The Blitz Poem , is a contemporary poetry form created by Robert Keim. A Blitz poem consists of a stream of short phrases and images with repetition and rapid flow. It is a form of chain poetry with visible links.  Begin with one short phrase, a cliché if you like. Begin the next line with another phrase that begins with the same first word as line 1. The first 48 lines should be short, but at least two words. The third and fourth lines are phrases that begin with the last word of the 2nd phrase, the 5th and 6th lines begin with the last word of the 4th line, and so on, continuing, with each subsequent pair beginning with the last word of the line above them, which establishes a pattern of repetition. Continue for 48 total lines with this pattern, And then the last two lines repeat the last word of line 48, then the last word of line 47. The title must be only three words, with some sort of preposition or conjunction joining the first word from the third line to the first word from...

Haibun Poem-  Nana and the Coat Originating in Japan, Haibun poetry combines prose and haiku. The range of haibun is broad and frequently includes autobiography, diary, essay, prose, short story and travel journal.  The term "haibun" was first used by the 17th-century Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho in a letter to his disciple Kyorai in 1690. Basho was a prominent early writer of haibun, then a new genre combining classical Chinese prose genres and vernacular subject matter and language. He wrote some haibun as travel accounts during his various journeys.  A haibun may record a scene, or a special moment, in a highly descriptive and objective manner or may occupy a wholly fictional or dream-like space. This week I am using the Haibun poetry form to relate an episode from my own formative years. My first haibun concerns a memorable exchange between me, a coat and my Grandmother who brought with her the valuable experience derived from raising 9 children. Nana and The Coat-Haib...

Poets have long called upon the topic of animals to focus their thoughts upon. Meaning is directed towards animals, turning them into symbols or caricatures and linking them directly to the confines of human culture.  Animals have their own unique identities, and these traits have always proven irresistible to poets. Poetry through its great variety of forms and its broad scope has willingly embraced the notion of animals to cross, blur, and reimagine these interconnected worlds. Occasionally poets write individual poems concerning animals and sometimes animals fire imagination sufficiently for poets to create an entire anthology of verse related to animals.  An enduring favourite of mine since childhood is 'Five Eyes' by Walter de la Mare. I love how the reason for the title is revealed in the final line. The poet expertly captures the contest between the cats and the mice. Five Eyes by Walter de la Mare   In Hans' old Mill his three black cats Watch the bins for th...

It's Poetry Friday and this week I have been exploring Erasure Poetry. It is a poetry form similar to Black Out Poetry.  Erasure poetry is a form of found poetry created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem. The words can be arranged into lines and/or stanzas. Just like Black-out poetry, Erasure poetry require words to be removed, obscured or redacted. What is left becomes the basis of the poem. For me there exists a sense of joy in unearthing poetic words seemingly buried within a larger text. Some people see Erasure and Blackout poetry as the same thing. I am inclined to draw a distinction between them because in an Erasure poem the words are typically lifted out of situ and assembled on a different background. Erasure poems also allow some reorganization of the original line order.  So more writer's notebook experimentation... This time using the words of The Brother's Grimm to create Erasure Poetry.  My ...