July 16 Blog

 In Poetry

SOUTH BANK POETRY WRITING PROMPTS BY KATHERINE LOCKTON

FAIRY TALES REDONE: TAKE 1

“Once Upon A Time,” She Said
by Jane Yolen

“Once upon a time,” she said,
and the world began anew:
a vee of geese flew by,
plums roasting in their breasts;
a vacant-eyed princess
sat upon a hillock of glass;
a hut strolled through a tangled wood,
the nails on its chickenfeet
blackened and hard as coal;
a horse’s head proclaimed advice
from the impost of an arch;
one maiden spoke in toads,
another in pearls,
and a third with the nightingale’s voice.
If you ask me,
I would have to say
all the world’s magic
comes directly from the mouth.

Look at the above poem and think about what you like about it and what you don’t? Decide whether to give it the thumbs up or thumbs down? and why

Exercise

Pick a character’s name from a fairy tale that you know. Now look at a button on what you are wearing or from an item in your closet.

This button has fallen off your character’s clothes.
Ask yourself the following:

Which item of clothing did it fall off, be specific. Was it clean, dirty? Where was it? Was it in a wardrobe? Or a charity shop?

quickly write down an age and then the detailed characterisation can begin.(15 min)

Now begin writing a poem with the lines “she was/He was”… Write 5 lines
Now write “On her/his way” write 5 lines
Now write two lines beginning “She wouldn’t”
You now have the first draft of a poem!!! (15 min)

Congrats! Put your draft in a draw and go back to it in a few months time

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