Writing Prompt #14
signs of fall and experimenting with form
The signs of fall are everywhere! It is dark before 8 pm, the days have a golden hue. I am finding a lot of spiders everywhere! In the Pacific Northwest, we have had a mix of bright blue-sky days and deep thick fog and rain.
As a writing warm-up, describe how fall feels to you. Write for 5 minutes.
In a writing workshop with Martha Silano in 2021, I tried my first duplex. I am proud to say that after some crafting and editing, I’ve found a home for that poem. You can read it here on SWWIM (Supporting Women Writers in Miami) .
Now it’s your turn! As you can see, the first and last line are the same. In between, you have pairs of lines (the last and proceeding first line of a couplet) that echo each other. The phrases share similar words and sounds. The poem ideally has seven couplets, but feel free to bend the rules.
This is a contemporary form created by poet, Jericho Brown. The Academy of American Poets has a great description with more examples. Check it out HERE.
Write for at least 15 minutes and feel free to send or share your duplex!
Speaking of Martha Silano, she has a new book out. Winner of the Blue Lynx Prize for Poetry with Lynx House Press. There will be a reading of her work at Third Place Books-Seward Park on September 23rd.
Terrain.org is also hosting an online event on September 30th:
Twelve poets gather to read in tribute to Martha Silano, who was recently diagnosed with ALS. They will each read a poem from Martha’s new collection of poems, This One We Call Ours, winner of the 2023 Blue Lynx Poetry Prize.
Terrain.org poetry editor Derek Sheffield will host:
Tina Schumann
Barbara Crooker
Kelli Russell Agodon
Jed Myers
Heidi Seaborn
Ronda Broach
Molly Tenenbaum
Tina Kelley
Susan Blackwell Ramsey
Barbara Ungar
Please join us for a beautiful evening of poetry in honor of Martha.