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First off, the final results are not yet finalized for all the days. That’s my fault. While I secured guest judges, I alone took on the burden of whittling down each day’s poems to a short list. Next year, I plan to recruit a team of readers to help with that narrowing.

That said, I do have some final results to share and will update as the rest of the results are returned. I’m going to hold off on sharing Top 10 lists for days that still don’t have a winner–since I want the guest judging to be completely blind.

Here are the April PAD Challenge results for each day:

The winner is highlighted; the top 10 is in no particular order; an asterisk (*) denotes a poem that “almost” won. If you notice any errors (including your byline), please send me an e-mail at [email protected] to get it corrected as soon as possible.

Day 1:
Prompt: Beginnings and/or Endings Poem
Guest Judge: Traci Brimhall

“cathedra,” by Barton Smock
“Learning Italian,” by emmaisanOwl
“When your domesticated coyote,” by Lara Eckener
“Movement Through Spacetime,” by Sara Doyle
“Taking My Time,” by Cati Porter
“I cannot begin to tell you,” by Taylor Mali
“The Truth Itself Takes Care to Make Eyes,” by LGordon
“In Diminuendo,” by Richard Fenwick
“Restoring Beauty,” by James Von Hendy
“Thorn Bones,” by Taylor Graham

Day 2:
Prompt: Voyage Poem
Guest Judge: Neil Aitken

“sedoka,” by Stewart C Baker
“Canada Geese,” by TheFlawlessWord
“Riding the ATV to the Mailbox in Early Spring,” by Kit Cooley
“Midnight Voyage,” by Margie Fuston
“as if the windshield wipers,” by alotus_poetry
“Progress Takes Its Own Voyage,” by Barb Peters
“Georgia O’Keefe Hitches a Ride to Abiquiu,” by susanjer
“Here I Am Holding,” by iris dunkle
“The Journey,” by ehorowitz
“Between Neverland and Oz,” by Walt Wojtanik

Day 3:
Prompt: Message Poem
Guest Judge: Shaindel Beers

“Belle Boyd, Confederate spy, imagines a letter from her Shadow Sister, by Kathryn Stripling Byer
“Message,” by Eleanore D. Trupkiewicz
“Wish You Were Here,” by shethra77
“Large Puddle in the Street…,” by Hannah Gosselin
“The Post,” by Sara Doyle
“for violet,” by brandon speck
“Sticky Note,” by James Brush
“Tell Me Again How Family Is So Important,” by Kelly Ramsdell Fineman
“When Smoke Gets In Your Eyes,” by Kimiko Martinez
“Written in the Wind,” by Emma Hine

Day 4:
Prompt: “Since (blank)” Poem
Guest Judge: Vince Gotera

“Since I Am Taking a Break From Facebook,” by k weber
“Since October,” by Richard Fenwick*
“since you left,” by drwasy
“since the last time i heard your voice,” by Fatima Hirsi
“Since I Gave Myself Permission,” by Elizabeth Weaver-Kreider
“Since the pear I for days let ripen,” by Genevieve Fitzgerald
“Since you split my lip,” by PKP
“Since My Poems Broke Up With Me,” by Jacqueline Hallenbeck
“Since the Last Snow,” by Bruce Niedt
“Since Fukushima,” by Tracy Davidson

Day 5:
Prompt: Discover Something Poem
Guest Judge: Patricia Fargnoli

“Hubris,” by Sharon Fagan McDermott
“Discovery,” by Carol J Carpenter
“Xox,” by hohlwein
“The End of Things Before They Begin,” by David Walker
“Divinum Mysterium,” by Jane Shlensky
“An entomologist after an apocalypse,” by amaranthe
“Attempt #4, Saturday morning,” by Taylor Emily Copeland
“Agate Tides,” by Mokosh28
“Found Alive (Berlin 1945),” by dianemdavis
“Discovery in the Woods,” by Bucky Ignatius

Day 6:
Prompt: Night Poem
Guest Judge: Andrew Hudgins

“how to live in the country dark,” by Barton Smock
“Summer Night,” by mimzy13
“523.4,” by ina
“We Are Brighter in the Dark,” by Lydia Flores
“Night,” by Elizabeth Weaver-Kreider
“Of the Night,” by Mark Windham
“Sea Monkeys Have an Expiration Date,” by iris dunkle
“Moon Monologue,” by David Walker
“Night of the Sea Monkeys,” by Taylor Graham
“Good Night,” by William Preston

Day 7:
Prompt: Self-Portrait Poem
Guest Judge: January Gill O’Neil

“Self-Portrait as the State of Minnesota,” by susanjer
“A Look Inside,” by Scott Jacobson
“In the Louvre with Rembrandt’s Selfie,” by Margie Fuston
“Self-Portrait,” by Linda G Hatton
“My eyes are sunflowers,” by P.A. Beyer
“Self-Portrait,” by Cameron Steele
“April Self Portrait,” by Eileen Moeller
“Self Portrait,” by Roderick Bates
“51,” by Brian Slusher
“I Am a Crazy Quilt,” by Linda Voit

Day 8:
Prompt: Violent and/or Peaceful Poem
Guest Judge: Tom C. Hunley

“A Taste for Pain,” by Yerma Skyflower
“To the Woman Who Called at 7:15 AM to Break Up With Her Man,” by pamelaraw
“The Threat of Butterflies,” by Mokosh28
“The Prisoner’s Dilemma,” by P.A. Beyer
“Broken,” by iris dunkle
“Under A Box of Matches,” by flood
“My Father Kicked Dogs,” by Courtney O’Banion Smith
“This time, he didn’t make it home,” by Kendall A. Bell
“Unreported,” by Taylor Emily Copeland
“Papers on Top of More Papers,” by Bruce Niedt

Day 9:
Prompt: Shelter Poem
Guest Judge: Kelli Russell Agodon

“Shelter,” by Cameron Steele
“Home Before the Tornado Hits,” by drwasy*
“Ocean’s Voice,” by LCaramanna
“The Niche,” by Linda Hatton
“Shelter,” by Roderick Bates
“Surviving the Storm,” by cam45237
“Thin Shelters,” by carolecole66
“Snow Globe,” by beale.alexis
“Sonnet for the Family Living in Their Car,” by C. Lynn Shaffer
“House,” by donaldillich

Day 10:
Prompt: Future Poem
Guest Judge: Nate Pritts

“What Comes,” by alana sherman
“Intrada,” by Khara House
“To shame the orphan,” by J. Lynn Sheridan
“An Affair in Chicago,” by hwerther
“Uneasy Laughter After Dessert,” by Linda Voit
“Futuro,” by Patrick J. Walsh
“Woman Hollering Creek,” by Kathryn Stripling Byer
“kenning,” by Barton Smock
“The Future Without Me,” by C. Lynn Shaffer
“An Unfinished Sentence,” by AleathiaD

Day 11:
Prompt: Make Statement Title of Poem
Guest Judge: Joseph Mills

Results to come.

Day 12:
Prompt: City Poem
Guest Judge: Victoria Chang

Results to come.

Day 13:
Prompt: Animal Poem
Guest Judge: Daniel Nester

Results to come.

Day 14:
Prompt: “If I Were (blank)” Poem
Guest Judge: Jericho Brown

Results to come.

Day 15:
Prompt: Love and/or Anti-Love Poem
Guest Judge: Barbara Hamby

Results to come.

*****

Get your poetry published!

Use the best all-around print publication on the planet for publishing your poetry, the 2014 Poet’s Market, edited by Robert Lee Brewer. This annual book includes hundreds of listings for book publishers, magazines, contests, and more! Plus, there are articles on the craft, business, and promotion of poetry, poet interviews, poetic forms explained, and new poems!

At the moment, this book can be had for more than 70% off retail in the Writer’s Digest Shop for only $7.99!

Click to continue.

*****

Day 16:
Prompt: Elegy Poem
Guest Judge: Bob Hicok

Results to come.

Day 17:
Prompt: Pop Culture Poem
Guest Judge: Mary Biddinger

Results to come.

Day 18:
Prompt: Weather Poem
Guest Judge: Nin Andrews

Results to come.

Day 19:
Prompt: Pick Color, Make Title of Poem
Guest Judge: Thomas Lux

“Aubergine,” by Sara Doyle
“Violet,” by Julie Germain
“Orange,” by Brian Slusher
“Prussian Blue,” by Joanne M. Clarkson
“Vermilion,” by Jerry Walraven
“White,” by G. Smith
“Yellow,” by susanjer
“Burnt Umber,” by Eibhlin
“Mandarin Orange,” by pamela raw
“Gray Matter,” by James Von Hendy

Day 20:
Prompt: Family Poem
Guest Judge: Scott Owens

Results to come.

Day 21:
Prompt: Back to Basics Poem
Guest Judge: Deborah Ager

Results to come.

Day 22:
Prompt: Optimistic and/or Pessimistic Poem
Guest Judge: Lawrence Schimel

Results to come.

Day 23:
Prompt: Location Poem
Guest Judge: Erika Meitner

Results to come.

Day 24:
Prompt: “Tell It to the (blank)” Poem
Guest Judge: Kristina Marie Darling

Results to come.

Day 25:
Prompt: The Last Straw Poem
Guest Judge: Erica Wright

Results to come.

Day 26:
Prompt: Water Poem
Guest Judge: Amy King

“Fair Enough,” by k weber
“Ice,” by uneven steven*
“Housewife,” by Amy
“Seasick,” by Dana A. Campbell
“Swamp Water,” by Daniel Roessler
“Thirst,” by De Jackson
“Memento Mori,” by carolecole66
“Water,” by Daniel Paicopulos
“One Hydrogen, Two Oxygen,” by Phil Boiarski
“Dirty laundry needs to soak,” by Kimmy Sophia

Day 27:
Prompt: Monster Poem
Guest Judge: Jeannine Hall Gailey

Results to come.

Day 28:
Prompt: Settled Poem
Guest Judge: Sandra Beasley

Results to come.

Day 29:
Prompt: Realist and/or Magical Poem
Guest Judge: Adam Fitzgerald

Results to come.

Day 30:
Prompt: Calling It a Day Poem
Guest Judge: Jillian Weise

Results to come.

*****

Whew! I know the results are still coming in, but the poets who’ve made those top 10 lists should be extremely happy with their work. I read through more than 21,000 comments and 5,600 pages of poems and encouragement.

Only 300 of those made the top 10 lists–or less than 1.4%. In other words, around 1 poem for every 100 comments. That’s crazy!

To be named winner, of course, is barely one-tenth of one percent.

In other words, people who made the lists above should be happy-happy-happy. Poets who didn’t make the lists should still feel happy as well. Beyond the subjectivity of the judges (especially me), there’s just the sheer numbers.

Many great poems made it past the first cut only to be trimmed before the top 10 lists were finalized. And well, the goal of this challenge isn’t making a list or being named winner: It’s to create 30 new poems!

Congratulations to everyone who participated and worked toward the goal of creating new poems!

*****

As many poets who’ve participated in the April PAD Challenge in the past know, I like to hand out a few extra awards, including the Poet Laureate of the Poetic Asides blog. So let’s start with that…

This year’s Poetic Asides Poet Laureate is the first ever repeat laureate. That’s right, William Preston has been named to his second consecutive term as the Poetic Asides Poet Laureate. He’s not only a wonderful poet, but he’s a constant source of inspiration and encouragement in April and throughout the year. In fact, he was still commenting on April poems well into May after the dust had settled on the challenge.

Congratulations, William!

I want to award a Top April Poet award (separate of the Poet Laureate honor), but there are a few that seem to be leading the pack. So I’m going to wait for the final results to all make it in before naming one (or maybe even a tie).

Look for updates over the next couple weeks, and I’ll be sure to publish a notification post when everything is set in stone.

*****

Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until August 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

*****

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. Every day, he was amazed at the talent, creativity, and energy poets brought to the table in April. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.

*****

Find More Poetic Goodies Here:

• Contemplating Nature’s Changing Role in Poetry.
• Jason Tandon: Poet Interview.
• WD Poetic Form Challenge: Golden Shovel.

Ack! Today is the final day of the challenge! For people catching up, I’m giving a 5-day buffer between each day’s prompt–so the cut-off will be 11:59 p.m. on May 5 (Atlanta, GA time). Also, I’m going to post on “Next Steps” regarding this challenge tomorrow afternoon that will outline what to expect as far as judging, results, etc.

For today’s prompt, write a “calling it a day” poem. Some people might call this “Miller time,” others may refer to it as “closing time.” Just remember: Don’t call it a day until you put it in a poem.

*****

Get the National Poetry Month Kit!

Yes, this has been another great National Poetry Month, and here’s a great kit to celebrate: The Writer’s Digest National Poetry Month Kit, which includes a digital version of The Poetry Dictionary, a couple paperbacks (Creating Poetry and Writing the Life Poetic), a tutorial on building an audience for your poetry, the 2014 Poet’s Market, and more!

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Calling It a Day poem:

“fyi”

i love you
have always loved you
lol

i’m tired of this cat & mouse
this cleaning house
omg

if you knew
what i wanted to do
rotfl

& other stuff
well
fml

w/o you in it
no other way to say
i <3 u

& i’m done cleaning house
be the cat
i’m your mouse

*****

Today’s guest judge is…

Jillian Weise

Jillian Weise

Jillian is the author of The Amputee’s Guide to Sex, the novel The Colony, and The Book of Goodbyes, which won the 2013 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. Her work has appeared in Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, The New York Times and Tin House.

After fellowships from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the Fine Arts Work Center and the Fulbright Program, she joined the faculty at Clemson University.

She identifies as a cyborg.

Learn more here: https://www.boaeditions.org/bookstore/the-book-of-goodbyes.html

*****

Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

*****

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. His favorite Marquez story is “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” though he also loves the short novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

*****

Don’t call it a day without reading these posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 29.
• Shadorma: Poetic Form.
• Walter J. Wojtanik: Poet Interview.

Here’s a quick behind the scenes of the April PAD Challenge: I always get the prompts set in stone before the month begins. There are a couple reasons for this, though the most important reason is that I don’t want to get “prompt block” and slow everyone else up during the month. However, the death of Gabriel Garcia Marquez–one of my favorite writers–forced my hand, and I changed today’s Two-for-Tuesday prompt mid-month. Enjoy!

The final Two-for-Tuesday prompt for this month is:

• Write a realism poem. A poem that is rooted in the real world. Or…
• Write a magical poem. A poem that incorporates magical or fantastical elements.

Or write like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and do both!

*****

Get the National Poetry Month Kit!

Yes, this has been another great National Poetry Month, and here’s a great kit to celebrate: The Writer’s Digest National Poetry Month Kit, which includes a digital version of The Poetry Dictionary, a couple paperbacks (Creating Poetry and Writing the Life Poetic), a tutorial on building an audience for your poetry, the 2014 Poet’s Market, and more!

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Realism and/or Magical Poem:

“young men with enormous wings”

listen the ocean has fish
for every mood & the sun
can only travel so deep

beneath the surface we hide
our intentions mako sharks
swim figure 8s & approach

with open mouths before they
attack we ran along docks
watching fish scatter as we

dove into the azure sky
spreading our wings & flying
to the vermillion sunset

*****

Today’s guest judge is…

Adam Fitzgerald

Adam Fitzgerald

Adam is the author of The Late Parade, his debut collection of poetry from W. W. Norton’s historic Liveright imprint. A 2005 graduate of Boston College, in 2008 he received his Masters in Editorial Studies from Boston University’s Editorial Institute. In 2010, he received his MFA from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

Adam’s poems, essays and interviews have appeared in A Public Space, Boston Review, Conjunctions, Poetry, and elsewhere. He is the founding editor of the poetry journal Maggy and contributing editor for The American Reader. In September 2013, he co-curated the immersive-environment exhibit “John Ashbery Collects: Poet Among Things” for Loretta Howard Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Next summer, he will direct The Ashbery Home School in Hudson, New York with Timothy Donnelly and Dorothea Lasky.

He teaches at The New School and Rutgers University, and lives in a pea-sized studio in NYC.

Learn more here: http://www.thelateparade.com/.

*****

Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

*****

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. His favorite Marquez story is “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” though he also loves the short novel Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

*****

Check out these really magical posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 28.
• Haibun: Poetic Form.
• WD Poetic Form Challenge: Triversen Winner.

Three days, and we’re done with this year’s challenge. Speaking of challenges, this is my last reminder of the Remixing the World’s Problems challenge I’m running. Top prize is $500 with a May 15 deadline. Click here to read the guidelines.

For today’s prompt, write a settled poem. Settled can be a good, relaxing thing; settled can be an accepting something that wasn’t your first choice thing; settled can be coming to a stop; settled can be pioneers in a strange land; and so on. With only three days left, don’t settle for less than your best.

*****

Get the National Poetry Month Kit!

Yes, this has been another great National Poetry Month, and here’s a great kit to celebrate: The Writer’s Digest National Poetry Month Kit, which includes a digital version of The Poetry Dictionary, a couple paperbacks (Creating Poetry and Writing the Life Poetic), a tutorial on building an audience for your poetry, the 2014 Poet’s Market, and more!

Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Settled Poem:

“skipping”

the boy picks up a stone
holds it loose in his hand
studies the smooth surface
for just a brief moment
before drawing hand back
and casting the stone forth

the stone cuts through the wind
taps the water’s surface
before pushing airborne
again and then again
five skips total before
slipping beneath the thin

skin separating air
from water and the stone
twists awkwardly against
liquid and bounces off
the wet bottom finding
a new place to settle

*****

Today’s guest judge is…

Sandra Beasley (credit: Matthew Worden)

Sandra Beasley

Sandra is the author of I Was the Jukebox, winner of the Barnard Women Poets Prize, and Theories of Falling, winner of the New Issues Poetry Prize. Recent honors for her work include the Center for Book Arts Chapbook Prize, Cornell College’s Distinguished Writer fellowship, Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Writer in Residence position, and two DCCAH Artist Fellowships.

Her most recent book is Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from an Allergic Life, a memoir and cultural history of food allergy. She lives in Washington, D.C., and is on the faculty of the low-residency MFA program at the University of Tampa.

Learn more here: sandrabeasley.com.

*****

Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

*****

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. He’s grateful to today’s guest for endorsing his book. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

*****

Hope you’ll settle for these poetic posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 27.
• Lune: Poetic Form.
• Traci Brimhall: Poet Interview.

I hope everyone’s having a great time with the challenge; I know I am! But I’m already looking ahead to what’s happening on the blog in May and beyond. I’ve interviewed more than 100 poets on this blog, discussed dozens of poetic forms, and covered other topics. But I’m not done yet; so this is my one-time call for queries related to poet interviews, guest posts, or other ideas. If you’re interested in being interviewed, providing a guest post, or have another idea, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject line: Poetic Asides Blog Idea.

For today’s prompt, write a monster poem. There are the usual suspects: zombies, vampires, werewolves, and mummies. But monsters can take any form and terrorize a variety of victims. So have fun playing around with this one, because we’ve only got a few days of April left.

*****

Free up your poetry with constraints!

Learn how putting constraints on your poetry through poetic forms, blank verse, and other tricks can actually free up your poetry writing skills and enhance your creativity in Writer’s Digest’s first ever Poetry Boot Camp. It will include a one-hour tutorial, personalized Q&A on a secure “attendees-only” message board, feedback on three original poems, and more. Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Monster Poem:

“Clones”

I don’t know where I stand on cloning
but sometimes I think it would be helpful
to have two of me, especially for administrative
work, which I always seem to foul up.

I’m not advocating a Frankenstein’s Monster approach,
more like The Twilight Zone, thought without
the twist at the end that makes me realize
it was a bad idea, because that would be

such a buzz kill. No, I just want the version
of me that cooks and cleans and transports
the kids to do all that stuff while the other
version of me that writes and edits and blogs

does his thing, and we both get extra rest
at the end of the day. And maybe both
versions will hang out sometimes
because they both should have similar

taste in music and movies and write
poetry. But then a third version will emerge
that wants to get outside more to run
and hike and swim and bike. A fourth

will flirt day and night with the ladies,
and a fifth just hangs in the basement
playing old school Tetris. Eventually, my selves
will have drama and a reality TV show

and everyone will complain about that guy
who is actually a bunch of guys
and he/they never get along, and anyway,
I still wouldn’t have time for administration.

*****

Today’s guest judge is…

Jeannine Hall Gailey

Jeannine Hall Gailey

Jeannine recently served as the Poet Laureate of Redmond, Washington, and is the author of four books of poetry: Unexplained Fevers, She Returns to the Floating World, Becoming the Villainess and The Robot Scientist’s Daughter, upcoming in 2015 from Mayapple Press.

Her work has been featured on NPR’s Writer’s Almanac and Verse Daily.

Her poems have appeared The Iowa Review, American Poetry Review and Prairie Schooner.

Her website is www.webbish6.com.

*****

Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

*****

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. His book includes a few monster poems, from man-eaters to fathers. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

*****

Check out these monster posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 26.
• Victoria Chang: Poet Interview.
• The Blitz Poem: Poetic Form.

Poetry is so much bigger than any one poet, genre of poetry, or school. It’s also bigger than any one blog or website. So I want to share a few of my favorite poetry resources before the month is over: The Academy of American Poets; Poetry Foundation; Best American Poetry blog; Coldfront; and Ron Silliman’s blog.

For today’s prompt, write a water poem. Life depends upon water, so there are any number of ways to write this prompt. A few thoughts that jump to mind include pollution, rising water levels, hurricanes, fracking, and more.

*****

Free up your poetry with constraints!

Learn how putting constraints on your poetry through poetic forms, blank verse, and other tricks can actually free up your poetry writing skills and enhance your creativity in Writer’s Digest’s first ever Poetry Boot Camp. It will include a one-hour tutorial, personalized Q&A on a secure “attendees-only” message board, feedback on three original poems, and more. Click to continue.

*****

Here’s my attempt at a Water Poem:

“212″

some people are pretty quick to anger
they spill over whenever they’re able
to point out any possible dangers
most of them get their news via cable

they spill over whenever they’re able
ready with a new complaint every day
most of them get their news via cable
which is where they learn the right things to say

ready with a new complaint every day
they stew like a full pot of hot water
and they forget all the right things to say
as the hot water gets even hotter

they stew like a full pot of hot water
to point out any possible dangers
as the hot water gets even hotter
some people soon boil in their anger

*****

Today’s guest judge is…

Amy King

Amy King

Of I Want to Make You Safe (Litmus Press), John Ashbery describes Amy King’s poems as bringing “abstractions to brilliant, jagged life, emerging into rather than out of the busyness of living.”

Safe was one of Boston Globe’s Best Poetry Books of 2011.

King teaches Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College and works with VIDA: Women in Literary Arts.

Check her latest blog entries at Boston Review, Poetry Magazine and the Rumpus.

*****

Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

*****

Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. His book includes more than a few references to water. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

*****

Drink up the following poetic posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 25.
• The Bop: Poetic Form.
• Beth Copeland: Poet Interview.

There have been two new (really cool) developments in the April PAD Challenge this year: the guest judges and the anthology. Speaking of the anthology, there is a pre-order deal for 20% off the price, but only until May 1. This anthology will include each prompt, the top poem from each day, and space to add your own poems (if you choose to do so). After reading through the first few days, I can’t wait to see the finished product, because it’s going to be great. Be sure to pre-order your copy today.

For today’s prompt, write a “last straw” poem. Everyone encounters situations in which they decide they’re not going to take it anymore (whatever “it” happens to be). It could be a loud noise, an abusive partner, someone taking the Pop Tart but not throwing the box away, or whatever. Write about the moment, the aftermath, or take an unexpected path to your poem.

*****

Free up your poetry with constraints!

Learn how putting constraints on your poetry through poetic forms, blank verse, and other tricks can actually free up your poetry writing skills and enhance your creativity in Writer’s Digest’s first ever Poetry Boot Camp. It will include a one-hour tutorial, personalized Q&A on a secure “attendees-only” message board, feedback on three original poems, and more. Click to continue.

*****

Here is my attempt at a Last Straw Poem:

“to the poem standing on the window sill”

i know what it’s like to feel there’s no escape
that you’re caught between two giant hands collapsing in upon you

i know what it takes to pull you out that window
to make you want to float like a balloon freshly popped

i know there’s nothing anyone can say
to truly inflate your spirit but i’ve been there before

i know if you hold tight & let the world swirl & sway
that eventually you’ll find reasons to sing again

i know it’s inevitable but you don’t have to pass today
if you can only make it past today

*****

Today’s guest judge is…

Erica Wright

Erica Wright

Erica is the author of Instructions for Killing the Jackal (Black Lawrence Press, 2011) and the chapbook Silt (Dancing Girl Press, 2009). Her debut crime novel, The Red Chameleon, will be published this year by Pegasus Books. Her poems have appeared in Crazyhorse, Denver Quarterly, Drunken Boat, Gulf Coast, New Orleans Review, and elsewhere.

She is the Poetry Editor at Guernica Magazine and has taught creative writing at Marymount Manhattan College and New York University’s continuing studies program.

Learn more at http://www.blacklawrence.com/author/erica-wright/.

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Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. He’s had a last straw moment or three during his life, but his faith has helped him persevere. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

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These are not the last poetic posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 24.
• Paradelle: Poetic Form.
• Taylor Graham: Poet Interview.

Happy Poem in Your Pocket Day! My choice for a poem today is “The Problem Is With Semantics,” by Tammy Foster Brewer (yes, my wife!). If you want to learn more about Poem in Your Pocket Day, click here. If you want to read even more poems by my wife, check out her collection No Glass Allowed.

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “Tell It to the (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write the poem. Possible titles include: “Tell It to the Hand,” “Tell It to the Judge,” “Tell It to the Six-Foot Bunny Rabbit,” and so on.

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Free up your poetry with constraints!

Learn how putting constraints on your poetry through poetic forms, blank verse, and other tricks can actually free up your poetry writing skills and enhance your creativity in Writer’s Digest’s first ever Poetry Boot Camp. It will include a one-hour tutorial, personalized Q&A on a secure “attendees-only” message board, feedback on three original poems, and more. Click to continue.

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Here’s my attempt at a Tell It to the Blank poem:

“Tell It to the Search Engine”

Prepare for the blood moon
7 dead babies found in home
Bear drags woman from garage
Hundreds fall ill on cruise ship
Weird new trend in plastic surgery
Naked exercise scandal
What ’80s really looked like
Bus crash kills 36 in Mexico
Gun kills people in Kansas City
Iceberg loose
Kid killed playing video game
Politicians track poll numbers
4 ways to cheat on sestinas
9 creatures that shouldn’t exist
DIY fashion ideas
When the world will end
Poll: Nobody cares anymore

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Today’s guest judge is…

Kristina Marie Darling

Kristina Marie Darling

Kristina is the author of 17 books, which include Melancholia (An Essay) (Ravenna Press, 2012), Petrarchan (BlazeVOX Books, 2013), and a forthcoming hybrid genre collection called Fortress (Sundress Publications, 2014).

Check out her collaboration, Music For Another Life, with Max Avi Kaplan (BlazeVOX Books) by clicking here.

Her awards include fellowships from Yaddo, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, and the Hawthornden Castle International Retreat for Writers, as well as grants from the Kittredge Fund and the Elizabeth George Foundation. She is currently working toward a Ph.D. in Poetics at S.U.N.Y.-Buffalo.

Learn more here: http://kristinamariedarling.com/.

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Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. He spends way too much time on search engines and in databases. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

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Tell It to the Blog Posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 23.
• Quatern: Poetic Form.
• Sara Tracey: Poet Interview.

I’ve been having a wonderful April, and I hope you have too. Counting this morning’s poem, I think I’ve already written more than 30 poems this month (not all of my writing ends up on this blog), and I’m pretty happy with a few of the poems I’ve written for this challenge.

Yes, this has been another great National Poetry Month, and here’s a great kit to celebrate: The Writer’s Digest National Poetry Month Kit, which includes a digital version of The Poetry Dictionary, a couple paperbacks (Creating Poetry and Writing the Life Poetic), a tutorial on building an audience for your poetry, the 2014 Poet’s Market, and more! Click to continue.

For today’s prompt, write a location poem. Location could be physical–like the laundromat, a public park, a glacier, flying saucer, etc. Or location could be emotional, psychological, metaphysical, or some other kind of word that ends in -al. Or surprise everyone!

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Daniel Nester

Free up your poetry with constraints!

Learn how putting constraints on your poetry through poetic forms, blank verse, and other tricks can actually free up your poetry writing skills and enhance your creativity in Writer’s Digest’s first ever Poetry Boot Camp.

This boot camp will be led by April PAD (Poem-A-Day) Challenge guest judge Daniel Nester, author of How to Be Inappropriate and editor of The Incredible Sestina Anthology, and it will include a one-hour tutorial, personalized Q&A on a secure “attendees-only” message board, feedback on three original poems, and more.

Click to continue.

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Here’s my attempt at a Location Poem:

“locate”

i am over here
and you’re over there

if you move here
i’ll move there

i used to be there
where you are

but i moved
when you arrived

nothing personal
not trying to be a jerk

i mean i am
but don’t take it that way

that would be so like you
taking things like that

and here you come
so there i go

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Today’s guest judge is…

Erika Meitner

Erika Meitner

Erika’s first book, Inventory at the All-Night Drugstore, won the 2002 Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry, and was published in 2003 by Anhinga Press. Her second book, Ideal Cities, was selected by Paul Guest as a winner of the 2009 National Poetry Series competition, and was published in 2010 by HarperCollins. Her third collection, Makeshift Instructions for Vigilant Girls, was published by Anhinga Press in 2011. Her newest collection of poems, Copia, is due out from BOA Editions in 2014.

In addition to teaching creative writing at UVA, UW-Madison, and UC-Santa Cruz, Erika has worked as a dating columnist, an office temp, a Hebrew school instructor, a computer programmer, a lifeguard, a documentary film production assistant, and a middle school teacher in the New York City public school system.

Meitner is currently an Associate Professor of English at Virginia Tech, where she teaches in the MFA program, and is also the associate faculty principal of Hawthorn House (one of the residential colleges at Virginia Tech).

Learn more here: http://erikameitner.com/.

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Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. The book includes poems in a Kroger parking lot, at an arboretum, and other locales. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

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Locate a few other poetic posts here:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 22.
• Nonet: Poetic Form.
• What Is the Value of Poetry?

A few people have sent me e-mail messages asking if I’m going to favor this type of poem or that type of poem; if I’m looking for this kind of poet or that type of poet; and so on (since I’m the person making the finalist lists to send to the guest judges). So here’s what I’m looking for: poems that make me care.

Funny poems, sad poems, angry poems, rambling poems, concise poems (ahem, haiku), traditional form poems, free verse, prose poems, rhyme poems, non-rhyme poems, poems that make perfect sense, poems that leave me scratching my head; or in other words, I have broad range of interests, and I’ll know it when I see it; or in even other words, don’t worry about me or the guest judges–just write what you care about writing, and the rest will take care of itself.

Today is a Tuesday, and you know what that means: Two for Tuesday Prompts! Write one, write the other, and/or write both!

• Write an optimistic poem. The glass is half full.
• Write a pessimistic poem. The glass is half empty.

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Get feedback on your poetry!

If you want some professional feedback on your poeming efforts, the Writer’s Digest Advanced Poetry Writing course is a great place to start.

Click here for more details.

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Here’s my attempt at an Optimistic and/or Pessimistic Poem:

“today is not the end of it”

we’re from the same blood
we’re hooks holding up hooks

we’re lost items being found
before getting lost again

we’re trees bent by the wind
we’re animals searching shadows

we’ve got the scent in our
nostrils tails in the air

we’re running off the path
we’re not looking back

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Today’s guest judge is…

Lawrence Schimel

Lawrence Schimel

Lawrence writes in both English and Spanish and has published over 100 books in many different genres, including the poetry collection Desayuno en la Cama (Egales) and the chapbooks Fairy Tales for Writers (A Midsummer Night’s Press) and Deleted Names (A Midsummer Night’s Press).

He has published poems in a broad range of periodicals, including The Saturday Evening Post, Physics Today, The Christian Science Monitor, and Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and his poems have been widely anthologized in The Random House Treasury of Light Verse, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: The Book of Dreams, The Incredible Sestina Anthology, Chicken Soup for the Horse-Lover’s Soul 2, Obsessions: Sestinas in the 21st Century, etc.

Lawrence lives in Madrid, Spain where he works as a Spanish->English translator.

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Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. The collection has a recurring theme of pushing the re-set button and getting back to basics. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

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These poetic posts are half there but also half not (or something):

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 21.
• Rispetto: Poetic Form.
• What Is the Value of Poetry?

Before we get started today, I just want to take a moment to thank all our guest judges for volunteering their time, energy, and talents to this year’s April PAD Challenge. Be sure to find their poems online and if you like them, buy their books! Click here to review the complete list of our 30 guest judges.

For today’s prompt, write a “back to basics” poem. For me, back to the basics means jumping to the fundamentals. Maybe it’s me re-learning (or practicing) fundamentals–like running or writing–but it could also be a child learning how to tie his shoestrings, which can be a unique experience for both the child and the adult trying to give instructions and advice. Back to basics could also be re-setting a state of mind or getting back into a routine. In a way, spring is a season that gets back to the basics.

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Get feedback on your poetry!

If you want some professional feedback on your poeming efforts, the Writer’s Digest Advanced Poetry Writing course is a great place to start.

Click here for more details.

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Here’s my attempt at a Back to Basics Poem:

“marketing”

forget websites & blogs
what i need is a business card

i miss the tactile presence
of a name and job title

displayed with contact info
& sometimes a logo

but what i miss most
is the blank slate back side

on which i could jot notes
& random couplets

sometimes i’d sketch pictures
or get the contact info

of someone i actually
intended to contact

that cardstock carried no
analytics but it was

useful in a way only
a human could measure

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Today’s guest judge is…

Deborah Ager

Deborah Ager

Deborah recently co-edited The Bloomsbury Anthology of Contemporary Jewish American Poetry (2013) and Old Flame: Ten Years of 32 Poems Magazine (2013).

The latter is a finalist for the Forward Book of the Year prize.

Learn more at: http://www.deborahager.com.

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Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. The collection has a recurring theme of pushing the re-set button and getting back to basics. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

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Get back to basics with these poetic posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 20.
• Triversen: Poetic Form.
• What Is the Value of Poetry?

I’ve been playing with forms a little this month. It’s something I do when I start to feel a little stuck in my writing. Imposing rules–oddly enough–seems to free me up a bit. So far this month, I’ve written a villanelle, sestina, a couple sonnets, and even a couple haiku on the side. As you’ll see below, I went all triolet on today’s prompt.

For today’s prompt, write a family poem. I’ve actually written a few poems about my family this month already, but you don’t have to restrict yourself to your own family. There are any number of human families, of course, but also animals, insects, and other organisms. Plus, there are “families” of other types as well. As usual, feel free to bend the prompt to your favor.

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Get feedback on your poetry!

If you want some professional feedback on your poeming efforts, the Writer’s Digest Advanced Poetry Writing course is a great place to start.

Click here for more details.

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Here’s my attempt at a Family Poem:

“dinner”

Tammy asks us all to hold hands
as Will and Hannah lead the prayer
so fast that no one understands
Tammy asks us all to hold hands
and the boys make their food demands
while I start to growl like a bear
Tammy asks us all to hold hands
as Will and Hannah lead the prayer.

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Today’s guest judge is…

Scott Owens

Scott Owens

Originally from Greenwood, SC, Scott holds degrees from Ohio University, UNC Charlotte, and UNC Greensboro. He currently lives in Hickory, NC, where he teaches at Catawba Valley Community College, edits Wild Goose Poetry Review and serves as vice-president of the NC Poetry Society.

His 11^th book of poetry, Eye of the Beholder, was recently released by Main Street Rag.

His work has received awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the Next Generation/Indie Lit Awards, the NC Writers Network, the NC Poetry Society, and the Poetry Society of SC.

Learn more here: http://www.scottowenspoet.com/.

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Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. He thinks family is very, very important–no matter what structure that family takes. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

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Share these poetic posts with your family:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 19.
• What Is the Value of Poetry?
• Quatern: Poetic Form.

At the beginning of the challenge, there’s a lot of excitement about starting; at the end of the challenge, there’s excitement (and sadness) over finishing the challenge; but in the middle, it’s kind of like the dog days of summer–at least for some. For me, each day is a new challenge. And speaking of challenges, don’t forget to check out my poetic challenge with a $500 grand prize (deadline: May 15). Click here for more details.

For today’s prompt, pick a color, make the color the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. You can make your poem black, white, red, purple, turquoise, puce, or whatever your heart desires. And the subject of your poem can cover any topic–as long as you’ve plugged a color into the title. Let’s do this!

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Get feedback on your poetry!

If you want some professional feedback on your poeming efforts, the Writer’s Digest Advanced Poetry Writing course is a great place to start.

Click here for more details.

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Here’s my attempt at a Color in the Title Poem:

“onyx”

my father would cover the windows
with heavy blankets the only light

a digital clock that counted slow
the minutes i didn’t have patience

but i knew how to listen and keep
silent i often wonder if he

knew i wouldn’t tell years later when
i did he said he could remember

nothing but admitted it could’ve
happened a decade keeping secrets

and keeping them alone that hurt most
father asking if i loved him and

saying to not tell a secret we
must keep and me wanting to escape

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Today’s guest judge is…

Thomas Lux

Thomas Lux’s most recent book of poems is Child Made of Sand (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012). Selected Poems is due from Bloodaxe Books this fall.

He is also the author of several other books, including The Cradle Place and God Particles. In addition to poetry collections, Tom is the author of From the Southland, a book of literary nonfiction.

He holds the Bourne Chair in Poetry and is director of the McEver Visiting Writers Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been awarded multiple NEA grants and the Kingsley Tufts Award and is a former Guggenheim Fellow.

Click here to learn more.

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Poem Your Heart Out

Poems, Prompts & Room to Add Your Own for the 2014 April PAD Challenge!

Words Dance Publishing is offering 20% off pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology until May 1st! If you’d like to learn a bit more about our vision for the book, when it will be published, among other details.

Click to continue.

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems. The title poem from that collection is about the relationship mentioned in the poem above. Learn more about Robert here: http://www.robertleebrewer.com/.

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Color your life with these poetic posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 18.
• What Is the Value of Poetry?
• Luc Bat Poems: Poetic Form.

One of the cool things I was asked to do already this year is to be a guest judge at the InterBoard Poetry Community for the first three months of the year. It was fun reading through the submissions each month, and my last round of judging recently went live on the site. Click here to read the winners

For today’s prompt, write a weather poem. A weather poem can be a poem about a hurricane or tornado; it can be a poem about the weatherperson; it can be a poem about forgetting an umbrella on a rainy day; it can be big; it can be small; etc.

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Click to continue

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Here’s my attempt at a Weather Poem:

“my brother, the storm chaser”

my brother is a storm chaser
i am a storm racer my brother
chases after storms i race from them

my brother looks at online data
& knows where tornadoes will drop
i just see a big red & green blob

of potential destruction my
brother is the guy everyone
in my family wants to discuss

i am happy to fly under
the radar & stay out of harm’s way
& pray for my baby brother’s health

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Today’s guest judge is…

Nin Andrews

Nin Andrews

Nin’s poems and stories have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies including Ploughshares, The Paris Review, Best American Poetry (1997, 2001, 2003, 2013), and Great American Prose Poems.

She won an individual artist grant from the Ohio Arts Council in 1997 and again in 2003 and is the author of several books including six chapbooks and five full-length collections.

Her next book, Why God Is a Woman, is due out from BOA Editions in 2015.

Learn more here: http://www.amazon.com/Nin-Andrews/e/B001JOVUG.

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Click to continue

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Weather the day with these poetic posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 17

Yesterday afternoon, I posted about the value of poetry (at least in my eyes). Spoiler alert: It’s more than just publication credits and rolling around in hundred dollar bills. In fact, it has nothing to do with either. Click here to check it out and share your thoughts

For today’s prompt, write a pop culture poem. I guess I broke out the Bon Jovi a day early, eh? But hey, write a poem about Bon Jovi or Van Halen; write a poem about the Kardashians (or don’t–and say you did); write a poem about a popular SNL skit; write a poem about Dr. Who or Downton Abbey; write a poem about any kind of popular culture thing-a-ma-bob you wish. In fact, write three! (Just kidding; you only need to write one poem–but seriously, write three and be sure to add a little more cowbell.)

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Workshop your poetry!

Click here to learn more

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Here’s my attempt at a Pop Culture Poem:

“Much Ado”

I wanted to write a poem on James
Franco, but it turned out too obvious,
because he writes his poetry the same
as Jewel, and I’m not the fool who’ll discuss
what is or is not good poetry. My
poems have their own flaws and unspoken
laws of engagement. Shia LaBeouf cried
in his paper bag over Miley’s tongue–
they’re both young, and I do not understand
kids these days [or adults, for that matter
(like I fell asleep and a complex strand
of the '80s took hold--but it's sadder,
more self-aware)]. I miss all the good times
when poems were filled with funtastic rhymes.

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Today’s guest judge is…

Mary Biddinger

Mary Biddinger

Mary is the author of multiple collections, including Saint Monica and O Holy Insurgency. Her collection A Sunny Place With Adequate Water

Mary has received two Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards in Creative Writing for her poetry: one in 2010, the other 2007.

In addition to all this, she also edits the Akron Series in Poetry and the Akron Series in Contemporary Poetics for the University of Akron Press.

Learn more here: http://www.marybiddinger.com/

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Click to continue

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Get more than pop culture here:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 16

I can’t help it. Days 15 and 16 of these challenges always gets a certain song stuck in my head. You know, this song by an American rock band from New Jersey that used to be kinda cool in the ’80s. You know, that song, “bada, bada, whoooaaaahhh, we’re half-way theeeerreee; ooooooo, livin’ on a prayer; take my hand and we’ll make it I sweeaaarrrr; oooooo, livin’ on a prayer (livin’ on a prayer).” If you have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t worry; it just means you’re either older or younger than me and haven’t fully enjoyed Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” yet. Click here to watch the video on YouTube

For today’s prompt, write an elegy. An elegy doesn’t have specific formal rules. Rather, it’s a poem for someone who has died. In fact, elegies are defined as “love poems for the dead” in John Drury’s The Poetry Dictionary. Of course, we’re all poets here, which means everything can be bent. So yes, it’s perfectly fine if you take this another direction–for instance, I once wrote an elegy for card catalogs. Have at it!

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Workshop your poetry!

Click here to learn more

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Here’s my attempt at an Elegy:

“betty”

i began collecting things
foil and pizza boxes and
country western vhs tapes
and lighthouses and native
american figurines and i
piled them up beside your
grave that grew less fresh
every day and still i ran
out into the street asking
for donations at red lights
and bringing treasures to pile
up in the elements and then
i climbed to the top of this
massive mound to proclaim
myself king and to pray and
to sacrifice and to feel winds
weather me but i’ve come
to realize the days begin and
end the same the trees still
blossom and birds arrive and
depart and nothing i can do
will bring you back to me

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Today’s guest judge is…

Bob Hicok

Bob Hicok

Bob is the author of several poetry collections, including This Clumsy Living, Words for Empty and Words for Full, and most recently Elegy Owed

His poems have appeared in Poetry, The New Yorker, and Best American Poetry. His collections Elegy Owed and Animal Soul have been finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Learn more here: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/1126

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Click to continue

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Console yourselves with these poetic posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 15

Want to learn more about me than you thought you could possibly handle in one interview? Great! One of my favorite poets, Nin Andrews, interviewed me over on the Best American Poetry Blog. The interview shares so many secrets that somebody will probably make a movie based off the interview. Okay, maybe not, but still, it’s a good read (I’ve been told by someone who’s not related to me). Click here to read

For today’s prompt, we actually have a Two-for-Tuesday prompt:

• Write a love poem. Love, it’s such a big 4-letter word that can mean so much to so many for a variety of interpretations. Friendly love, sexual love, dorky love, all-encompassing love, jealous love, anxious love, love beaten with a baseball bat, hot love, big love, blues love, greeting card love, forgiving love, greedy love, love in a music video, and so on and so forth.
• Write an anti-love poem. Well, kinda like love, but take it back the other way.

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Combine the expert instruction on the craft and business of writing with thousands of publishing opportunities for writers trying to get publishedClick here to learn more

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Here’s my attempt at a Love and/or Anti-Love Poem:

“first sight”

i surrender you render me
as a fragile kite on your string
or as some flashy one-night fling
choose me use me baby bruise me
if that is what you want to do
to me i see where we are gone
begin the night don’t leave ’til dawn
amaze me crazy make me blue
but honey please don’t make me guess
let the sun rise let the sun shine
tell me sugar that you are mine
as i am yours yes i confess
if this is love let it be true
i’ve surrendered myself to you

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Today’s guest judge is…

Barbara Hamby

Barbara Hamby

Barbara is the author of five books of poems, most recently On the Street of Divine Love: New and Selected Poems

She teaches at Florida State University where she is Distinguished University Scholar.

Learn more at: www.barbarahamby.com

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Click to continue

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Here are some poetic posts you may love:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 14

Yesterday, I mentioned how guest judges Daniel Nester and Vince Gotera suggested possible poetry prompts. Well, today’s guest judge, Jericho Brown, is only one who requested a specific day to be a guest: Today, April 14. I’m not sure if this is because it’s the day Pulitzer finalists and winners are announced

For today’s prompt, take the phrase “If I Were (blank),” replace the blank with a word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write the poem. Possible titles might include: “If I Were President,” “If I Were Smarter,” “If I Were a Little More Sensitive,” or “If I Were Born on April 14.” If I were you, I’d get poeming about now.

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Learn how to get your poetry published with the assistance of the 2014 Poet’s Market

Plus, it contains articles on the craft, business, and promotion of poetry. There are interviews with poets, original poems, and so much more!

Click to continue

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Here’s my attempt at an If I Were Blank poem:

“if i were any more good looking”

the sun would explode into a black hole
& i’d be the event horizon that draws
the universe in upon itself

women would oooohhh
& men would aaaahhh

it would be impossible to keep a date
because it would be impossible
to get anywhere without numbers
& underwear tossed in my direction

lucky for me my dna stopped
just short of perfection
because if i were any more good looking
i wouldn’t be able to find a mirror
cloudy enough to pull me away
from my wonderful reflection

i’m not sorry for what i lack
because my deck’s already stacked
& besides from my point of view
if i were any more good looking
i’d be looking a lot like you

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Today’s guest judge is…

Jericho Brown

Jericho Brown

Jericho is the author of Please and the forthcoming The New Testament

Jericho taught at the University of San Diego until 2012, when he became a professor at Emory University (in Atlanta, GA).

A former speechwriter for the Mayor of New Orleans, Jericho has had his poetry published in several publications, including The Iowa Review, New England Review, and Oxford American.

Learn more here: http://www.jerichobrown.com/

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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If I were you, I’d check out these other poetic posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 13

I often come up with prompts for my weekly Wednesday Poetry Prompts on the fly. However, I try to get all my prompts for the monthly challenges set before the month starts–to avoid “prompt block.” For that reason, I had to turn down two good prompt ideas from the guest judges: Vince Gotera wanted to do something related to hay(na)ku and today’s judge Daniel Nester wanted to do a sestina prompt. I’ve done the sestina prompt before, and it drove many poets crazy (still littering asylums across the globe). I was tempted to change my prompt, but decided to hold firm–so nobody is obligated to write a sestina for today’s prompt (but if you want extra credit, both Nester and myself would love to see a few sestinas today). Click here to learn about the sestina

For today’s prompt, write an animal poem. Pick a specific animal or write about your animal spirit. Maybe you’ll get tricky and write about mustangs (meaning the car) or jaguars (meaning the American football team). Maybe you’ll do an acrostic, or even go crazy and write a sestina (crickets).

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Learn how to get your poetry published with the assistance of the 2014 Poet’s Market

Plus, it contains articles on the craft, business, and promotion of poetry. There are interviews with poets, original poems, and so much more!

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Here’s my attempt at an Animal Poem:

“Animal Sestina”

First thing’s first, I must pick an animal.
My logical first choice is the cheetah,
because I’m first and foremost about speed,
though in high school I was often called horse–
as much for my long stride as my long hair–
still today, I resemble platypus

as I’m hard to classify. Platypus,
frankly speaking, is a weird animal:
It has a bill, otter feet, and hair;
did I mention it’s venomous? Cheetahs,
on the one hand, are faster than a horse;
every molecule seems built for speed,

but there’s more to picking end words than speed.
After all, some end words, like platypus,
are harder to use. Meanwhile, the word horse
is easier, not for the animal
but syllables–three to one. The cheetah
offers two syllables and spotted hair;

they eat gazelles and zebras, even hares.
Their sprinting prey dictates a need for speed;
there’s no such thing as a chubby cheetah.
Though they store fat in their tails, platypus
are not the heaviest of animals–
maybe five pounds. Definitely the horse

weighs a lot more. For instance, race horses
can hit 1,000 pounds. Beneath their hair
are the thick muscles of an animal
bred over generations for top speeds,
kind of opposite from the platypus.
Speaking of breeding, the shallow cheetah

pool of genetics means there aren’t cheetah
variations the same as with horses,
though I’m not really sure on platypus.
One thing is certain: I must prefer hair
over genetics and relative speed,
at least when we’re discussing animals.

I’m an animal, but I’m no cheetah–
lost my speed, though I may still be a horse
with short hair, storing fat like platypus.

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Today’s guest judge is…

Daniel Nester

Daniel Nester

Daniel is the author of How to Be Inappropriate, God Save My Queen I and II, and is editor of The Incredible Sestina Anthology.

His writing has appeared in N+1,  The New York Times, The Morning News, The Daily Beast, The Best American Poetry, The Best Creative Nonfiction, Third Rail: The Poetry of Rock and Roll, and Now Write! Nonfiction.

He teaches writing at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY

Learn more here: DanielNester.com

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Feed your poetic animal spirit with these posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 12

Wow! What a turnout this year for the poetry challenge! Chances are pretty good that by the end of the weekend, we’ll have more than 10,000 comments on the prompts–with a chance at surpassing 20,000 for the month. That’s a lot! And if you’re trying to follow a specific poet (even yourself), it can turn into a challenge (within the challenge).

That’s why I’d like to thank Anders Bylund for continuing to make his poetry challenge search tool available to everyone. Go to http://gowrite.me/pad.pl?writer=&day=year_2014

For today’s prompt, write a city poem. The poem can take place in a city, can remember the city (in a general sense), be an ode to a specific city, or well, you should know the drill by now. City poem: Write it!

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Learn how to get your poetry published with the assistance of the 2014 Poet’s Market

Plus, it contains articles on the craft, business, and promotion of poetry. There are interviews with poets, original poems, and so much more!

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Here’s my attempt at a City Poem:

“cincinnati”

shattered glass & cigarette butts
she doesn’t need him anymore

& he knows he’s a no parking sign
every fire hydrant a marker

keeper of unspoken secrets
shoes hanging from phone wires

they exist together but travel
separately when trains pass

they both think of escape

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Today’s guest judge is…

Victoria Chang

Victoria Chang

Victoria’s third book of poems, The Boss

Her poems have been published in Kenyon Review, POETRY, American Poetry Review, Colorado Review, The Washington Post, Best American Poetry, and other places.

You can find her at www.victoriachangpoet.com

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Peruse “The Street” of the Poetry Blogosphere:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 11

One of the refrains from the Austin International Poetry Festival was, “Buy the book!” During poetry month, it’s not a bad refrain. In that vein, I want to remind people about pre-orders for the Poem Your Heart Out anthology, which will collect the best poem from each day of this challenge, along with a prompt and space to add your own poem. Pre-orders are marked down 20% until May 1, so be sure to buy the book today. Click to continue

For today’s prompt, make a statement the title of your poem and either respond to or expand upon the title. Some example titles might include: “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy;” “Guns Don’t Kill People, I Do;” “This Is Your Brain on Drugs;” “Smile for the Camera,” and “Be Kind Rewind.” Of course, there’s an incredible number of possible titles; pick one and start poeming!

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Workshop Your Poetry!

Break out of a rut or jump start your revision process with the Advanced Poetry Course

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Here’s my attempt at a Statement Poem:

“Buy the Book

“You can do more than merely look,”
she said out loud, looking at me.
“Open your wallet, buy the book.”

So I paid her the cash it took
and found a seat in the cafe
thinking I could take a quick look

anonymously in my nook
while sipping hot sweetened coffee.
Opened my wallet, bought that book,

and let myself hang on a hook
feeling somewhat literary,
I did do more than merely look.

Thinking, feeling until I shook–
those words did a real job on me,
but I was glad I bought the book.

So don’t treat poets like they’re crooks
just because their line breaks aren’t free:
You can do more than merely look;
open your wallet, buy the book.

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Today’s guest judge is…

Joseph Mills

Joseph Mills

A faculty member at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Joseph Mills holds an endowed chair, the Susan Burress Wall Distinguished Professorship in the Humanities.

He has published four collections of poetry with Press 53, including Sending Christmas Cards to Huck and Hamlet

Joseph’s fifth collection, This Miraculous Turning, will be released in September 2014.

More information about his work is available at www.josephrobertmills.com

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Make a statement by reading others:

• Jane Shlensky: Poet Interview

Quick note on selecting poems for the anthology: I plan to pull poems on average 5-7 days after the prompt is first posted. So I’ve pulled poems from days 1-3. Poets can keep sharing, but they won’t be considered for the anthology. Soon, I’ll pull day 4, and so it will proceed.

For today’s prompt, write a future poem. The future might mean robots and computer chips. The future might mean apocalyptic catastrophes. The future might mean peace and understanding. The future might mean 1,000 years into the future; it might mean tomorrow (or next month). I forecast several poems in the near future to be shared below.

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Workshop Your Poetry!

Break out of a rut or jump start your revision process with the Advanced Poetry Course

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Here’s my attempt at a Future Poem:

“fortunes”

you are going to die
that much is certain

also you will experience great joy
and tremendous sorrow in your life
before you eventually die

at times you will feel as if
everyone is out to get you
and that everything hits at once
then you will die

there will be other times
when the world feels designed
just for you and your happiness
though ultimately you’ll kick the bucket

you may wish to know when
and how and if there’s a way out
but that will cost you extra
and you’re still going to die

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Today’s guest judge is…

Nate Pritts

Nate Pritts

Nate is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Right Now More Than Ever

He founded H_NGM_N, an online journal and small press, and continues to serve as Director. Nate lives in the Finger Lakes region of New York.

Learn more here: http://www.h-ngm-n.com/nate-pritts/

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Poetic posts to check out…in the future!

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 9

Before we get into today’s prompt, I just want to address a few common questions I’ve been asked recently: Who can join the challenge? Anyone (any age, any level of experience, any location, and so on). When can they jump in? Anytime (like if you haven’t participated in the first 8 days, you can get poeming today). Is it all right to bend (or even break) the prompt? Heck yeah. The prompt is just a springboard; you decide where, when, and how to jump. So let’s get jumping!

For today’s prompt, write a shelter poem. Shelter might be a structure like a house, apartment, or hotel. Shelter could be a tent or cardboard box. Shelter could be an umbrella, overpass, cave, or car. Shelter could be a state of mind, part of a money laundering scheme, or any number of interpretations.

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Workshop Your Poetry!

Break out of a rut or jump start your revision process with the Advanced Poetry Course

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Here’s my attempt at a Shelter Poem:

“among the ruins”

the houses are crumbling
and the barns slant their way
to earth in the city

factories are silent
no metal on metal
or middle managers

barking at their workers
for the faults of machines
ohio is a knife

abandoned to weather
fighting against the rust
that turns us all to dust

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Today’s guest judge is…

Kelli Russell Agodon

Kelli Russell Agodon

Kelli is a poet, writer, and editor from the Northwest. She’s the author of the newly released, Hourglass Museum (White Pine Press, 2014) and The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts for Your Writing Practice, which she coauthored with Martha Silano. Her other books include Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room, Small Knots, Geography, and Fire On Her Tongue: An Anthology of Contemporary Women’s Poetry, which she edited with Annette Spaulding-Convy. Kelli is the co-founder of Two Sylvias Press and was the editor of Crab Creek Review for the last six years. She lives in a small seaside town where she is an avid mountain biker, paddleboarder, and hiker.  She loves dessert, museums, and typewriters.

Learn more about her at her website: www.agodon.com

Her press, Two Sylvias Press, recently launched a Kickstarter Campaign for The Poet Tarot: A Deck & Guidebook into Creative Exploration, which you can learn about and support here: http://bit.ly/PoetTarotKickstarter

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Feel free to use Poetic Asides as your poetry shelter:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: Day 8

Spent yesterday catching up on sleep after attending the super fun Austin International Poetry Festival with Tammy. If you’ve had any issues with posting or anything else related to the challenge, please send me an e-mail at [email protected]

Today is a Tuesday, so two prompts:

• Write a violent poem. Could be person on person violence, person on animal, animal on animal, nature on person/animal/nature, and so on (insects, erosion, cosmos, etc.).
• Write a peaceful poem. I suppose this might be the opposite of a violent poem. But perhaps not.

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Combine the expert instruction on the craft and business of writing with thousands of publishing opportunities for writers trying to get publishedClick here to learn more

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Here’s my attempt at a Violent and/or Peaceful Poem:

“opportunity: threat”

he presses a gun to your head
says you have just one shot at this
so you darn well best get it right

and you think i’ve never been right
in a lifetime of bad mistakes
missed opportunities always

revealing themselves afterwards
like that night in alabama
when it might have been more than lust

but then you realize the gun the man
held to your head is no longer
present and neither is the man

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Today’s guest judge is…

Tom C. Hunley

Tom C. Hunley

Tom is an associate professor of English at Western Kentucky University, the director of Steel Toe Books, and the bassist for the litcore rock band Manley Pointer. Forthcoming are his fourth full-length book, Plunk (Wayne State College Press), and an edited collection of essays called Creative Writing Studies: An Introduction to Its Pedagogies (Southern Illinois University Press).

Tom’s poems have been featured three times on The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor and five times on Verse Daily. Among his publication credits are Atlanta Review, New Orleans Review, Five Points, TriQuarterly, North American Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and New York Quarterly.

He divides his time between Kansas and Oz.

Learn more here: http://www.steeltoebooks.com/books/70.html

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Don’t get violent; find your inner peace with these posts:

• 2014 April PAD Challenge: FAQs (and Tips)

Wow! Once we finish today’s prompt/poem, we’ll be a week into the challenge. Excellent! If you missed it earlier or need a refresher, click here to check out the April PAD Challenge guidelines

For today’s prompt, write a self-portrait poem. Pretty straightforward, right? That doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of room for creativity. Just look at artists and their self-portraits; there’s a lot of differences in the self-portraits of Kahlo, Schiele, Dali, Van Gogh, and others–and not just because the artists look different themselves.

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Here’s my attempt at a Self-Portrait poem:

“meme”

i’m not here for your brain
or money but your heart
i admit i’m confused
even more than you are

i stare into mirrors
for hours and feel even
more detached than before
i found my reflection

often i feel i look
out too much to see in
and what i find either
way is much too foreign

so i’ve come for your heart
not your money or brain
i want to feel human
for once and once again

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Today’s guest judge is…

January Gill O’Neil

January Gill O’Neil

January is the author of Underlife

She is the executive director of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival

January blogs at Poet Mom

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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community and author of Solving the World’s Problems

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Tired of thinking about yourself, check out these interviews:

• Sara Tracey: Poet Interview