Thanks Meryl

Thanks Meryl, now I have aliens on the mind! You got me with your lines, especially your words that told me that crabs were the indigenous while we (humans) are the aliens. I hope you read it tonight!

Yes, tonight or evening, I will hosting at Cinema Paradiso. One of the things I like about poetry readings is that it pushes me to want to bring something new. My new thing this year is PoMoSco (Poetry Month Scout) which has been very challenging. Considering my experience with found poetry (none), PoMoSco has definitely been an experience. I have to thank the Facebook posts for elaborating on some of the challenges when I felt stuck. One of them in addition to reading Meryl’s poem left me wondering.

For most of the PoMoSco challenges, I need a source text so I have read quite a few articles to determine which to use for  a source text and of course, I come across some interesting articles such as “Found!First Earth-Size Planet That Could Support Life.” Here we are looking through NASA’s Kepler space telescope wondering about the habitability of this earthlike planet and naming the earthlike planet while the natives may already have a name for their planet and have known about earth but been avoiding the earthlings!

With all that in mind, when I approached “substitute texter” challenge, I couldn't get aliens off my mind so "bees" became "people" and "scientists" became "aliens" (there were more substitutions). So see all the poems from various poets at http://www.pomosco.com/
Mine are at http://www.pomosco.com/profile/suzzettedawes/

Maybe I'll read some of the fruits of the challenges tonight. Why don't you stop by?

Back Burner

The found poetry challenge definitely has me writing more. I've never done found poetry prior to this month so I'm using prompts from strange places.  It's a mixed bag of feelings: overwhelm, joy, frustration and relief.
Overwhelm - prior to April, I notice some people already posted that they did prep work or started on the badges. I got worried. I couldn't start prior to April 1st and it was overwhelming me.
Joy - I was happy when I saw some other people post that they were waiting for April to start anything. Confidence that it was possible to start and do the project in April.
Frustration - to complete the task within a day with the other things that go on during the day
Relief - when I could throw something up on the site.

I wish I had more time to read what other people wrote and comment on it. Sometimes, I try to read some right after I post. This found poetry challenge fulfills one of my goals which is to write more.

My other goal is to complete some writings that I've already started. With all the new poetry that I am writing, my other writing has been placed on the back burner. Funny, these new prompts have ideas stewing that will help those other writings. Therefore, my new goal starting next month is to finish each of the four projects on the back burner this year by completing one a month. I'm defining "complete" as "finishing the first draft". I plan to finish writing the first draft then just put it down until I complete the other first drafts. Rewrites are still on the horizon though!

So do you make new goals as the year progresses?

If each challenge is an intersection, what direction will you take?

Poetry Contest

Let’s commemorate poetry month with a poetry contest about film at Cinema Paradiso.

Watch a film at Cinema Paradiso – Hollywood or Lauderdale – during the month of April.

Write a poem about it, any style, but single spaced, 12 point font in ARIAL, on  8.5” x 11” piece of paper.

Include:             Your Name

                        Email Address

                        Title of the Film

Submission:      April 30 Deadline

Email entry:       SuzzetteThePoet@gmail.com

Winner will be notified by email and announced in eblast.  Prizes can be picked up May 23 during the monthly Poetry Reading at Cinema Paradiso – Lauderdale.

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Example of a poem about film:

Jeunet

I'm missing MicMacs or was it, Mac Mic?

I remember going to FIAF on 60th in NYC

He was so approachable and real

After watching Amelie, it was hard to believe

That same guy wrote and directed Delicatessen:

Butcher shop serving and surviving

Take over or run out by large corp

Merging to become bigger corp

Layoffs with unemployed people

Needing to eat.

I'm hungry and could eat

A burger not a Big Mac

But it is 1:47 pm and it started at noon

So I missed the showing of Mac Mic or was it, MicMacs.

Name: Suzzette Dawes

Email: suzzettethepoet@gmail.com

Film: MicMacs on 4/4/15 shown at Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale

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Another example of film influencing poem:

The Mother (from the movie “On the Road”)

I saw her sitting in the next room, worried

While he packed to join his friends in Denver

And kept wondering the thoughts, her thoughts:

Denver, the land of the despicable but debonair DEAN

Where his good friend Carlo headed out before him

A place so north and west and much farther in the fifties

From the comfort of their home in New York City

And the memories of his father.

I imagined her crying, looking through the window, hopeful

That her son would come home safe.

Sal worked the fields in strange places

Slept in a camp with a makeshift bed

Missing the comfort of his mother’s cooking

His father would’ve been proud of his calloused hands

Laboring in the field each day to get enough pay

To head back home to the warmth of his mother and the New York City Apartment.

 I saw her sitting in the car, perplexed

Why does he have these people as friends?

Her fears were not confounded and I agree:

Poor Sal was left alone, in Mexico, with a fever

By Dean who must get back to his life.

The movie didn’t show how Sal got back home

But I felt proud, like his mother would,

When he resisted Dean’s lure and went instead

To the concert with his real friends.

a poem from Seventieth Avenue, Copyrighted 2015 Suzzette Dawes

 poem used as another example of poem about film as On  The Road was shown in 2013.

for more examples of poems about film go to http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/238914)

What Have I Done?

What have I done?
How many times have you said that? I was saying it on the third day of the challenge. I was also saying that I don't want to be a quitter but I am not liking this. I really hate it. I really hate all those people  who started early and posted their achievements and happiness with the outcomes. I was feeling alone until I saw that some people waited for April to do a poem a day. So I stuck it out.

Or it would be my pageantry background needing another hooray. Or my much younger self needing to be a Brownie, Girl Guide or Scout and  finally earning that badge.

Let's be real! I've been entering poetry contests and not even getting much needed feedback. So being accepted as a poetry month scout made me feel proud although I hadn't the foggiest idea about found poetry.

Come day 3 in after the white-out challenge when the white out tape was controlling me and not vice versa, defeat is telling me to quit but I threw up my post although it looked sloppy and not very poetic. After calming down, I started looking at other posts and realized that this could be a learning experience.

So I wanted the challenge and the feel of someone judging that I am worthy of a badge, I'm glad I'm sticking to it to learn something new.

So here's a poem from my latest poetry book where I see poetry in road signs and monuments (share your opinion below):

Kindle edition is available at
http://www.amazon.com/Seventieth-Avenue-Suzzette-Dawes-ebook/dp/B00UY38SCK/

http://www.amazon.com/Seventieth-Avenue-Suzzette-Dawes/dp/1507693621/