avatarJonny Masters

Summary

The Poetry Playground Writing Prompt #11 encourages poets to write personalized poetry for someone else, emphasizing understanding and connection.

Abstract

The latest Poetry Playground Prompt #11 invites poets to engage in the intimate act of crafting poetry with a specific individual in mind. This creative challenge aims to capture the essence of another person's experiences through metaphor, whether it be a joyful expression of love or a reflection on more challenging emotions like depression. Poets are reminded to maintain confidentiality regarding the subject's situation and to include trigger warnings if the content is sensitive. The platform welcomes new writers and celebrates the diverse contributions from the previous week, showcasing a selection of poems and providing guidance on how to join the Poetry Playground community. The initiative fosters a supportive environment where writers are encouraged to read and appreciate each other's work.

Opinions

  • The author believes that writing poetry for someone else is a powerful way to demonstrate understanding and empathy.
  • Personal connection and insight into the subject's experiences are considered crucial elements in creating meaningful poetry.
  • The act of sharing the poem with the subject and potentially online is valued, provided it respects their privacy and includes trigger warnings when necessary.
  • The Poetry Playground community is inclusive, welcoming new writers and celebrating the work of its contributors.
  • The platform encourages mutual support among writers, suggesting they engage with each other's poetry and offer recognition through claps.

Poetry Playground Writing Prompt #11

It’s Personal

Photo by Joseph Barrientos on Unsplash, chosen because I love the sea

It is time for another Poetry Playground Prompt! This week we are focusing on writing poetry for someone else. Let me explain.

My best poems are ones I write with another person very specifically in mind. They are usually fairly short, but they are my way of demonstrating that I understand what the person is going through. I wrote one for my Medium friend, Brandon Ellrich, here. I wrote one for another friend who was feeling suicidal (trigger warning) a while ago you can read here.

Writing poetry for someone else requires a connection with them, that you understand something of what they are experiencing and can find a metaphor, or several metaphors to demonstrate that understanding.

It can be a joyful poem of love or a confused poem of indecision. It might be a poem about depression or the joy of getting a new job.

Try, if you can, to talk to someone deeply this week and ask if they’d mind you writing a poem for them. Share it with them, and, assuming they like it, ask if it is OK to share it online.

Please do not share the situation you are writing about. That should be kept confidential. If your poem is about personal things which may trigger strong emotions in people, please include a trigger warning.

Remember, general poetry submissions are always welcome here.

Welcome to New Writers

This week we have welcomed Janaka Stagnaro, Jennifer Kurecki, erohtar isnam, Bernard Ray, Jennifer Morrison, Justiss Goode | MFR Club Coordinator, Rebel Angel, Gabriela Trofin-Tatár. We are delighted you’ve joined us. Welcome to all of you!

Let’s open the Poetry Playground!

Last Week’s Gems

We had loads of great poetry last week. Here are three you might like to peruse:

To become a writer for Poetry Playground you can read this article:

Tagging the current writers for Poetry Playground below. Please choose at least one to visit. You might peruse their poetry, or award an article with a clap! This is a Playground where we support each other.

Harry Hogg, Alize Henry, Amy Barlowe, Jackie Olsen, Jason Edmunds, Mariana Busarova, Roger Hawcroft, Brandon Ellrich, Esther Spurrill-Jones, Will Anthony, Robert Ralph, Zivah Avraham, Tuaca Kelly | Write About Now ✍🏼, Portia, Shuvranil Sanyal, Steve Potter, Sheri Jacobs, Reece Beckett, Alistair J. Kraft, Michael Burg, MD (Satire Sommelier) 😬, Logophobic, Let’s Write Cat 🐈, Kitchie McBride, MHA, Kimberley Abraham, Josie P. Julius, Joseph the Dreamer, Jane Claude | Poet, Jackie Olsen, Dan J, Gary Kokaisel (Pixel Floyd), My Cozy Den, David Rudder, a.j. land, Catherine Oceano, Mariana Busarova, Alize Henry, Patricia Timmermans, Amy Barlowe, Bernadine, Robert Austin, Jeannie.Chambers, Derek Reinhard, Dyego Gaspar, Ruth Boukhari, Denée King, Merr Gumm, Priyanka Sinha, Aaren Herron, Gary L Ellis

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