Page Contents

• Intensive Workshop Announced
• 2010 Workshop Information
• 2010 Prompt Me Information

January's Workshop: The 8 most popular tips on how to make sense of the poetry submission process.  Poetry Works Workshops meets Sunday, January 3rd, Seabrook Coffee Oasis, Kirby Drive at NASA Parkway, at 3:45 pm. RSVP required to attend.  Write to Sol.Editor@prodigy.net with your cell phone number; include your full name unless your e-mail contains your name.  (House phone number ok, but cell phone preferred in case the meeting is cancelled at the last minute.)

Bring x-number of copies of a one-page titled poem. Put your name on the poem, please. To know how many copies to bring, RSVP by noon on Saturday, January 2nd. No fee to attend this 2010 organizational meeting to discuss the kinds of workshops attendees would like to participate in this year.   One idea was to create and produce an anthology containing participant work.

We will begin with introductions, then a fifteen minute writing to a given topic, then go on to the workshop.  Critique after the workshop.

Note One:  Poetry Works Workshops has a yearly membership fee of $10.00, due before sign-up for the second workshop.  Workshops fees in 2010 are $10.00 per individual session, except for the January workshop.  Cash is ok, but please put it in an envelope with your name on it so we can keep track of who paid.  Thanks.

Note Two:  Seabrook Coffee Oasis has good food, great coffee, excellent desserts, and now serves beer and wine.  Rental of the private Enterprise Room is $20.00 an hour.  We may be in the room for 2-4 hours. Eating and drinking counts toward room rental.  Please obtain a receipt for any purchase during the workshop, and list the cost on the sheet provided by the workshop leader.  IMPORTANT:  Attendees are asked to either purchase something to help defray the cost of the room or drop an extra $5.00 into the workshop kitty.
 

Are you a poet, with a real interest in writing more than you do now? If so, Sol Magazine's Poetry Works Workshops begins the new year with a month of interactive poetry prompts in January, spirit willing, creeks don't rise, the editor holds up, and the poets hang in.

Write to: [Sol.Editor @ prodigy.net] - actual address has no brackets or spaces - with full name and preferred e-mail address. No one will be added to the list after that date.

You will receive a list of writing prompts once a week. Reply every day with a poem that was written to that particular day's writing prompt, but reply only on the day for which the prompt was meant. No early or late poems will be accepted [we go by the e-mail date stamp, not when it actually gets here]. If you have a question, do NOT include it in the same note as an exercise poem. Put Question in the subject line of your note, please. Thanks.

Each week's poems will arrive the day before that week begins.

Procedure:

1) Set an alarm (a clock, or kitchen timer, or any other device you wish) for fifteen minutes.
2) Write for fifteen minutes. Do not edit as you write your exercise poem.
3) Then or later, reset your alarm for fifteen minutes. Edit, and title. Send in. We encourage you to continue to write and polish, but only after you've sent in the exercise poem. Do not use the topic as a title. Be creative.
4) Put the topic in the subject line of your note. Put your title above your poem. Put your full name under your poem.
5) Send your exercise poem in that day before midnight. If it's date stamped a day early, or a day late, it won't be read, nor will it be counted.

NOTE: Put the name of the topic, and only the name of the topic in the subject line of your note. Do NOT put Sol Magazine, or Poetry Works Workshops, or Prompt Me Award, or the date for which the poem was meant.

Example of a fictitious week of prompts:

July 2010 - Week One
Thursday July 1, 2010: Parades
Friday July 2, 2010: Banners
Saturday July 3, 2010: Fireworks
Sunday July 4, 2010: Celebration

On Thursday, July 1st, you would put only the topic, Parades, in subject line of your note.

No comments will be made on exercise poems, nor will they be published. These are exercise poems! Nothing is very polished if written quickly then edited for only fifteen minutes.

IMPORTANT: To receive the next week's list of prompts, you must reply with a poem at least five times each week (the only exceptions - the first week is two days long, and the last week is one day long). Many drop out because they find this kind of exercise too limiting. But remember, if you have time to watch tv, you have time for this. You can write the poem before you go to work, and edit it later in the day. Up to you.

The rules are particular and stringent for a several reasons. First, our goal is to get you writing as often as possible, and to help you develop the ability to find inspiration in any topic. A glass of water. A cloud. A newspaper headline. Anything. Second, presses, journals, and competitions demand careful following of guidelines; these exercises provide good practice for that. Poetry is communication. To communicate creatively, yet clearly, carefully, and quickly is paramount.

PROMPT ME POETRY AWARD: At the beginning of February, those who have replied with at least 20 poems will be invited to write to one of the topics provided during January (final topic to be revealed later). A book gift card will be given to the best poem. We will not publish the poem at our website, although we will reveal the winner's name to those who participate in the final competition.

NOTE: You are welcome to invite your friends to join, but they must do so by writing directly to the address provided.

PROMPTS OUTSIDE THE GROUP: You may use the prompts provided by Sol Magazine for your own group, but only if you first ask for permission, and then acknowledge they originated with Sol Magazine's Poetry Works Workshop.
Thanks.