31 Aug 2020 Instapoetry – Responses to the 24 Aug 2020 Invitation

 Isn’t this great!? If you read last week’s post on 24 August, you know that I put forth an invitation (See A below) to write one or more “instapoems” (See B below for “rules”)for publication on this very blog on Monday(s) in the near future. Little did I know that an appetite for the form existed prior to my post last week. And you, wonderful readers, opened the floodgates. Well, maybe not “flood gates,” but not a slow trickle either. 

Permit me to shout out a big “thank you” for our first two instapoets for their courage, for their inspiration, for their skill, and for their willingness to go forth where no poets (at least in Wannaska) have gone before! Engage! Let’s see what’s out there!

Today, I present 4 of the poems that were submitted early on; in fact, one writer sent 3 the very day the invitation was issued. First up is one by our very own WannaskaWriter. The poem is enigmatic and explicit simultaneously. Note how WW follows the guidelines (again, see B below) with the exception of a few capital letters thrown in at the beginning of stanzas (OMG – stanzas?!), with a generous complement of commas. Oh well. The Instapoem “rules” beg for deviation from themselves. Makes one wonder about other poetry rules, eh? Actually, language rules in general. Spoken language even more so. And what about nonverbal cues? And what about dream language? “Somebody stop me!” as Jim Carrey would say.

If you had a place . . . you'd dress like this?

by WannaskaWriter

Prison life has affected you 

obviously

to think of one day dressing in frilly, 

close-bodiced, 

off-the-shoulder things,

and necklaces whose baubles hang

enticingly

in the cleavage 

of your man boobs

lolling in pointy cups.

Least you're not dressing like a fetching whore, 

but instead

merely a person waiting their place in line

at the Iowa Drivers License Bureau

appreciating the view of the river

in a state where only corn and beans

grow

and Harvester silos

stand empty 

except for a few old pigeon

and sparrow nests.

Yes, the subject of the painting

inspires the observer

if not the price on its frame

but I hope you won't be going back

to the hoosegow

for theft of her image

with your getaway camera.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Next up is another artist wielding his poetry pen. Mr. Chairman, sometimes known as King Squib graces the page/screen with his typical wit. He is the writer who sent in THREE Instapoems on the day the Invitation was sent.

# 1:

The clown

The joker

Skates upon

Thin ice

Above the molten core

Below the burning star

Black rock

Black space

The joker skates

Haha

# 2:

We wonder what our dog thinks

I know the pig

Fill up

The fish

Drink deep

The sloth

Zzzzzz

and # 3:

I turned the car key

The starter said click

I opened a letter

It started Dear John

The video loading

Says try try again

Yes I have troubles

They say I’m alive

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A. INVITATION: 

The honor of your presence is requested. You are invited to write one or more Instapoems. If you RSVP that you accept the invitation, please send your Instapoem(s) to catherineastenzel@gmail.com  Indicate whether or not you approve of having your work included in a Monday post. “Rules” follow this invitation. After “Rules,” please find Instapoem examples to get you started.

B. RULES:* 

Feel free to ignore some or all of the guidance that follows.

• maximum 25 lines in a font size you can read without squinting
• imagine the poem fitting on a smart-phone screen
• made up of brief lines, sometimes mono-syllables
• often hints at what will happen in the future
• no capitalization or punctuation
• rhyme is permitted but discouraged
• employ sensory imagination, especially the visual
• usually deals with the present moment and the sense that the poet didn’t spend a lot of time on the poem
• what matters is “spewed-up realness”
• Consider a statement by a practitioner of Instapoetry, Charly Cox, “I didn’t know a thing. It just knew how to feel.

*Most of these “rules” and other content can be found in “Instapoetry,” a short essay published in the 21 May 2020 issue of The London Review of Books, pages 34-35.