NaPoWriMo Day 19 - a 'how-to' poem meets a 'found poem'!

Well I set myself a challenge today. Thinking I would go off-prompt again I found myself with a surprise poem that fitted in it's own way. The idea for day 19 of NaPoWriMo is to write a 'how-to poem'. I was stuck for ideas and decided to do sort of 'found poem'. I chose at random about the same amount of lines (or part lines) from two books - one Britain - One Million Years of the Human Story and The Arts Good Study Guide from the Open University! I jumbled up the lines and then put them together in some sort of order. I did not add any extra words or take any out, though I did run some lines together (from different publications) and alter some punctuation. What I ended up with was a sort of 'how to' poem!

How to Study One Million Years of the Human Story

When the magnetic north and south poles trade

it is essential to learn to speak the language;

talking to others releases

large number of potentially very dangerous

humans in Europe. That this was the case -

look at each of them more closely,

cheekbones and chin.

Transportation of a great amount of kit

allows you freedom to listen to a local beach walker.

Understanding of the course you have been studying

would have served the main access point;

Certainly you are meant to think about what

an exam is when you gather

the spread of arid, cold conditions.

Be precise in analytical writing the more complicated they seem.

Fundamentally changed views?

They serve to increase the amount of the sun’s energy.

The social agenda is even more tricky!.

Writing 201: Poetry (Day 9) - Found poems

I love writing Found poetry and today the prompt was landscape, found, lists.

I must admit this is rushed. I just grabbed a Winchester Explorer Guide sitting next to me and used that. If I had more time I would do something a bit more adventurous and use more than one source. I remember doing one for The Poetry School but I think there were other restrictions to the form. I can't remember what they were. Anyway, I'll return to found poems in the future because I love having a go and creating odd pieces of poetry, something a bit wacky from lines/words picked out of magazines and rearranged.

Winchester

Unspoilt, one hour from London,

the freshness, beauty –

see it – manual and powered

wheelchairs available;

maps, walking guides,

major sites,

highlights – the seat of King Arthur,

the Cathedral,

England as it ought to be,

don’t take our word for it,

enjoy for a snapshot,

silver discs, follow the footsteps -

welcome vibrant explorer.

#wpad July challenge - Second hand or new

Second hand or new

Not sure to what this relates.  If it's books then I buy both new and second hand.  I trawl charity shops for titles I'm after (if I cannot first find them in them library).  If I can't find what I want I look at Amazon and often buy used.  I will purposely wait for new books I want to be released in paperback, though sometimes I might have a title on my Christmas or birthday list which will be in hardback if I can't wait!

I love going around independent book shops, though they seem few and far between now.  They often stock books you don't find in chain store bookshops.  I'm always on the lookout for something different.

Last week, to kill time before a choir rehearsal, I visited the Oxfam bookshop and sought out the poetry section.  I picked up The Ice Age by Paul Farley for £2.49.  I think this is his second collection.  I am really enjoying his poems and took his book with me on the train on Friday and wondered how many people read poetry on a train.  Perhaps there should be spontaneous poetry reading 'flash mobs' on trains to promote the act of poetry reading!

Finally, the prompt for second hand or new gave me another idea.  In writing we are always searching for an original idea, a new angle, but on the whole we are recycling words and situations.  There is even an exercise in poetry called found poetry or cut-up poetry.  What you do is look for an article or any other writing source and cut up or highlight words and phrases (or even write them out) at random from the source and use these to form a poem.  You can use them in the order found, in another order or use them as a tool and edit them into a complete poem.  This is a fun exercise to try and can result in some interesting results.
I had a go at this when I took an online course with The Poetry School.  We all compared our writing (which we did not edit except to use the lines in an order that might make some sense).  It caused a lot of laughs as some of the poetry was very strange and off the wall.  Here is a verse from my 'found poem' (lines taken from several different sources).  I called it Surreal Images:

Unfortunate Fr Grandier was the chaplain

the year after my father looked back.

People had speculated on where we,

not used to keeping the house tidy,

sparked a global economic downturn.

Looking at the whole poem there are parts that could be taken out and formed into several poems.  These exercises are great for generating new poems.  There is an article in the latest  New Writer  on this particular exercise. Why not have a go yourself.