Hey poets, and fans of Local Gems Press
We wanted to let you know about an exciting new project you can be a part of.
​
This upcoming year will be the 5th anniversary of The Poets' Almanac, the poetry prompt journal that many poets have taken a shine to. For the 5th year of this project, we wanted to fulfill what has become popular demand for a more permanent poetry prompt text, that talks about form, meter, rhyme, syllable stresses and the whole tool box for the ambitious poet. 

So for this book, we will be combining some of the favorite prompts with some new ones, and lots more.

So, how can you be a part of this? We need example poems to publish in this textbook!

Have you ever written a poem from one of the prompts in our prompt journals, or a Poets' Almanac of any year? We might consider it to be included in this book.

We can only take 1 or 2 examples for each prompt (or else this book will be huge) but there are plenty of prompts to choose from.

In the coming days and weeks we will be posting lists of prompts we are looking for example poems for. Please send them to

thepoetsalmanac@gmail.com

These are the following prompts and forms are ones we are looking for right now (though feel free to send any you have done from any of the prompts we have provided over the years, they will all at least be considered.) We will post more soon.
 
 
 
Confession Poem
List Poem
Dialogue Poem
Fibonnaci Poem
Ode to the Mundane
Obsolete Item Poem
Thank You Note
Nostalgia
History from the point of view of the loser
Gratitude
Alchemy
Prophecy
English Sonnet
Italian Sonnet
Limerick
Tanka
Haiku
Dodoitsu
Addiction
Reunion
15 Word Poem
1 Line Poem 

Confession is a strong word. 
What comes to mind when you hear it? 

Write a poem about a confession. It can be a confession you made, a confession to a priest, something you never want to confess, a legal confession, a confession made to you, something hard you had to tell someone once or any combination of the above. 

It can be a confession between you and the higher powers, or you might have your own inspiration from the word. 

​Use the word confession in the poem. 

Obsolete Item You Love

Sometimes we have a hard time letting go of things that the rest of the world has moved beyond, a VHS player, an old cell phone, a certain video game system, or something else.

​Write a poem about an obsolete item you still use and love. It can be any length and any style. 
​

Hello all you poets out there.

Happy Poetry Month 2018!

We’re all very excited for this year’s poetry month.
​The NaPoWriMo Chapbook contest is in full force with a record number of contest entries. 

The publishers of Local Gems Press will be going on tour this April, in MD, DE, NY and CT giving lectures and talks on poetry forms, and publishing.  More info on that to come! 
​
To help the many wonderful poets keep up with the 30 poems in 30 day challenge, Local Gems Press has a gift for you...
 
Below you will find this year’s FREE 30 Day Poetry Prompt Journal.

We have some really great prompts in this year’s edition of the prompt journal.

In the martial arts style known as Bagua, the numbers 64 and 8 make regular appearances--such as in the 64 hands form where there are 8 lines of 8 moves.
 
A Bagua poem applies this same principle consisting of 64 words with 8 lines of 8 words each. It should also consist of 2 stanzas of 4 lines each.
 
(For an extra challenge, try to make your Bagua poem have something to do with one of the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching.)

This form was invented by Local Gems Press publisher James P. Wagner (Ishwa) who is both a Bagua practitioner and a poet. In his poem "Eight Palms of Bagua" you can see the poetic form as well as the fundamentals of the 8 walking palms of the martial art.



Eight Palms of Bagua

Heaven, father of all energies, swift as swords
Earth, the mother, stable, receptive, a magnetic center
Fire, all consuming, a deep center moving skyward
Water, changing, solid as ice, elusive as liquid.
 
Wind, gentle or forceful from above or below
Thunder, sudden and startling, rumbling sounds and vibrations
Lake, deep and hidden, a clear calm reflection
Mountain, internal and rooted stillness amidst endless turbulence.

~ James P. Wagner (Ishwa)

If you are interested in more poetry prompts....

Then enjoy this free 30 Day Poetry Prompt Journal!

A Renga was a collaborative form of poetry in Japanese culture. There would be a starting Hokku (often misinterpreted as a haiku) written by a literary figure, or whoever happened to start the correspondence, in the form of 5-7-5 that would serve as a prompt of sorts for the rest of the poets included in the Renga to reply to.

In the 1980's, Renshi became popular--a more contemporary form of Renga which made it possible for poets to collaborate on a Renga from all over the world. Traditionally, poets would alternate between the 5-7-5 verse and the 7-7 add on to create a series of linked Tanka. But for our purposes we will be replying with full tanka  5-7-5-7-7.
 
Hokku Prompt:

One thousand years
of Japanese poetry any
no time to learn it
 
Now your task?

Write a continuation of this opening Hokku---reply in the form of a Tanka:

5
7
5
7
7
 
Make it relate to the Hokku, a continuation, and let's keep the poem going! If you get several ideas, send them in, and we'll see which ones work with the other verses we get!
Please submit your responses to the Hokku to

otarenga@gmail.com

please include your name and a 1-2 line bio in the 3rd person.
We are going to try to string the response verses together to make a coherent and interesting Renga!

We've done this live with amazing results. If we have success with this experiment we will kick-start a new project of contemporary Renga.

Form poetry can be a great tool for prompts. With our focus on so many classical forms sometimes we forget that newer forms of poetry can be fun too!

A Fibonacci poem is a newer poetic form that bases itself off of the mathematical Fibonacci sequence.

In poetry, the sequence translates to syllable count.

The typical fib is a six line, 20 syllable poem with a syllable count by line of 1/1/2/3/5/8 - with as many syllables per line as the line's corresponding place in the Fibonacci sequence.

An example of a typical fib:

    "One
    Small,
    Precise,
    Poetic,
    Spiraling mixture:
    Math plus poetry yields the Fib."

      — Pincus, Gregory

 
However, some Fibonacci poets try to challenge themselves to make the poems go longer than 6 lines.

The Fibonacci poem, like the mathematical concept it's based on, is named for Leonardo Pisano (1170 - 1250), the Italian mathematician also known as Fibonacci . The poetry form , although recently resurfaced, in all likelihood probably goes back much earlier than Fibonacci himself as  Fibonacci is said to have found instances of his sequence used in Sanskrit poetry of the 12th century.

Gregory K. Pincus coined the term Fib in his blog , to refer to a six-line, twenty syllable version of the form. Pincus then challenged his readers to attempt the form, sparking interest in the Fib, a mention on Slashdot , and a great number of examples proliferating online as a result.

One of the most interesting things about the Fib poem is it becomes one of the useful tools for lovers of both poetry and mathematics to come together as the two disciplines are often thought to be far apart.

Test out your skills at a Fib!

The Poets' Almanac is a GREAT tool to have during poetry month and a great tool to have for when poetry month is over! Poets can never get enough prompts!