I am completely taken with Brain Pickings ongoing series, “Book Spine Poetry”. The idea is that by carefully selecting a few book titles and stacking them together, you can create a free verse poem. Take a look at the serendipitous samples HERE, then add your own creation below (I know you have books just laying around, waiting to become stars in a new poem…)
P.S. If you love haiku, this is going to be your new favorite!
Create a Book Spine Poem by layering titles to make a meaningful statement. These can be books you own, or notice at your local bookstore or online. (Photo is optional, but it’s nice to at least give credit to the authors’ works and their contribution to your poem.)
Here’s an example from Maria Popova:
“I live in the future and here’s how it works: People waste and want everything in pursuit of the unknown.”
- I Live in the Future & Here’s How It Works by Nick Bilton
- People by Blexbolex
- Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash by Susan Strasser
- Blabber Blabber Blabber: Volume 1 of Everything by Lynda Barry
- In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World by Ian Stewart
I noticed that I had rather a lot of education titles, so I went with this theme:
The Good-Enough Child or
Toilet-Trained for Yale?
Hey! Listen to This:
Stories to Read Aloud
Give your child a Superior Mind
Raising A Reader;
School Starts At Home
My book sources are:
The Good Enough Child, by Brad Sachs
Toilet-Trained for Yale, by Ralph Schoenstein
Hey! Listen to This: Stories to Read Aloud, by Jim Trelease
Give Your Child A Superior Mind, by Siegfried and Therese Engelmann
Raising A Reader, by Jennie Nash
School Starts At Home, by Cheri Fuller
Add your poem below in the comments, or link to your site and visit other writers by clicking the happy frog below!
You can add the happy frog link to your page by visiting here for the script…
Be a regular in the Reason 2 Rhyme Poetry Ring (here’s how that works…)
- Monday Poetry Prompt – check this site for the week’s inspiration
- Share your poem in the comment section, or link to the site where you have it posted
- Visit other circle members and comment, like, or share their post
- Friday Feature – one participant will be randomly drawn from the circle to be featured on this site
That’s it! Haiku, Cinquain, Sonnet, Villanelle, Blank Verse, Free Form, Limerick… it’s all welcome!
Karen B. Nelson 