The Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest Day 1

Welcome Everyone!

Today is the first day of the Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest!
(And if you live near a 7-11 you can get a free slurpee- Could this day get any better?!?)

The Linky is still open to anyone who would like to join.
1. Follow this blog
2. Put your information in the Linky below
3. Post a poem or write about poetry on your blog (today through Thursday)
4. Then Friday, when everyone's poem is posted, go around and check them out.
Full details HERE

So come and join the party!

Don't forget to earn points
Tweet about the 'fest
FB about the 'fest
AND MORE

To start things off right I will post a poem of my own

Pink leggings

Punch stained shirt

Chubby toes in white leather sandals

I’m pretty sure that I know who is standing over me

Blocking the glaring sun

Stepping on my hair

And dripping popsicle on my face

(Remember that I'm a poet-in-process, so go easy. Now, I'm excited to read all of your poems)

SIGN UP HERE!

Larry, Curly, and Schmoetry

Why the Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest?

Written by an ignorant schmignorant prose writer

I only had one teacher in my life who really liked my poetry. 

Only one.

He wore tight black jeans, black ‘granny’ boots and spiked his hair. His classroom was plastered with posters of The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Depeche Mode. He had a large rug in the center of the room and walked around kicking at the corners of that rug while he lectured us on symbolism and sonnets.

If I am to be honest with myself, I know he was obsessed with the poet Percy Shelley. Perhaps my name had more to do with my success than my poems. That and the fact that I basically reworded Depeche Mode songs for my assignments. (J/K)

So why am I hosting a poetry blogfest,
if I don't consider myself a poet?

Reason #1- I attended LDStorymakers in May and was told TWICE in one day that I should be studying poetry (and song lyrics) to tighten my fiction novels.

Reason #2- Dan Wells of the I Am Not A Serial Killer fame has encouraged people to memorize poetry all through the month of June. This man writes horror and memorizes poems. How awesome is that?!?! His challenge got me thinking...

Reason #3-

Because I think ALL writers should appreciate poetry.
What? You can’t tell me what to appreciate!
Yes, I can. Now finish your peas!

I appreciate poetry, as a writer, for these reasons:

Brevity- I love that brevity is 3 syllables! Oh the delicious irony. But really poetry must keep things brief (Brief- one syllable.) In a society of 30 second commercials, two minute Vlogs, and 140 character Twitter, brevity is not only appreciated, it is essential. Some people will trudge through a 900 page novel, but there are people who will refuse to read it based PURELY on its size. If you can become a master of words, you can tell the same story in 600 pages, or better yet, 450.

Carefully chosen language- Poets don’t have forever to tell their stories, so they choose words that will give the best picture with the fewest words. They eat, sleep, and breathe, their thesauruses because they have to. I only wish I had the vocabulary of a good poet.

Language of the senses- Poetry is really good at engaging the senses. I read somewhere once that people really like writing that reaches more than one sense. I can't figure out where I read it so chalk it up to a study that I made up. But think about writing that you like. Is it that way?

BUT!!! ("Everyone I know has a big 'But.’ C'mon, Simone, let's talk about your big 'But""—name that movie—)

I don't like all kinds of poetry. I don't think you have to like all kinds. Just like I don't like all novels. There isn't a good poem and a bad poem just like there isn't a bad novel or a good novel. There is just your poem or novels that touches you. Or your novel or poems that make you think.

That is why this blogfest is called Poetry Schmoetry. I hope to sluff the pretention that normally accompanies the word poetry.

Poetry can be fun!

So please consider joining the fun in the 
Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest. 

Poetry By My Seven-Year-Old

Introducing a poem by my clever daughter.

To do a moo

You need a kazoo

The kazoo will moo

If you wear a tutu

My cute daughter overheard me talking on the phone about the blogfest and immediately went to work writing poems. She actually is pretty good for her age, no bias intended, and I've always found her poems funny. She wrote one about pepperoni, Mrs. Tony, Baloney and Minestrone but I can't find it. Too bad. When she finished with her collection she asked if she could post a poem on my blog and there was no way I was going to refuse her. Then she asked if she could find pictures to put on her post. I think she watches over my shoulder while I blog more than I realize.

Don't let Poetry Intimidate You

(That bully of the literary world!)

I want everyone to understand that this blogfest is for FUN! Feel free to post a poem by your child/nephew/grandchild for the blogfest. You can post a published poem (Shel Silverstein anyone?) and, though it won't be considered for the grand prize, is is a perfectly acceptable entry in the blogfest. Really, anything is an acceptable entry in the blogfest.

So sign up here:

Join my Blogfest! It's a Fun-Fest!

Poetry Schmoetry BLOGFEST!

I wanted to invite ALL bloggers to participate.

The basics are simple:

1. Follow this blog

2. Sign up by filling out the Linky below

3. Write a Poem
(ANY kind of poem or you could even blog about 'why I hate poetry.' I'm cool with that.)

4. Post your poem the week of July 11th-14th (midnight PST)

BAM!

You did it!

You can stop there if you want.

Wanna get some fun stuff as well?
I'm giving away a first page critique, a custom blog button, ad space (for your blog, your etsy shop, your book), an interview on WWS, and a surprise!
 I'll do it random raffle style but...

You're gonna want some points (or entries)

Follow my Blog (1 point)

Follow me on Twitter (1)

Follow me on Facebook (1)

Enter the Blogfest by posting a poem (5)

Blog/Facebook/Twitter about the blogfest (1 per platform per week)
Post my blogfest button on your blog (2)
Put my blog on your blog list (2)

And the big points!

On Friday the 15th everyone's poems should be posted. Go around and comment on everyone's poems and get one point per comment (So, just for visiting 10 blogs and making a comment on each blog you will get 10 points. Yes, I am crazy enough to count these by hand on the 16th- so make it worth it!) If this works how it should, then you should get a lot of traffic to your blog on the 15th just for participating.

If you were directed to this blog by someone (their blogpost/tweet/FB post/word of mouth) and you are a new follower, TELL ME WHO referred you! Just post a comment and they will get 5 extra points for every referral!

You're going to need to comment and tell me how many points you earned from the follows, tweets, etc. Feel free to comment as many times as you'd like to.
(i.e. 'I just tweeted about the 'fest again')

WAIT! I'm not finished!

I (and my trusty helper) will pick the top 4 poems and post them here on my blog on Monday the 18th of July. Then it's up to you guys to vote for the winner.

What's the prize for winning?
A Week About You 
on Writing With Shelly
I will blog about YOU M-F
about you, your blog, your work, etc.
 trust me this will be good stuff :)

So Are You Ready to Wax Poetic?

What kind of poem?

I DON'T CARE
That is why I called it poetry schmoetry
I'm not a poem snob

It doesn't have to rhyme

It doesn't have to have meter

If you call it a poem, then so do I

My only warning; I have a short attention span. 
If your poem is really long, I will just stop reading it.

Here are some ideas

Haiku! -Bless you

The ambitious Sonnet

Couplet. Contrary to popular belief this is not a small drinking glass

Funny Poems

Song lyrics

Anything really

Party in the USA

"So, I put my hands up, they're playin' my song. The butterflies fly away."

I reached 100 followers thanks to you, my followers!

And I'm planning a rockin'-awesome blogfest to celebrate!
Deets to be posted tomorrow...

I feel like this kid from the Disneyland commercial

But in the meanwhile....

In the words of Wayne and Garth:

Party On!