Ah, yes…#PoetryCubed has returned, and lots of folks are getting into the action! If you’d like to try win a signed copy of Flashlight Night, I hope you’ll consider joining us on this little writing challenge.
#PoetryCubed is based on the TV show “Chopped!” on The Food Network, where chefs compete by creating dishes using specific – and sometimes outlandish – ingredients. (Feel free to check out this previous post for details) For #PoetryCubed, I’ve applied the premise of the TV show…to writing:
- Use the 3 images below as inspiration to write a poem. (1 poem, to the 3rd power – “cubed!”)
. - The poem can be any form, any genre, any number of lines, rhyming or not. And most importantly…it also doesn’t have to be very good! This is about having fun, so no pressure allowed! Remember my mantra: #WriteLikeNoOneIsReading.
. - Make sure you include a reference to all three images in the poem – either via concrete imagery or something more abstract.
. - Email your poem to me at Matt (at) MattForrest (dot) com and I’ll share them here throughout the month of November. Out of all the poems submitted, one lucky writer will be chosen at random to receive a signed copy of Flashlight Night (Boyds Mills Press), just in time for holiday gift-giving!
Here are the three images (click on any to enlarge):
The first week, I started the ball rolling with a senryu; last week, author Deb Bruss responded with a haiku. This week, we kick things off with another haiku – this time, from author/illustrator Michelle Kogan:
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– © 2017 Michelle Kogan, all rights reserved
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Next up is a poem by Patty Richardson, who has never entered #PoetryCubed before, but responded to the challenge mightily with 8 – count ’em, 8! – stanzas! Way to go, Patty!
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My secret….
– © 2017 Patty Richardson, all rights reserved
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Last but not least, we have a poem from the Haiku Queen herself, Diane Mayr, who shares this engaging little scene from her youth:
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By the way, Jane Whittingham (better known as The Rain City Librarian) is hosting Poetry Friday today for the very first time – so head on over to her blog for all of the day’s poetry links and hi-jinks!
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“FLASHLIGHT NIGHT” makes a Top 10 list!
I was so happy to learn that Flashlight Night is now one of only 10 books now in consideration for the 2017 Best in Rhyme Award, handed out by Angie Karcher and the folks involved with Rhyme Revolution!
One of the judges, Deborah Williams, recently interviewed me about the book, my career path so far, and what’s on the horizon…and if you are so inclined, you can read the complete interview HERE!
Although it’s not possible to be everywhere at once, I certainly can’t be accused of not making the effort! If you’re wondering where to find me on this crazy journey, here’s my latest schedule:
- Nov. 18, 3pm: Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH (“Local Authors Open House”)
- Dec. 2, 12pm: Barnes & Noble, Peabody, MA
- Dec. 3, 11am: Barnes & Noble, Newington, NH
- (soon-to-be-confirmed: Barnes & Noble, Nashua, NH
- (soon-to-be-confirmed: Concord Hospital Gift Shop, Concord, NH
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WHAT ARE FOLKS SAYING ABOUT “FLASHLIGHT NIGHT”?
- KIRKUS Starred review!
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- Featured review in Sept. 26, 2017 Shelf Awareness!
. - Amazon “Best Books of the Month,” Sept. 2017!
Thank you so much to all who have enjoyed “Flashlight Night” enough to write about it:
“Delicious language…ingenious metamorphoses” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“The verse is incantatory…a simple idea that’s engagingly executed” – School Library Journal
An old fashioned, rip-roaring imaginary adventure” – The Horn Book
“[Esenwine and Koehler] don’t just lobby for children to read—they show how readers play” – Publisher’s Weekly
“Imaginative…fantastical” – Booklist“
“Favorably recalls Where the Wild Things Are” – Shelf Awareness
“Readers, you must share ‘Flashlight Night’…as often as you can” – Margie Myers-Culver, Librarian’s Quest
“Begs to be read over and over” – Michelle Knott, Mrs. Knott’s Book Nook/Goodreads
“A poetic and engaging journey” – Cynthia Alaniz, Librarian In Cute Shoes
“Illuminates the power of imagination” – Kellee Moye, Unleashing Readers
“Readers will be inspired to…create their own journey” – Alyson Beecher, Kidlit Frenzy
“Beautiful words and stunning illustrations” – Jason Lewis, 5th grade teacher at Tyngsboro Elementary School, Tyngsboro, MA
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Wonderful collection of poems created from your pics Matt. And I agree, what fun that they are all from different perspectives. I like Diane’s
“sporting a kiss
of powdered sugar.”
And the sugary story that evolved from Patty’s poem.
Thanks!
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Thank you, Michelle – and thanks also for your contribution!
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Two such very different responses again. Love them both, but like Michelle I couldn’t go past that ‘Kiss of powdered sugar’.
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Thank you, by the way, for your response, Sally! I just noticed your poem in my email, so I’m looking forward to reading it and sharing it here next Friday!
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Ha! So much fun. I think I need a little time to tie all three of these together. But, the poets that have gave me a fit of giggles. Super challenge. I’ll be back!
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You still have two weeks to go, so no excuses! 😉
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I love the way each of us approached the poem so differently! Thanks for issuing us this challenge, Matt. Have a great holiday!
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It really is interesting to see what each writer “saw” in his.her mind, and how that affected their individual poems. Thanks, Diane – enjoy your Turkey Day, too! (assuming you can catch him!)
http://runturkeyrun.org/page_template.php?c=01home
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Run-Turkey-Run-165710
I had no idea how inspirational your book was!
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Indeed! It was also the basis for the off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-off-Broadway musical production, Run, Turkey, Run! https://youtu.be/nesYKL1Vhqw
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Diane, that is a genius little piece of memoir, deft with the images, pointed with the emotions. Love it!
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What a fun collection of poems for poetry cubed! I’m still working on mine. I know, the invitation is for a quickwrite, but it combined with other ideas in my mind and I want to work on it a bit more.
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That’s fine, Kay – polish it as much as you’d like! I just didn’t want people feeling like it NEEDED to be perfect. But you’ve got 2 weeks, so no rush. I’ll keep an eye on my inbox for it!
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I’m working on it, Matt! What marvelous perspectives your pictures have brought, from Michelle’s new look on light to Patty’s list of delightful ‘no-nos’ and then Diane’s ocean scene of a race I didn’t know existed! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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Thank you, Linda – have a nice holiday, as well, and I’ll be looking for your poem! 😉
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What a fun writing prompt, Matt. Diane’s poem caught my eye — that sugar-kissed officer is pretty adorable.
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Thanks, Laura. The image of powdered-sugar kisses is going to stay with all of us for awhile, I think!
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Hey, Matt! Stopped by the Boyds Mills booth here at NCTE and found your Flashlight Night front and center! Here’s my Poetry Cubed response:
beacons in the darkness:
mariner’s lighthouse
traveler’s headlights
hangover’s cure
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Thanks, Heidi! Love how you packed so much imagery into those few lines. And I wish I could have been there with my book, but perhaps next year !
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I like the way the poems accumulate, like the Christmas cookies do, baking more and more until the eating starts. My mind combined your three images with your book reviews, inevitably, because they are all together here. That led me to a this idea:
Flashlight Finds
Some use their lights to find truth,
reading under blankets, riding word kites,
or they escape pain along dark shores,
down dark roads, disappearing in the night,
but I search for something else, magic and mighty.
Peanut blossoms, snickerdoodles, tea cakes,
sugar cookies, gingerbread girls, lemon curls:
the Christmas baking was finished tonight.
I know they are hidden, but I follow my nose.
Round, frosted, powdery, they are my
truth, my escape, my forbidden treat.
Who wants to stray far from home
when Christmas smells so sweet?
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I love this, Brenda! You get extra credit for including “Flashlight Night.” 😉 I’ll enter you in the drawing and be sure to share your poem on the blog next Friday!
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It’s fun that you have a photo prompt. I love using photos as inspiration and have them play off each other.
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