San Jacinto College South - Houston, Texas

Writing Conference

April 11, 2003

 

POETRY OF PLACE AND MEMORY

 

During the one day Writing Conference given by San Jacinto College in April of 2003, Sol Magazine’s Managing Editor, Mary Margaret Carlisle, and educator, Kelly Ann Ellis, presented a writing workshop called Poetry of Place and Memory. 

 

Participants learned the techniques of List Poems, and how to find inspiration from everyday life.  The class chose a topic, then wrote one poem together.

 



Class Poem

Bedroom of Solitude

 

Burning candle

Whispering winds

An escape from stress

End of the day

Unparted sheets

Dreaming peaceful realities

No ringing phones

A parrot

No alarm clock

Lying down calmly

Fuzzy slippers

Sleeping cat

Pile of blankets

No judgment

 

After writing together, each poet wrote for fifteen minutes to self-created topics.  Here are the winning poems from the session.

 

 

FIRST PLACE – Sophia Kalli

Head of Illusions

 

A home of tension is no home anymore

A room of freedom, I don’t have anymore

A car I used to own

My computer was my screen to freedom

My office of anxiety, speech and honor

All behind

Did I pass through that

Did I cross the bridge

I did, but HOW?

Illusions still snatch me back

Struggle.  Anxiety.  Tension.

Reality, no, I did pass

Calmness swipes my head

But this head is never settled

STOP it

You head of illusion

 

SECOND PLACE – Brady Riddle

Isolation

 

Lone man dangles a half-smoked cigarette from idle fingers

On a shadowed stoop

Just returned from an empty corner bar

Where one watered-down drink pushed him away

He stands as a tree

In the thick forest of field grass on a flat plain

He wants to soak in a claw-footed bathtub in solitude

But is afraid it may engulf him

Like the deep end of a swimming pool

He can’t swim

He meanders down a gloomily lit sidewalk

 Five blocks to the silhouetted beach

And lets peaceful ocean waves kiss his foot

 

THIRD PLACE – Amy Collins

Bedroom Blue

 

At dusk in my bedroom

It is peaceful and blue

I imagine my world without frustrations in total solitude

The light that shines through my curtains

Is melancholy blue

It’s how I like it

No offence to you.

 

FOURTH PLACE – Larry R. Fontenot

Worry Lake

 

No stone enters water without  ripples

Like wrinkles crossing your forehead

Behind your eyes a lake shimmers

Waves of anxious thoughts

Beat against your lids, begin to leak

 

HONORABLE MENTION – Heidi Gerke

House of Joy

 

Every turn a memory

Echo of lost sounds

Toys lie under feet

Mounds of photo albums

Timeless laughter of days long past

Faces of all you love

Coming & going

Animals to fill the void

Children at play

Spaces, rooms decorated in care

A lifetime of happiness & sorrow

A place to always to return to

 

HONORABLE MENTION – Julee Ann Koshy

Beach of Solitude

 

I like to be lonely on a beach

Thinking of nothing

Let the wind bring in joy

And wipe away all the sorrows

The raindrops fall into the sea

Make little circles of desires

My heart beats so fast

As if it tries to jump out of me

I wish I could have this sight

Every day of my life like a light

I wish to end my life

On a beach of solitude

 

HONORABLE MENTION – Laura Moran

Island of Indecision

 

Barking dogs rock me into a restless doze

Projects due, exams and an endless workload

Have led me to this afternoon respite

I am a study of anguish and hope, fear and excitement

Climbing from the depths of slumber

The furry face of my cat greets me, reassures

From the sanctuary of my room

I emerge, ready to create my life

 

Others:  Chris Ballenintine, Nathaniel Davis, Samantha Davis, Jen Dulisse, Sandy Dulisse, Anuruddha Ellakkala, Mary K. Jennings, Tyson Judd, Casey Lazanne, Scot Lawden, Brooke McCormick, Ellen Moran, Evelyn Nwokorie, Taylor Palmer, Julie Pitzel, Rebecca Quinn,  Johnny Sanders

 


 

For more information about LIST POEMS, visit Sol Magazine’s POETRY FORMS feature:
 http://www.sol-magazine.org

 

Contact Mary Margaret Carlisle for more information about Poetry Workshops:  Sol.Editor@prodigy.net