Daily Something #20: Discovering Cinquain

A cinquain is a poem with five unrhymed lines that consist of a 2, 4, 6, 8, 2 syllabic pattern.  This poem was written by Adelaide Crapsey, the inventor of the cinquain.

November Night
By Adelaide Crapsey (1878-1914)

Listen...
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees
And fall.

Daily Something #19: Catching Up

I started a photography project about two months ago on the 365 project website and have been absorbed in taking pictures and figuring out the camera that my father gave me.  While this has been a great creative endeavor, I have missed sharing things on my blog. Now that I have established a routine, it is my hope to start sharing again.

I finally finished Fraces Mayes The Discovery of Poetry and have a greater appreciation for the beauty of words and how they can be arranged to express such powerful images.  Poetry is so different from our normal, everyday speech, and the selections Mayes chose to include in her book challenged me to really ponder and concentrate on the arrangement, form, and the sounds of words.  I had to read some of the poems more than once in order to understand them, but the effort was well worth my time. 

Here is a poem by Paul Hoover that Mayes includes in her book. It is one that appears to be simple, but is a wonderful example of style, rhythm, and form.

Poems We Can Understand

Daily Something #18: Stick Man

I have always been fascinated with the concept of stick people and how it is that at a very early age, we use them in our drawings.  So much of what we see is defined by lines, whether they are straight, curvy, bent, or zig-zagged.  Here is something fun to try if you have a few moments to be creative.

http://www.drawastickman.com/

Daily Something #17: A Quote Going Backwards

Quotes are one of those things that sometimes follow the grapevine phenomenon and end up being reworded or taken out of context.  After perusing a large bunch of quotation stationery the other day, I started thinking about what I would discover if I backtracked one of my favorite quotes.  To my surprise, the quote was not exactly what Whitman had said, but regardless, the poem is worth sharing.


Miracles
     Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love,
Or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown,
Or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.
To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--
The ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?

Daily Something #16: A Chance Encounter

On a recent trip to Nashville, I had the opportunity to meet the Henningsens, a family of musicians who are becoming quite known to the world of song writing and singing.  In fact, they have written several hits sung by The Band Perry.

Here is the link to their profile and The Band Perry's new music video.

The Henningsens

All Your Life

Daily Something #15: The Discovery of Poetry and Anaphora

In Chapter 5 of The Discovery of Poetry, Frances Mayes covers the topics of  rhyme and repetition in poetry.  Out of all the concepts she describes, the one I was most intrigued with is the concept of anaphora.  Anaphora is a repeated pattern used in poetry in which the beginning word or words of a line repeat.  Mayes includes a poem in her book called "Night Song" by Lisel Mueller that is a perfect example of anaphora:

Night Song
(Lisel Mueller, 1924-)

Among rocks, I am the loose one,
among arrows, I am the heart,
among daughters, I am the recluse,
among sons, the one who dies young.

Among answers, I am the question,
between lovers, I am the sword,
among scars, I am the fresh wound,
among confetti, the black flag.

Among shoes, I am the one with the pebble,
among days, the one that never comes,
among the bones you find on the beach
the one that sings was mine.

Daily Something #14: The Sketchbook

I have been reading through a book called Sketchbook for the Artist by Sarah Simblet and have been intrigued by all the categories she has chosen to discuss from the human form, Earth and the elements to abstract lines and architecture.  Filling a sketchbook is not on my list of completions as I have always been a doodler, scrawling on scraps of paper that end up getting thrown away or stuck in a book or magazine. And so, I started thinking that if I had a sketchbook, I could still doodle and explore the world of sketching all at the same time.  I figured I'd start out small and see how it goes.  

    

Daily Something #13: Words in a Box

For those of you who have been following my interest in poetry, here is a site that will allow you to experience words on a whole new level.  MyKu World challenges you to experiment with saying a lot in the context of four lines and a box.  Subjects change and conversations abound in a unique play with words.   You can even create your own nom de plume!  (See if you can discover mine.)

MYKU World

Daily Something #12: Literature on the Silver Screen

A good book doesn't necessarily translate into a good movie because each is a result of a totally separate creative process.  Water for Elephants represents a successful transition from page to film.  However, regardless of whether or not you've read the book, the movie is worth seeing. Robert Pattinson's portrayal of Jacob is a powerful rendition of a character you will not forget.

    

Daily Something #11: The Discovery of Poetry and Three Reads of The Eve of St. Agnes

In chapter three of The Discovery of Poetry, Frances Mayes discusses the various concepts of images in poetry.  At the end of each of her chapters, she includes various poems that relate to the theme of the chapter.  For the most part, I haven't been overwhelmed with her selections, until I got to  a poem called The Eve of St. Agnes by John Keats.  It was published in 1820 and is a narrative poem that takes place in a castle during the Middle Ages.  Madeline, one of the main characters, is convinced that she will see a vision of her future husband in a dream.  I was a bit overwhelmed after my first reading and ended up reading it two more times.  However, I can now say, I have a better appreciation for what was accomplished in Keats' arrangement of words. This poem is considered to be amongst his best.  I'm glad I gave it a chance.

The Eve of St. Agnes by John Keats
Oral Interpretation of The Eve of St. Agnes
Background and Analysis of The Eve of St. Agnes

  

Daily Something #9: Update on my New Year's Challenge and Another One

At the beginning of the year I challenged myself to do something creative or stimulating to the mind for at least thirty minutes a day (DS #2).  So far, I'm happy to report that I have been able to keep up with my challenge.  I have been reading, studying geography, taking photographs, experimenting with watercolor, and have even attempted to write a few poems, in addition to taking a few trips and exploring the creativity of others.

My photo selection for tonight was taken at the Nashville Zoo and one that is going to inspire me to get ready for the Warrior Dash coming to Tennessee in September.  If all goes well, I think I'm going to give it a try.  Ropes appear to be prevalent in several of the obstacles.

 

Daily Something #7: Daylight Savings Time

TIME WARP

         (Lora Gill)

In the midst of the first day
of daylight savings,
my mind is lost
in the hour
I am missing.

Lost in the hour
meant for dreaming,
the hour of sleep that wrestles
with the cascading moments of thought
before the due of waking.

Sunday was the first day of daylight savings time in the U.S., and yesterday while I was running around checking things off my "to do" list and thinking about studying geography, I started wondering about how daylight savings time affects other parts of the world.  Here is a site I found that provides a lot of interesting information on the topic:   DST

Daily Something #6: Geography Challenge

After taking a geography pretest suggested by a friend of mine, I have come to realize that my knowledge of world geography is not what I had thought it was.  Therefore, I have accepted his challenge to learn all the countries of our great big world.  For those of you who are interested in taking the geo challenge, here are the links to the quizzes:

Country quizzes:

Africa

Asia

Middle East

Australia/Oceania

Europe

Central America and part of the Caribbean

South America

State and Provinces quizzes:

United States

Canada

The order of my retakes will be as follows:

March 18 - United States and Canada

April 1 - Central America/part of the Caribbean and South America

April 29 - Africa

May 13 - Middle East

May 27 - Asia

June 7th - Australia and Oceania

If you're up to the challenge, feel free to join me!

Daily Something #5: My Thoughts on Words

Words are more than just labels.  They are the currency of explanation and are more than just ink on a page.  They give voice to our environment, our dreams, and the most private parts of our inner being.  When I think of words, I think of them in four dimensions.  I'll use the word lollipop as an example.

First, there is the appearance of the word, how the letters are grouped and combined.  Take, for example, the letters l, i, and p.  They give a sense of balance to the word lollipop.  The second dimension is how the word sounds when you say it or hear it spoken.  The l's roll off your tongue and move into a powerful explosion at the end.  The meaning of the word is the third dimension. Some words have only one meaning or a very dominant meaning that makes them resonate more than others.  Lollipop is one of those words.  When we see or hear it, we can't help but think of a yummy treat on a stick.  And that brings me to the fourth dimension, which is how a word makes us feel and what it makes us remember.

With this in mind, I'll begin sharing some of my favorite words with you.  Here is the first batch of ten out of my one hundred.

1.  circle

2.  masquerade 

3.  breathe

4.  luminescence

5.  slipper

6.  slow

7.  cloud

8.  honeysuckle

9.  happenstance

10.  embrace

Daily Something #4: An Exercise with Words

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I am reading The Discovery of Poetry by Frances Mayes. So far, I have been thoroughly enjoying it.  In chapter two, she discusses how we are affected by the texture and sounds of words and suggests an exercise that will allow you to discover what your eyes, ears, and imagination particularly respond to by writing down your one hundred favorite words.  This seems simple enough, but if you're like me, once you try it, you'll soon discover that pairing down the English language to a mere one hundred words is a nerve racking exercise.  No matter the quality and richness of the words you choose, you're bound to feel as if you've wrongly discriminated against thousands of other perfectly good words.  But, choices must be made, and a line must be drawn in the dictionary's sand.

Daily Something #3: My Thoughts for the Night

There is beauty in life, beauty in love, and beauty in sharing.

I think it's sometimes difficult to realize this in the craziness of our hectic days and the unexpected events over which we have no control.  We do; however, have the opportunity to control our attitude and how we react to what is happening around us.  I share this with you, not because of something I've read or something that sounds good, but because it's something I have to constantly keep in the forefront of my mind.   

Daily Something #2: My New Year's Challenge

It was my original intention that my daily something would be written "daily"; however, as you can see, I was a bit overzealous in my planning.  Thus, I have been contemplating if I should change the title, write a bit every day, or keep it "as is" and write a daily something whenever I get the chance.  But, this is digressive, so I will simply continue to share with you what I was originally thinking when I sat down tonight to write.

New beginnings are a blessing:  the chance to start over, the opportunity to discover something new about yourself that you've never known, or the chance to discover and explore something that you've always wanted to do - and what better time to experience a "new beginning" than the new year.   I've not been much into making new year's resolutions and have on several occasions started a new endeavor only to give up on it or turn my focus onto something else shortly after the enterprise has started, or half way in between.  So, I've decided that instead of setting a new year's resolution, I'm going to present myself with a challenge, and make it such that people hold me accountable to my goal.

Here it is:  I want to do something that stimulates my mind and/or creativity for at least thirty minutes a day.  I was going to shoot for an hour, but I think with the busyness of my life, thirty minutes is more within the realm of the possible.  At first, I'm going to be very lenient in terms of what is acceptable and hope that by the end of the year I will be involved in something that is greater than I could have ever thought imaginable - preferably the start of a new show, or taking art classes at WKU and broadening my horizons.

I'm excited about sharing with you and hope as well that you will enjoy the things I have to share. Happy 2011!  I hope you will discover something new and exciting about yourself and find the time to discover something beautiful about the world around us.  

Daily Something #1: Thoughts on Poetry and Starting a Book by Frances Mayes

Over the past year and a half I have grown to really enjoy poetry.  It is something that takes me to another place, just like art, music, literature, and photography.  I like the way words sound together and how a lot can be said in so few words.  It's easy to think that if you start reading poetry, you have to start out with the poets of old, but that is such a misconceived notion.  I'm still not at the point where I can fully grasp the "big" stuff, but it is a goal of mine.

I'm sharing this with you because I'm getting ready to read The Discovery of Poetry: A Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems by Frances Mayes, and I thought it might be interesting to share some of my thoughts as I read through this book.

Here is the link to the book for those of you who might have an inkling:

The Discovery of Poetry .

On that note, let me share with you a poem.  I think the reason I like it so much is that it references "still life" and "painting" - two things I can totally relate to.  That, and the desires of the heart.


Not Touching

  The valentine of desire is pasted over my heart
  and still we are not touching, like things

  in a poorly done still life
  where the knife appears to be floating over the plate
  which is itself hovering above the table somehow,

  the entire arrangement of apple, pear, and wineglass
  have forgotten the law of gravity,
  refusing to be still,

  as if the painter had caught them all
  in a rare moment of slow flight
  just before they drifted out of the room
  through a window of perfectly realistic sunlight.

       Billy Collins (U.S. Poet Laureate 2001-2003)