The Headline Poetry Challenge

JAlpha · Apr 11, 2005

The Headline Poetry Challenge--the idea being to find the threads of a poem embedded in a "breaking" headline news story. Keeping the attention focused on "current" news is more challenging than ruminating for weeks about creating a poem regarding the sinking of the Titanic!

Here's one I wrote this morning . . .

Spring Blizzard Plasters Colorado

Up to two feet of heavy, wet snow blew

cutting power to thousands

Trees and shrubs drooped

limbs crashed to the ground

While five customers huddled

at the Mudd Coffee Co..

"I'm from Michigan, sweetheart,"

said the woman in the red wool cap.

"I need a lot more than snow to keep me out."

KEEP THE PRESSES ROLLING and start searching for those hidden poems right there on the front page of your morning paper!

Have fun, see you in the headlines

aspier · Apr 11, 2005

mm

Mmmm, I'll wait and see how others do it, ok? Life in the canteen! Smile.

Alphabet · Apr 11, 2005

You've made it look so easy... this is hard to do!
I'm assuming you have to find the exact phrases in the text of the article, right?

Anyway, for now, a haiku like poem (which, in this context, is cheating)

Dewas

fifty-two pilgrims
swept away by dam water
released by mistake

I'll try again with tomorrows paper!

JAlpha · Apr 11, 2005

Here's a second one I did today, Spying Threatens Vatican Secrecy.
The original AP news item I sourced is pasted below. Hopefully, this will provide a glimpse of what the process of turning news into a poetic construction might entail.

POEM DELETED FOR SUBMISSION
___

Associated Press writer Jim Krane reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

</IMG>

JAlpha · Apr 14, 2005

I hereby declare myself the winner of the Headline Poetry Challenge, seeing how Aspier and Brokenfingers decided not to play after all.

Perhaps I misunderstood them when they asked me if I wanted to play with them??????????

Misunderstandings, now why is that word striking a familiar chord with me today???????????

Alphabet, I'm awarding you second place, just for showing up for the game

You know, alpha one and one for alpha and all that secret hand shake stuff :Ssh:

JAlpha

brokenfingers · Apr 14, 2005

LOL! I humbly apologize.

I must say this challenge is.... um, challenging! The thing for me is to find an article that can actually arouse some kind of spark in me - so that I can wax poetic about it.

I respectfully ask for an extension so that I may take a deep breath and once again enter the fray....

JAlpha · Apr 14, 2005

brokenfingers said:
I respectfully ask for an extension so that I may take a deep breath and once again enter the fray....

No way! I ain't giving up my trophy :Trophy:

Janet

brokenfingers · Apr 14, 2005

sigh......

Once again the mighty brokenfingers is vanquished....

chancewryter · Apr 14, 2005

good evening..i am new here

so why is it so hard to be new..in am old world?

Alphabet · Apr 14, 2005

Ah, not nearly so hard as it is to be old in a new world!

Paint · Apr 15, 2005

Octopus Eggs Hatch

No Way! They said
It can not be
She is just too old
Her eggs are stale.

Little baby octopus
Big eyes and stubby arms
Peering out from the seagrass
Hiding pale transparent skin.

Didn't get the message
It should not exist
Did not know that by its living
Momma octopus would die.

I saw on Yahoo's news that an aged octopus in Alaska's Marina had her eggs finally hatch. The mother octopus worries so about its children it does not eat and dies.
March 14, 2005

Paint

Alphabet · Apr 15, 2005

Yay! I got a trophy too!!

:Trophy:

Oil Scandal

Rejected
That they turned a blind eye
To oil smuggling.

The two
Had inadequately policed sanctions
Allegedly

UK
Claimed inaccurate
US
Were dismissive
UN
has been under fire
over oil-for-food.

Very busy route
is difficult to believe
They would not have known

JAlpha · Apr 15, 2005

Alphabet said:
Yay! I got a trophy too!!

Hey! Your trophy looks bigger than mine! What's up with that?
:roll:

JAlpha

JAlpha · Apr 15, 2005

Paint said:
No Way! They said
It can not be
She is just too old
Her eggs are stale.

Little baby octopus
Big eyes and stubby arms
Peering out from the seagrass
Hiding pale transparent skin.

Didn't get the message
It should not exist
Did not know that by its living
Momma octopus would die.

I saw on Yahoo's news that an aged octopus in Alaska's Marina had her eggs finally hatch. The mother octopus worries so about its children it does not eat and dies.
March 14, 2005

Paint

Paint,

Thank you so much for posting your headline poem--it's awesome! I'm so glad I brought this thread back into the line-up. I really wanted a few more people to give it a try.

Thanks for playing along. :Trophy:

You can have a trophy too!

Paint · Apr 15, 2005

Yipee-Skippy!:Cheer:

Alphabet · Apr 15, 2005

Hey! Your trophy looks bigger than mine! What's up with that?

Funny you should mention that.. I also thought mine ought to be smaller - I tried to resize it smaller by dragging the box... but when I posted it, it turned up normal size. !!!

The Headline Poetry Challenge

JAlpha

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aspier

Alphabet

Aspiring Inspirer

JAlpha

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JAlpha

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brokenfingers

Walkin' That Road

JAlpha

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brokenfingers

Walkin' That Road

chancewryter

Alphabet

Aspiring Inspirer

Paint

Warrior of Truth

Alphabet

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JAlpha

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JAlpha

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Paint

Warrior of Truth

Alphabet

Aspiring Inspirer