Letters
Today's Poetry Jam prompt is LETTERS. Letter writing is becoming a lost art, isn't it? I still have in my possession letters I wrote to my parents when I went to college. What a treasure they are now.
I used to write letters to various pen pals I had in Europe. I was so excited when I found a letter from a pen pal in my home mailbox, and I wasted no time writing back. And when I put my letter to a pen pal in the mailbox, I knew that it would be at least two weeks before I could possibly hear back again. I loved writing and receiving letters. How about you? (Today I am still in touch with one of these pen friends, but instead of letters we either write emails or speak in instant messages. How time has changed! And there are no more hard copies.)
I wonder if people write love letters any more, or if they communicate love only in email or in text messages. I wonder if this has the same feeling as actually HOLDING a love letter in hand did. Somehow I don't think so. I wonder if anyone really writes hand-written letters anymore for any reason. Will handwriting soon be a lost art? I know I personally savor individual handwritten letters or cards when I receive them in the mail. They are rare in this day and age when most mail seems to be advertisements or bills.
My preference for this challenge would be that you write your poem in the form of a letter or perhaps a letter and its response. The letter can be to anyone: real, imaginary, living, dead, a family member, a historical person.You can, of course, invent a situation and write a letter or letters. If you choose to also write a poetic letter response, that is up to you as well.
Or, another option, if you don't want to write your poem as a letter, then at least write a poem that includes letters somehow. What has your relationship been with letters over the years? What are the most meaningful letters you have received? Sent? Etc.
I will be looking forward to reading and commenting on your poetry this week. I also would like to encourage those who link their poems to visit othes who share their poems. That is the fun, isn't it? "Visiting" others and being "visited' in return!
Mary who resides much of the time at In the Corner of My Eye.
pretty cool prompt....letter writing is a dying thing sadly it seems....got mine ready for first thing in the morning...
ReplyDeleteVery cool prompt - you may have started a movement of people sending handwritten letters to friends.....I do miss that. The mail used to be my biggest thrill, even when the letters were just from my mom and grandma. Would LOVE to get one from them now!
ReplyDeleteI miss getting real mail too! It's nice to get emails, but it's not the same when it's instant.
ReplyDeleteI was an extreme letter writer in my day--lived for it--pages and pages. Now emails and texts are my medium, but I do miss the beautiful stationary and pens--the thrill of a letter in my mailbox. Great prompt--really fun!!
ReplyDeleteLovely prompt.
ReplyDeleteWith the disappearance of handwritten letters, we also lost the handwriting itself. Luckily I saved some and really enjoy getting them out again from time to time.
Have we lost more than we gained with this e-revolution? Not sure. In the balance I suppose.
alright i am back...and mine is up...on my way around...
ReplyDeleteHave not poetry jammed in a long time, not since it was poetry bus I think. Just feeling inspired by this prompt.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing everyone
martine
I really am enjoying the poems everyone is sharing and also the discussion of letter writing here. And, a warm welcome to Martine! Glad you found your way back.
ReplyDeleteGreat prompt Mary :)
ReplyDeleteI've been following your blog for a while but have been too tentative a poet to try a prompt. Today, my muse insisted! So here I am, a would-be poet, excited to join this poetic conversation. I loved this prompt and feel I may even have a few more 'letters' in me.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Barbara!
DeleteHi You All! Really, once you post, don't forget to take a run through others' poems and comments. Truly there really aren't that many links to make this difficult to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteGood prompt Mary. Even though it took me a while to settle on a poem the prompt took me to so many memories. Letter writing was a major thing for me growing up and even as a younger adult. I several times gave specific friends the gift of a letter a week for a year. In fact letter writing for me flowed right into e-mail writing. I think e-mail has saved the art of letter writing. Think of all the people you get e-mail from who you would never hear from by letter! Off to read and comment more now.
ReplyDeleteI used to make an art of letter writing to friends, and that stopped in graduate school when I could have been on the Moon for all the attention I paid to friends or family. I will take up this challenge again with the depth of letter writing in mind. For this, I wrote "letter to the editor" style on a controversial subject but complicated it by using an oddly humorous form.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMY heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,
Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains
One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:
(Keats --- Ode to a Nightingale)
Hmmmmm, Richard, you seem to have removed your poem from your blog post on the subject of 'letters,' so I just deleted your link. Too bad. It was a good poem.
DeleteThank you for the fab prompt look forward to reading other people letters x
ReplyDeleteThank you. It took me a while and a few attempts that were ripped to pieces. But I finally thought of something. Thank you for challenging us each week!
ReplyDeleteGreat prompt this week....hope everyone has a great weekend! :-)
ReplyDeleteAm late..so linking here..
ReplyDeleteone of them.. http://almaveras.tumblr.com/post/27983968218/ee-ai-g-ach-t