Praise Poetry
A praise poem is a tribute. Praise poetry holds a special place in southern African literature. In Zulu, praise poetry is called izibongo. It refers to poetic expression that not only defines but names an individual. Praise poetry is written with bold imagery, expressed in the most distinct or carefully selected language. Writing a praise…
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Praise to the Teacher Writer
The writers come to us, unknowing and fearful They know working with words is dangerous As language is combustible and corrosive – incendiary They worry they do not have the skill for such dangerous work But then we fill them with their own fire and teach them how to build firebreaks As well as how…
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Won’t You Celebrate With Me
Won’t you celebrate with me That I love learning and laughing with my students That I possess patience and understanding That I am sweet and kind and helpful That I have pushed my students to learn and do more than they thought possible That I have made my students proud of their accomplishments Won’t you…
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Meme All The Things
I love memes (see playlist and this infographic if you want to know more about memes). I know that isn’t a very original thing to say. After all, memes owe their existence to our universal enjoyment. But I don’t mean that I love simply to view them. I do, I’m not a robot after all, but I…
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Write Your Way Into Your Day
I have been trying to practice what I preach. I try to write every day. I strive to find a few moments in the hurly burly morning rush and reach for my journal and pen rather than my smart phone. I scratch words on the page rather than update my Facebook and Twitter feeds. It…
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My Theory of Writing
The gut must be fed, the heart must be inspired, and the brain jolted, while the hand must practice hours building muscle memory
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I Wish You Knew
As I note in my post “7 Reasons To Write For Yourself,” writing is feeling. I have a lot of feelings (and yes, as the image above implies a lot of rage). I have to release these feelings or risk serious consequences to my health, now even more than ever I need to take care of…
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What does the world need?
As I note in my post “7 Reasons To Write For Yourself,” writing is thinking. I use writing to help me sort out all the gibberish going on in my head. Currently I am worried about the future. My own future and the future of the world (have you seen the news?). I thought I…
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A poem dedicated to COOL
An acrostic poem dedicated to my #OneLittleWord for 2016: Cool Thanks to Steven Bratman on Flickr for the marvelous photo (he has other amazing photos to inspire your writing)
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Apocalypse now
This prompt is about exploring what is troubling you. You don’t have to be a Walking Dead fan to know that zombies are really in right now. However, if you start to dig into the topic you will discover just why we see so many of the monstrous shambling hordes. Zombies are a stand in…
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