The moderator for this week is Abby!
Abigail Licad is an immigrant from the Philippines, a former editor-in-chief for Hyphen magazine, a full-on feminist, a diehard Tori Amos fan, a mediocre classical pianist, a dog mama, a chocolate fiend, a terrible cook, a succulent addict, a lover of sending care packages, and a poetry junkie through and through. She has no tattoos and lives in Portland, Oregon.
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022
"my president" by Danez Smith (as read by the author)
1. Respond to or incorporate one of the following passages in your poem:
"i trust him to tell us which rivers are safe to drink/ & which hold fish like a promise"
"she could walk to the podium/at her inauguration & say, the future is now, & we'd all marvel/at the sun & moon looping the sky like a gif as the cars learned/to fly & our skin grew bulletproof"
"& my neighbor who holds the door open when my arms/are full of laundry is my president"
2. The speaker of the poem says: "my only border is my body." Write about your own border/s. Think about any features or qualities you have that prevent you from fully empathizing or relating comfortably to others, or that make you feel fundamentally excluded, and explore them in your poem.
3. Write a biography in the form of a list poem that names and describes the persons (and perhaps their actions) who have been most influential in your life, whether positive or negative. If you'd like, you can label them a shared term, like "president" in the poem.
Thursday, November 24th, 2022
"how many of us have them?" by Danez Smith (as read by the author)
1. Incorporate or respond to one of the following passages in your poem:
"i got a crush on each one of your dumb faces/smashing into my heart like idiot cardinals into glass/but i am a big-ass glas bird, a stupid monster/crashing through the window & becoming it/just to make you laugh."
"Andrew used to say/friendship is so friendship & ain't it?"
"i miss them. all the dead. how young. how silly/to miss what you will become."
2. Write an ode to a friend (or any important person in your life) and include vivid details, such as memorable aspects about them, adventures/hijinks/experiences you've gone through together, inside jokes you've shared, insults you've exchanged, etc. Describe your feelings for this friend and how far you'd go to defend them.
3. Write about an insult or criticism that has wounded you and how it has affected the way/s you've since lived your life. Describe the setting in which it was delivered, how you first reacted, how it motivated (or de-motivated) you, what you've learned from processing the experience, etc.
Friday, November 25th, 2022
"what was said at the bus stop" by Danez Smith
1. Incorporate or respond to one of the following passages in your poem:
"what advice do the drowned have for the burned?/what gossip is there between the hanged & the buried?"
"& i want to reach across our great distance/that is sometimes an ocean & sometimes centimeters"
"& i don't know your language/but i understand your songs"
2. Write a poem that demonstrates your definition, or your realization, of "solidarity." For example, describe a time when you stood by another, or when someone you know defended you, or when you joined with others to rally or fight for a shared cause or goal.
3. Describe a moment you've had with a stranger that has stayed in your mind. Describe the setting and exchange, and why the exchange has remained memorable.
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