Apply Pressure.", "Satellite spots more debris in search for missing plan."

Oulipost Practice #2: Iambic Pentameter..Shakespeare's Pissed

As April approaches, we've been given some prompts to help us get ready for our Oulipo project.

I am actually quite surprised and proud of this one. Now, I know it's far from perfect but.........it's better than I even imagined.

The prompt:


WARM-UP #2: BLANK VERSE AMIDST THE PROSE

And now for something slightly more difficult...compose a poem using unintentional lines of iambic pentameter found in your newspaper (or practice source). Blank verse is poetry written in regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always iambic pentameters. More background:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blank_verse

I studied blank verse for a bit and then gave it go. 

The result: 

Social Distortion

Bemused components communicate rants

In three retired eloquent essays

Propelling processes using software

Knowledge to collect research on topics

Such as conceived fear in newfangled words

Cheeky subjects progress widely across

A myriad of people in parades

Pamphlets circulate the precious crusade

Wrapped in humanities killing real thought

SOURCE: “Who killed the SAT essays?.” (The Boston Globe, 3/14/13).

Oulipost and Me: What have I gotten myself into? (Assignment #1)

*Note: Regular followers of this blog, all 0 of you, please make a note that as of today this blog will exist solely to house a poetry project.

Assignment #1

1. WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT OULIPOST?

 Well, I am not sure. After reading about the project, I thought wow..that sounds cool. I may want to do this just to get back into the writer mindset. Now, here I am..typing out Assignment #1. It sounds like a challenge and I like challenges..

2. WHAT, IF ANYTHING, SCARES YOU ABOUT OULIPOST?

Everything. I am not a poet. I am barely a writer I am terrified of the outcome. Forgive me all..you will probably be reading some terrible lines.  Not to mention time constraints, etc. 


3. HAVE YOU WRITTEN EXPERIMENTAL OR FOUND POETRY BEFORE? IF

SO, TELL US ABOUT IT.

Nope, unless you count a found poem I created using an abandoned face wash bottle. 

I am also not entirely sure I fully understand found poetry. I think I view it in a strict..must use only the words you see on the page. I don't know if that's accurate. 


4. WHAT NEWSPAPER WILL SERVE AS YOUR SOURCE TEXT?

The Boston Globe


5. WHO’S YOUR SPIRIT OULIPIAN?

Valérie Beaudouin

We share a last name and she works the web. I am astounded.

This year is different....

For some reason, I feel that this year is different than the past several. I have more ambition to do things outside of work. I've been working out more, going on more adventures and have the desire to try new things.

The newest "thing" I want to try is poetry. Yes, I've written poetry before but April is National Poetry Month and a few friends of mine run a poetry review and have this very interesting month long poetry prompt. It sounds very challenging and fun. I want to do it but I am nervous about the commitment and my writing abilities. Needless to say, I am not much of a writer anymore. My job rarely involves writing and when it does, my writing gets edited into something horrible and unrecognizable. Case in point: I was asked to edit something last week and I think it came out dandy...and then as it was published, I noticed it was edited again to a paltry mess. Yay!!!

So, I question myself. Do I attempt this poetry prompt for the month of April knowing full well I may not be able to finish it and that my poems will not be very par?

I am very conflicted. Although, I do think it's very good that I am even thinking about this and I have until April to decide.

Do I get back into my craft? It may help me gain my confidence back. We shall see. I am toying with this idea.

I've written more in 2014 than I have in years...things are looking up.


Editors Note: I did not proof this the first time I published. See....I am no longer a writer.