Wordplay presents as a strong  element in my poetry. I recognize it and readily embrace it. So the following poem is grounded in the tradition of playing with words. I have a natural tendency to slide into rhyme. It sings strongly in my sometimes muddled mind. This poem gently pushes back on my rhyming predilection by employing synonyms to deny the rhyme. I feel like I'm telling rhyme to talk to the hand on this occasion.  In the process, it was fun playing with words, as one might expect.  As I say in the poem, don't get me wrong, I enjoy rhyme. I hear it constantly as I negotiate my day. Poetry exists in everyday talk. Often it goes unnoticed. Personally, I note it while quietly enjoying its presence. I even have my own rhyming dictionary... No Rhyme This Time Occasion I’m trying to stop this poem  from rhyming But I find my anxiety is steadily climbing increasing Words keep forming in my mind You know the ones The usual rhymi...

I recently had the pleasure of conducting a workshop on Wordplay and its important role in growing writers. Here are some of the messages I was able to share with participants. Trust they add to your thinking around the teaching of writing... Wordplay is such an omnipotent thing. It is unavoidable. Conversation, songs, TV shows advertisements, literature , greeting cards, brochures magazines and newspapers all employ word play abundantly. Everywhere we go, it leaps out at us. In many schools however the study of words, has over time, been shrunken down to mean little more than reading and vocabulary knowledge. And yet, I still recall my teachers encouraging me to play with malapropisms, oxymorons, listen for tautology and wonder at the mystery of invented words in Lewis Carroll's poem 'Jabberwocky.' I recall the fun we had creating rhyming couplets and discovering palindromic words. At home, my father regularly engaged me in wordplay and riddles. There were also ...

Poetry is an extremely flexible writing form. It is easily weaved into our writing programs across the year as opposed to just being pigeon holed into a specific unit of work. Poetry offers a unique response to literature -fiction or non fiction. Such is the flexible nature of poetry.  From an early age children have much exposure to a significant amount of rhyming verse.  That our classrooms are filled with poetry that is enjoyable to listen to, or fun to read is important, but it may not necessarily provide the best starting point for inexperienced poetry writers. When used skilfully rhyme can add to the lyrical nature of poetry. When it is used out a sense of expectation, it frequently serves to detract from the poem's intention. It weakens the words overall. If you listen closely you can hear the words clunking into place. They just sound like they don't belong. Don't get me wrong. I am not anti-rhyme. In fact, I have to guard against over using it. It is a nat...

The recent World Cricket Cup in Australia, prompted this poem that focuses on the game of cricket as the subject and enables the writer to make multiple use of synonyms within the structure of the poem. Fair WHACK All the kids Gathered in the park to play cricket Banger Barnes was batting WHACK! The ball exploded from the bat High in the sky it flew Above the trees Away into the dazzling sunlight Out of the park And over the road It bounced beside Mrs Bradford’s cat Boofhead Then bounced again Before shattering Mr Stravlakis’s front window Over in the park everyone froze Then… Scotty scarpered Veronica vamoosed Davo decamped Skeeter skedaddled Abdul absconded Dominic dashed Betsy bolted Natalie nicked off Flynn flew the coop Wazza took to the woods And Banger Barnes hotfooted it home When Mr. Stravlakis entered the park All the kids had split Game over Stumps… ...

Try this as a simple word generating idea for poetry that is achievable! It involves using rhyming couplets and the construct of 'synonyms' Weird Bizarre, strange, and spooky thing Any book by Stephen King! Green Meanies Spinach, beans and siverbeet Three green vegies kids won't eat! Wrathful Thoughts Anger, vengeance,violent rage Viper words scratched on a page