Ponge Exercise

Prompt Against Anxiety #20 | from Tyrone Williams, author of numerous collections of poetry, including HowellAdventures of PiThe Hero Project of the CenturyOn Spec, and C.C.

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The following is inspired by Francis Ponge, a 20th-century French poet and essayist whose prose poems often contemplate everyday objects in minute detail.

With pen or pencil in hand, along with a journal or diary, close your eyes and walk into a room in your house or apartment. Listen to the sounds in that room and jot down everything you hear (including the sounds of your own body). Then open your eyes and jot down the objects you see in that room. Within the words for the sounds you heard and the objects in the room, look for anagrams (words contained within words by rearranging letters). Write down all the words and their anagrams on a separate sheet of paper and compose a poem solely from these.

Prompts Against Anxiety is sponsored by Milwaukee Public Library, an anchor institution that helps patrons read, learn, and connect—to our resources and our community. Now more than ever, stay connected, stay home, and stay safe. 
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