Skip to main content

The Banana Poem Challenge

 THE BANANA POEM CHALLENGE

Here's an idea that came from UK Poet, Liv Torc and I am more than happy to bend with it. After the quite serious nature of my last post, this was a most welcome, frivolous and enjoyable distraction.

Write a poem on a banana every day for a term, a week, a month or for as many days as you can be bothered. Send them to school with your kids, or invite your kids to write their very own (make sure they agree, -consensual bananas only) and see what happens.

In time we may become members of a new banana republic!  At the very least we can trigger a real banana revolution together. I have not considered other fruit forms, and this project is certainly not recommended for fruit you just happen to randomly meet in the supermarket aisle...

Are you ready to go bananas?






It's once again Poetry Friday and our genial host this week is Elisabeth Norton at Unexpected Intersections .

 Elisabeth is celebrating the writing of Jane Yolen, the acclaimed writer of some 400 books. Find out more by visiting Elisabeth and connecting to other poets in the process.




Labels:

Comments

  1. Carol Varsalona27 August 2021 at 14:33

    Alan, I love the light-heartedness of your poem. the banana smile one is precious. I can see where students would find this exercise a real crowd-pleaser.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright27 August 2021 at 17:41

      Light heartedness was an essential element going into this challenge Carol, so I'm glad it shone through. Like you, I think a whole 'bunch' of kids would enjoy this irreverence...

      Delete
  2. Elisabeth27 August 2021 at 18:28

    These are delightful Alan! Fun and light - enough to turn frowns upside down, just like your poem!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:10

      Thanks Elisabeth. Glad it brought a little delight...

      Delete
  3. KatApel - katswhiskers.wordpress.com27 August 2021 at 19:10

    Oh, these do appeal. Loving the wordplay, Alan!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:11

      Thanks Kat. In the wordplay there is much to enjoy.

      Delete
  4. Linda Mitchell27 August 2021 at 19:48

    Hahahahahaha. I've seen pics of these on twitter and wondered about it. Fun and funny all in one slip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:12

      There you go Linda. A mystery revealed. The skin removed. Behold the banana!

      Delete
  5. Heidi Mordhorst27 August 2021 at 20:08

    Oh my goodness the pure inspiration of the canvas!! I will be laughing over consensual bananas for some time, and heading to my fruit bowl right now...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:14

      Thanks Heidi. I think I enjoyed writing the intro as much as I did scribing banana words. Good luck with the fruit bowl. I don't recommend raspberries...

      Delete
  6. Margaret Simon27 August 2021 at 21:17

    Let's go bananas for banana poems! How I wish I still had kids at home. They would be mortified. But I do have students! Ha! I think I may have to show up next Poetry Friday with a bunch of bananas. Thanks for the laugh and for the idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:15

      I am sure the kids will delight in your banana behaviours Margaret. Have fun!

      Delete
  7. Janice Scully27 August 2021 at 21:44

    I hope this starts a trend. I think kids could use some clever and lighthearted thoughts in their lunch box!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:17

      Right now Janice I think this would deliver delight and distraction. The thought of lighthearted lunchboxes makes me smile.

      Delete
  8. Karen Eastlund27 August 2021 at 22:53

    Thank you for a good laugh and your clever words to spark my day. Yesss! This is a great idea! And... I was planning to make banana bread anyway. ;0)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:19

      How fortuitous Karen. Feel free to go totally bananas. Glad you liked my frivolous words.

      Delete
  9. Linda B27 August 2021 at 23:04

    I think you must have gone 'round the bend' with this one, Alan. I'll be sure to peel a few for the granddaughters! What a great idea to put a new kind of smile in the lunches!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:20

      I am already there Linda- according to some. Have fun with your granddaughters. Glad you like this and the possibilities it throws up.

      Delete
  10. Carol Coven Grannick28 August 2021 at 01:10

    What a fun idea! And you can still eat the banana!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:21

      Exactly Carol. No bananas were harmed in the making of these poems. However, they were all eaten later...

      Delete
  11. Susan T.28 August 2021 at 02:51

    The medium is the message? (ha!) This is a hoot of a project. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:22

      Too true Susan. A hoot indeed. Glad to be able to share a little bit of fun with everyone.

      Delete
  12. Rose Cappelli28 August 2021 at 06:11

    Such fun! Thanks for sharing. I wonder what would happen if someone found a banana poem in a bunch they bought? It might be very appealing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:24

      An undercover banana poet Rose? Hmmm? Appealing no doubt...

      Delete
  13. Irene Latham28 August 2021 at 07:02

    Poems on bananas! My hubby eats two a day, and now you've got me thinking how I can leave him love notes. Thank you!! Also reminds me of people mailing coconuts from Hawaii (just writing the address with a sharpie right onto the coconut). Fruity poetry...delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:25

      I like your plan Irene. I like the idea of coconuts. A much larger writing surface. More fruity verse perhaps?

      Delete
  14. mbhmaine28 August 2021 at 10:05

    Oh, I love these, Alan! This would have been such fun to do with my kids' lunches! Hmmmm...Maybe once school starts, I'll tuck a bunch of bananas in the Teachers' Room...I think Rose's idea of surreptitious poem writing in the produce section also has merit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:27

      There is much scope in your thoughts Molly. I wish you well with these potential projects. I'm with you on Rose's thoughts.

      Delete
  15. Michelle Kogan28 August 2021 at 14:20

    What fun poems you served up from these lively bananas Alan, they are banana-licious; might have to try a few myself, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright28 August 2021 at 14:28

      Go for it Michelle. Go bananas- in the nicest possible way of course.

      Delete
  16. Tabatha28 August 2021 at 22:59

    I especially like the peal/peel one. Thanks for the fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright29 August 2021 at 09:24

      Thanks Tabatha. This little diversion was quite- appealing.

      Delete
  17. Bridget Magee30 August 2021 at 02:52

    Orange you sweet for introducing this appealing idea, Alan. Perhaps a pear of poems is in my future (with washable ink).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright30 August 2021 at 17:13

      Bridget, you win the bowl of fruit for your wonderful wordplay response. Love it!

      Delete
  18. Mary Lee31 August 2021 at 10:29

    What a hoot!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright2 September 2021 at 12:14

      A hoot indeed Mary Lee. I'm now thinking watermelons...

      Delete
  19. Carmela Martino2 September 2021 at 02:37

    What a fun idea! Love your wordplay. So appealing! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright2 September 2021 at 12:15

      Thank you Carmela. Wordplay is such fun in which to indulge.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Inspired by Images and Objects

There are many ways pictures and photographs can be conscripted to support the writing of poetry. Allow me to share a few ideas with you: Old photographs are a great source of inspiration. Cynthia Rylant explored this idea with great success in her book 'Something Permanent' where she employed the Depression era photographs of Walker Evans to add a new voice to the starkness to the lives of people experienced under extreme circumstances. I have used this strategy to spark many individual poems. In ' I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon,' I used a photo I had taken in 2004 while living in New York to inspire a poem. The poem was based on a story related by a friend who grew up in New York.  I regularly combined poetry and pictures in my writer's notebook, drawing on inspiration from the photograph and my personal memories. We can also utilize existing cartoons and illustrations to create ekphrastic poems. I frequently use the illustrations of Jim Pavlidis to co...
20 comments
Read more

Opposite Poems

O pp o s ite P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. N...
26 comments
Read more

Powerful Poetry, 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston

  This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Janice Scully  @ Salt City Verse where Janice shares some original words and offers us a taste of Thomas Carlyle to ponder. I encourage you to join a host of poets from all around the globe and visit Janice's page... Almost two years to the day, I wrote a post featuring the poem 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston. The poem was included in Brian's first book of poetry, 'You Took The Last Bus Home.' A very powerful Reverso poem and technically brilliant.  A Reverso poem can be read from top to bottom or bottom to top. It will often express opposite opinions depending on which way you read it. Such poems really make us think. A Reverso poem is like a picture turned upside down, a frowning face upended to reveal a smiling one. The poem read in reverse, contradicts itself with an opposing message. In 'Refugee' Brian Bilston focuses on a societal issue that tends to polarize feelings and the opposing views are clearly in eviden...
14 comments
Read more