Poetry Party
July: Sitting in Weeds to Write Things Down
In the July Poetry Party, we read and wrote under the influence of Nina Cassian, Kerry Hardie, Jasmine Cooray, Nancy Campbell, Tracy K. Smith, Joyce Sutphen, Carl Phillips, Nicole Sealey, January Gill O'Neil and Aiyana Masla.
Together, we wandered through wildflowers and weeds, inheritance and memory, the recipes we were given and the ones we had to invent for ourselves. We paid close attention to sound, allowing it to sharpen our other senses, and we followed the ordinary details of family life until they opened into something else...
This month I'm sharing these prompts, poems and glimpses of what emerged as a gift, because they offer a little window into what the Poetry Party offers, and perhaps you’ve been wondering whether this is a space you’d like to join.
Every month, the theme become an invitation—and it's always astonishing to see where this lead. The most unexpected memories, images and poems seem to find their way from the body to the page. What begins with wildflowers, weeds or an old family recipe somehow unfolds into a poem no-one could have predicted. That's the magic of the Poetry Party: writing with poet-friends, discovering what has been waiting for you, and leaving with a poem (or pages and pages of poems) that only you could have written. You will discover your authentic voice in this space, that’s my gift.
If you've ever been curious about joining us, I hope this blog post gives you a sense of the kind of surprises that await. For now, grab yourself a cup of something summer-lovely, get your notebook, your favourite pen and put all other distractions to the side, and taste this sweet slice of life.
Welcome to the afterparty!
I Promise…
To warm up, imagine that the world is writing a love letter to you in this moment. It is a private encounter, an intimate exchange. Imagine the world as your lover and write in their voice, repeating the phrase, I promise to... as you explore what the world might want to say to you.
Take 5 minutes.
Sitting in Weeds
sitting in weeds / to write things down
—Kerry Hardie
World of Wildflowers
In this next writing prompt, we are going to address a ‘you’ in your poem, by thinking of one person you are speaking to. So first of all, write down the name of that person. First thought, best thought.
Writing Prompt
Begin with an object that reminds you of that person.
Where would you find that object?
Mention a colour.
Use the phrase as if.
Mention the person’s face.
Include a sound.
Use the word lately.
What have you found in unexpected places? Make a list of three.
Mention an emotion.
Use the phrase your world and move your language towards a metaphor.
Recipe for [You Decide]
Writing Prompt
Write a recipe for planting something—perhaps in an unexpected place—flowers, vegetables, or even a life. Maybe you will take inspiration from something you have seen recently, such as a welly boot filled with flowers, a polytunnel, a hanging basket, or lavender sprouting between piano keys. Think about each step, write some instructions. You might begin with the practical and let it drift somewhere unexpected. You also might like to use the words: fill, plant, small, roots, and water in your recipe.
Take 7 minutes.
No Recipes to Inherit
This poem is by January Gill O’Neil.
Before you begin writing, give yourself a few quiet minutes—close over the petals of your eyes and let yourself drift back through the home you grew up in. Think about the people who raised you and the ordinary patterns of family life. What habits, routines and beliefs shaped your days? What did your family do well? Where were the shortcomings? What did everyone seem to accept as normal? What did you once promise yourself you would do differently? As memories come, open your journal and make notes. Then close your eyes again. Write down the small, concrete details: family sayings, recipes, household rituals, forgotten birthdays, burnt toast, unfinished DIY projects, impractical gifts, the things that were always lost, always fixed, always argued over or always laughed about. Don’t worry about making sense of it all yet. Just collect the material that still has a pulse. The poem will grow from here.
Writing Prompt
Maybe your mother never cooked. Maybe your family always arrived late, overwatered houseplants, burnt the toast, bought impractical gifts, never finished DIY jobs, refused to ask for directions, forgot birthdays, hoarded ridiculous things. Write a poem about what you have chosen to carry forward and what you have chosen to leave behind. Fill it with concrete examples/memories, by drawing from your notes. What will you pass on differently? How will you compare notes, experiences, perhaps even recipes?
During the Poetry Party, poets found themselves writing about what their mum packed in the packed lunch box for their dad, and about TV dinners, how they seemed like a treat. One poet wrote about how, whenever her mother was going through the bills, she threw things on the floor, and also how she had all the peelings in the sink. Another poet spoke beautifully about interlacing prayers and nursery rhymes recalled from childhood, mingling this with memories. One poet wrote about her mother baking scones, particularly about how her "cold hands didn't match who she is," reflecting on that point in time when her soft, young hands hardened, and how those cold hands were great for baking pastries and scones. Tears were shed as one poet reflected on time—returning to childhood and being with themselves in the ways they weren’t met as a child. It was deeply moving to hear all of what emerged from body, memory and then, onto the page.
Take a short Pleasure Pause
Soundings
Write down any associations you made whilst reading this poem. These are just notes to yourself that may weave their way into future writing.
Writing Prompt
Begin with the sounds coming through the window/space.
Mention the weather.
Mention a body part.
Include a colour and a flower.
Mention a room in your house.
Add in more sound.
Use the word, somewhere.
Take a leap.
Leave things unresolved.
Writing Prompt
What weed have you encountered this summer? Write about it. Include the words: weed, summer, day, body and now.
Take 5 minutes.
The Long Write
I have written several poems under the influence of this next poem. Let everything we’ve written before weave its way back into this prompt if it wants to, naturally, or write something completely new. I’ll give you a few instructions, and your job is to keep pen to page. Don’t stop to explain, don’t second-guess—just follow where the ink takes you. I want you to write until the words have wrung themselves out of you. I want you not to know where they will lead you. I want you to experience surprise. I want you to have to shake your hand by the end of this 15 minutes.
But first, read the poem—slowly—and preferably out loud.
Below, when I say: include a symbol, remember it doesn’t have to be an asterisk * You might want to try using a symbol as part of the poem itself. You could include:
→
←
>>
<<
&
/
~
∞
#
+
×
( )
[ ]
:
…
?
!
or something else.
Play with it. You can always change it later. Consider how the symbol adds meaning, creates a pause, shows connection, or becomes part of the poem’s voice. For example, I recently used >> and << to create movement through time, jumping back into my parents’ relationship (from a photograph I was writing about) and then forward into my present. A symbol can become part of the poem’s structure, helping the reader navigate memories, shifts and leaps.
Writing Prompt
Begin with the word, today.
Ask a question.
Repeat the phrase let us, at least twice.
Include a symbol (and begin a new stanza each time I prompt this).Mention the sky.
Use the word, there…
Add light/darkness, the moon/sun and the month.
Include a symbol.Use the word clueless.
Use the words living and dying.
Use the word and.
Include a symbol.Ask a series of questions one after another.
Add a name. Reflect on that name.
Include a symbol.Add a bird.
Use the word I.
What did you see?
Include a symbol.Make a confession.
Include a symbol.Use the following phrases:
I learned… I was… I am… and one day…
Include a symbol.What is love like?
Include a symbol.Write a stanza in 30 seconds including at least three of these words:
enough, remember, things, town, lust, suck, honey, why
Include a symbol.Ask a question.
Make a promise.
Include a symbol.Use the word after.
Add moon, flower or sky.
Say something you’re doing right now.
& After
Now, a poem by Aiyana Masla to complete.
we are quiet / mouths full of quiet
—Aiyana Masla
Announcements
The next Poetry Party will be on Saturday 22nd of August, 6pm - 8pm UK time.
The Green Oracle Writers Retreat
If The Green Oracle has been calling to you from the edges of your imagination, consider this your invitation to answer. There’s now just one room left—could it be yours? If you’ve been longing for a week of poetry, beauty, conversation, sunshine, sea air, and creative renewal, I’d love to hear your wholehearted YES before that final room disappears. And if you’re already coming, perhaps there’s a poet-friend, writer, or kindred spirit who’s meant to be there too. Send them a note and invite them along. Some of the most memorable retreat stories begin with one poet-friend saying,
“Come with me.”
Thank you for being here, I hope you played all the games and had all the fun.