Response Poem – There is a long tradition of poets writing in response to a poem previously written by a different poet – a poem which has inspired them, provoked them, or irritated them.
A response poem may continue a previous poem, or take issue with its message, or borrowing a line from one poem to begin or end a new poem.
Response poems allow a writer to re-contextualize a particularly vivid line or phrase or thought, while essentially having a conversation with poets they have never met, sometimes reaching across culture, language, and even centuries to connect with those whose work they admire, or not. Ever want to tell off Shakespeare? Or write additional verses to a Yeats poem? Or flirt with Emily Dickinson, or finish Robert Creely's sentences? Here's your chance.
Sometimes a previous poem may simply be a launching pad for a poem going in a different direction.
So, pick a poem which moves you, tickles you or offends you – and off you go! It can be any poem, even a poem found in MWC’s Review My Poetry.
Here's the skinny:30 lines maximum, no minimum. Any genre, any language (as long as you realize the voters are English speakers).
Quick turn around on this one – PM them to me by Friday, December 15 – one week to write.
The Title of your poem should be prefaced by “A Response to ____________ by ________”.
For example:
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A Response to
The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe:
Raven Stew for ChristmasAs soup-strainers generally go
the mustache of Edward A. Poe
fitting as such in kind
as at Christmas chosen to dine
a preference for Raven than crow.
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Crappy, yes, but you get the idea. Now get to writing.
Direct questions to CorneliusPoe, and as always, the complaint department is in the basement.
So . . . why aren't you writing yet??
