April is quite the month for writers! Not only is it the first Camp NaNoWriMo session of the year, but it’s also National Poetry Month!
We have focused primarily on writing fiction on this blog, but we’d argue that any and every writer should engage in exercising the poetry-writing muscles every once in a while. (You might just see a blog post on this soon…) This month, we’ll be sharing thirty prompts provided by poet, editor, author, and more Heather Lang-Cassera to help you get in touch with your poetic side. We’ve also included a few ways you could use the prompt if you’re feeling stuck.
Prompt #11: Pretend you’re running late to work. How does the world seem different? Include personification and metaphor.
- If you work from home—especially if you always have—you may run late for work less often and find this prompt challenging. If that’s the case, recall running late for school and channel those memories.
- Alternatively, if you’d like a challenge, force yourself to write about running late to work as if you work from home, whether you do or not. Explore the inherent cognitive dissonance in your working space and your relaxing space being so close together—or even being the very same space.
Prompt #12: Describe curiosity without using the word curiosity nor its synonyms. Instead, explore specific memories, places, or items in detail.
Prompt #13: When was the last time you spilled something? In a poem, write that story in reverse, starting with the spill.
- Take spill non-literally. When was the last time you spilled the tea, metaphorically speaking?
- If you can’t recall an occurrence of spilling something in recent memory, you surely remember a time you did so as a child. Use that instead!
Prompt #14: What are your three favorite letters? Brainstorm at least ten words that start with each, and then use many of them in a poem.
- Can’t think of three favorite letters? Pick your initials, your partner’s initials, or the initials of a three-word turn of phrase you like.
- Want to play on hard mode? The four letters least likely to appear in an English word are X, Q, Z, and J. Eliminate your least favorite of the three and start your brainstorming!
Prompt #15: Write a poem inspired by halves: half-filled glasses, halved oranges, halfheartedness, etc.
About Heather Lang-Cassera
Heather Lang-Cassera lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where she served as Clark County Poet Laureate (2019-2021) and was named 2017 “Best Local Writer or Poet” by the readers of Nevada Public Radio’s Desert Companion. Heather holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a Graduate Certificate in Literary Translation. She serves as an Editor for Tolsun Books and World Literature Editor for The Literary Review. Her chapbook, I was the girl with the moon-shaped face, was published by Zeitgeist Press. Her collection, Gathering Broken Light, was published by Unsolicited Press. At Nevada State College, Heather teaches College Success, Composition, and Creative Writing. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter and find out more via her website.
