Identity Poem after THE CREATIVITY PROJECT, edited by Colby Sharp

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Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Jama at Jama's Alphabet Soup for what's sure to be a delicious Roundup!

 I'm in this week with a look at THE CREATIVITY PROJECT, edited by Colby Sharp. 

If you haven't seen it yet, it's a book that's kind of like an inspiration game... one children's book writer or illustrator sending a prompt to another children's book writer or illustrator. I was particularly drawn to the illustrative parts. In fact, probably 

Lisa Brown's response

 my most favorite response is by Lisa Brown to this prompt by Laurel Snyder:

“Try to think of an abstract idea. For instance, you might choose “joy” or “hunger” or “stupidity.” Now imagine that abstraction as a character It can look like a person, an animal, or a creature of your own invention. Once you've got the character in your head, set it in motion. Make it DO something. “Joy” might ride a bicycle “Hunger” might go to the movies. “Stupidity” might dig a hole Tell me the story of what happens.

Javaka Steptoe's response

Another one I loved was also visual -- this one by Javaka Steptoe in response to this prompt by Kat Yeh:

“You have a brand new audio translation app on your phone. Just as you click on it for the first time, your dog starts barking. And words begin to appear on the screen...

The book also includes prompts in the back, though one could use any of the prompts (or responses) to generate new work. Here are a few examples of some of my favorite prompts included:

Margarita Engle:

hummingbird frenzy

each whir of wings helps me feel

earthbound and dazzled

Grace Lin:

You have just met a girl named Hanrui. In Chinese, her name means “a bud just ready to bloom.”

*Naomi Shihab Nye:

Write a list of ten things you are NOT (not an astronaut, a perfectionist, a wool spinner, a butterfly, a name-caller). Then pick your favorite lines and develop, or embellish, them, adding metaphors, more description, whatever you like.

*Because I love "identity" writing prompts -- and am constantly looking for new ones since working with readers of CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR? -- this is the one I decided to tackle right away!

Here's my quick list of nots:

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not a veterinarian

not a complainer

not an athlete

not a procrastinator

not the mother of a daughter

not a party person

not a tv-watcher

not a camper

not a church-goer

not a social-media junkie

not a coffee drinker

And here's my poem:

scrapbook page from our tour
of an olive tree farm
in Napa Valley (2006)

My Name is Peace

No coffee for me;

I drink tea.

Not bubbly or bouncy;

I like to sit quietly.

No time for complaining –

I find it draining.

No procrastinating –

what's the point of waiting?

Not fragile or feathery;

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more like a knotted olive tree.

- Irene Latham

Some notes about the poem: "Irene" actually means peace -- and of course the olive tree is a symbol of peace.
I struggled a while with a descriptor for the olive tree, and when I found "knotted" it felt like a miracle... another "not" for the poem!
It's interesting to me that I ended up starting my poem with the last item on my list. It makes me wonder what my poem might have been if I'd written 20 or 30 things on my list instead... how deep might I have gone into my identity? Something to try another day!

Won't you give it a try as well?