If you’re curious and want to look back over what I created every day for 100 days, you can click on October 2021 in the column on the right under Archives, and hit “older posts” at the bottom of each page until you get to October 1st when this posting streak started.
In the gray in the office warming in the office chair in the house that rejected its drainpipe tossed it to the porch In the expectation of a possible visit for repair In the cleaner, but still messy interior with the vacuum out and waiting in the fifth hour since waking, still hazy drinking coffee and chomping on a candy cane In the morning pages in the artist sketchbook in the middle of the desk I let the words flow in the stream of consciousness I hope to wade in all day
New Poem
For today’s new poem prompt I browsed my WordPress Reader and found:
If, after a year of temerity, one finds oneself in disparity and wishing for a clean slate
wait, and think if erasure is truly the only answer before taking such a drastic step
all those hard-earned failures failed better to face again and the neural trauma it will take to clear every foolish and rash deed from your pate
might be worth this heap of embarrassment in the end
Kitty Yells 100! by Maria L. Berg 2022
And we have arrived! Here we are at the end of the journey: 100 days of photographs and poetry. It has been fun, and I have explored so many new ideas, techniques, and forms. I hope you have enjoyed my triumphs and failures through this writing experience. I’m going to attempt a week (or two) off, then come back with some new experiences for 2022.
If you’ve enjoy the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. If you get a chance to take a look, please press the hearts on the images you like. It will help my work get noticed. Thank you.
This is it, the penultimate post of my daily photos and poetry. It’s fun that I will reach day 100 on a Stream of Consciousness Saturday.
Yesterday, I got a rainbow of both chisel tip and thin Sharpies for putting words on the world, so I thought I would continue my found poetry project with some blackout poetry. I’ve seen some blackout poems that don’t only black out the words but make pretty designs over them, and I have wanted to give it a try.
Childhood Quest by Maria L. Berg 2022
Childhood Quest
Did you ever quest for a hundred other objects of value, clamored brilliancy extravagant, wonderful, and mirth-provoking mindful of the foam of perilous seas through these enchanted windows the dreaming hedged about with dangers at the end? Childhood has this: no power to prevail against its simplicity and unconsciousness of evil
While looking through and collecting some lovely examples of blackout poetry on Pinterest, I discovered the work of Tom Phillips. His altered book A Humument is a large volume of blackout poetry. I highly recommend giving it a look.
Another Quest by Maria L. Berg 2022
Another Quest
Go smear thyself Plunge boldly to the surface attempt the bridge Again
Yesterday, while looking at New Pages and planning submissions, I happened upon a call for found poetry from Heron Tree. The call is to create found poetry from works published before 1927. I hopped up and grabbed my copy of More Fairy Stories Every Child Should Know: Magic Casements edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith and published in 1907. I found this lovely treasure in an antique store a long time ago and have not spent enough time with it. I was inspired by this call for submissions to dive into the book and interact with it in new ways.
I did a little research, and it turns out that Kate and Nora were sisters. Kate is best known as the author of Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, but she also was an educator that started many kindergartens in and around San Francisco. I tried to find out more about my book and the series it was a part of “What Every Child Should Know Library,” but the only thing I came up with was a Project Gutenberg digital copy of one of the other books in the series, Tales of Wonder Every Child Should Know.
Beautiful Title Page by Maria L. Berg 2022
After reading some of the past issues of Heron Tree, I realized that there is an area of found poetry I haven’t tried: fitting to form. I enjoy trying poetry forms each year during NaPoWriMo and OctPoWriMo, and the form challenges from dVerse Poets Pub, but I have never tried a form with cut-ups or collage poems.
I have photocopied the preface of the book and a few of the stories to get started on my quest for found poetry. Along with blackouts, cut-ups and collages, I’m going to try fitting my found words and phrases into some of my favorite forms.
A Parent’s Worried Mind
Three unmarried were too many. Over with according to the forest. And be careful. Soon they recognized anything, that feast.
A father threatened had spoken. Three unmarried were too many. Ordered his son, the Hedgehog, be together and he would cleave to
business brought sharp spines enjoying themselves then three drops exactly three unmarried were too many making straight seven years only
to longer endure parents would choose one question, so they thought. They parents thought hedgehog and hedgehog. Three unmarried were too many.Truth on the Rain by Maria L. Berg 2022 (because I wanted some extra truth in the world today)
That was time consuming, but fun. I started trying some Cinquains, but liked the repeated line of the Quatern. I found the repeating line amusing.
From the Outside to the Center by Maria L. Berg 2022
Today I thought I would have some fun and combine my photography and poetry for Of Maria Antonia’s 2022 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt “On the Shelf.” I rearranged my bookshelves to create poems from the book titles.
Here is how I read the first bookshelf poem:
From the Outside to the Center
The outsider in the garden of blue roses below the golden house is nowhere wild, or the watcher in the woods lying in wait I hear the owl call my name and say, “The heart is a lonely hunter. Teach yourself to dream while on your journey to the center of the earth.” After 20,000 dreams, does the center hold?
Roads to the City of the Beasts by Maria L. Berg 2022
Roads to the City of the Beasts
Stained glass back roads, Gaia star mandalas of cognitive rehabilitation pass the hollow where the people of paper are story-telling. It’s easy just looking at great cathedrals along the road to the city of the beasts.
Zesty Kitty by Maria L. Berg 2022
That was fun. Unlike book spine poems I’ve done in the past, both of those feel like starts to longer poems, or works that may become strong poems through revision. And to go along with my title “poetic bookshelves,” the poetry books I’m reading and enjoying right now are (amazon associate links):
And some days are about comfort like furry cuddles and pizza and foreheads full of purrs that leave the big questions unpondered or wrestled and wrangled by other minds while I wrestle warm blankets and purloin pets not striving for more
What a Difference a Day Makes by Maria L. Berg 2022
As you can see, the snow is gone. I know I said I wasn’t going to publish all my word pictures here, but I wanted to show the result without the snow, and then I did some playing indoors.
Playing Indoors by Maria L. Berg 2022
New Poem
The dVerse Poets Pub is open after a two week vacation and today Lisa invites us to write a “celebration” haibun. I haven’t written a haibun in a while, so I think I’ll give it a try.
Celebrating Release from a Beautiful Imprisonment
I saw large, white flakes fall during my white-knuckle drive home through thick rain and sporadic drivers with speeds from infrared to ultraviolet.
Ten days it snowed since we opened presents, and ate Mother’s delicious strawberry cake, everyone generous and grateful. I remained sustained.
Overnight snowmelt frees me from joyous ice jail I return with treats
I’m sitting at my desk, looking at these pictures, singing “This is freakin’ fun, this is freakin’ fun.” Though many of this morning’s experiments didn’t work (the filter didn’t work with my other lenses, so I couldn’t put “WONDER” on the mountain), I’m still so excited about my ability to put words in my world. I love to put wonder in the world and it is also one of Of Maria Antonia’s 2022 Weekly Photo Challenge prompts. It was also fun to discover that the color of the ink is captured, so that can add more possibilities. I’ve decided, as a little side project, I’m going to put my favorite words on my world, one a day all year. I won’t post them here, but maybe at the end of the year, I’ll make a book of them or something.
A revolving door is at first, fun, exhilarating pushing the heavy bar running in circles watching sidewalk then lobby park then escalator man walking dog woman with briefcase through the glass
Now I’m stuck and want out to reach my destination but I’ve built up speed and inertia keeps a body in motion
I want new doors perhaps heavy oak with worlds of secrets behind them I want keys to locked doors big, ornate, heavy keys that are kept in locked chests that need little keys to unlock them because the process is the adventure and unlocking those doors opens awe and wonder that won’t come around again
Wonderful Snow by Maria L. Berg 2022
I haven’t heard from any of you yet about what you would like to experience this year on Experience Writing, so I thought I would try a poll. Thank you in advance for sharing your answers.
Today, in response to Of Maria Antonia’s 2022 Weekly Photo Challenge prompt “A New Year,” I tried something I’ve been thinking about. Using the same clear plastic that I used for my “snowglobes,” I created a filter with written words and put them in the world. This opens up so many possibilities, an exciting discovery to start the year.
Snow Writing by Maria L. Berg 2022
Stream of Consciousness
It’s stream of consciousness Saturday. The prompt for today is “resolve.” I am resolved to have a day of stream of consciousness. Let those thoughts flow unfettered. When I looked up resolve, I was surprised to find it’s almost a janus word. It has the definition I expected: to come to a definite or earnest decision, but it also means to break up or disintegrate. It also has the musical meaning to progress from dissonance to consonance which could work well as a triple meaning in a poem. If my song ends resolved, is it determined to act, dissolved and broken, or just not dissonant? It can also mean to clear away or dispel (doubts, fears, etc.), so in that way it is a janus because if you resolve an issue, you can come to a decision about it or clear it away and dispel it.
New Poem
For today’s new poem prompt I browsed my WordPress Reader and found:
We have said goodnight but light’s fingertips grip the horizon the triumphs and horrors dissolve and for a moment peacefulness smells like melting orange dreamsicles and the chill of brain-freeze does not hurt but excites almost every note I breathe is a harbinger of resolve
A Bright & Shiny New Year by Maria L. Berg 2022
Dreaming of a Happy New Year by Maria L. Berg 2022
If you’ve enjoy the photographs I’ve been taking, I’ve added some to my RedBubble store and I’m excited about the new products. The abstract bokeh really lends itself to product design. So fun. If you get a chance to take a look, please press the hearts on the images you like. It will help my work get noticed. Thank you.
This fall has been intense: jumping out of bed every day to explore new photography ideas and write a poem. I know exactly what I’ve been doing since October first, but what was I up to last January?
I’m glad I took a look because I don’t want this year to be an exact copy of last year, but I have the same revision goals. I made a lot of progress, but not as much as I would like. So this year, to switch things up, just a little bit, the focus will be on Novel Revision Motivation.
Last January, I didn’t post much, but I did discover TBR Con (To Be Read Convention) a free online writers convention that I enjoyed. I looked it up and the TBR Con 2022 schedule is up. Shelly Campbell, who was kind enough to do an interview about her revision process last February, will be part of the Worldbuilding 101 panel on Monday January 24th at 2pm PST.
I also discovered Linda Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday (#SoCS) which I enjoy participating in each week. Having one day a week that is completely stream of consciousness is an idea I enjoy. Glad I checked over there today. Looks like Linda has a daily blogging challenge for January called Just Jot It January, in case you’re looking for a daily blogging challenge for the new year.
In May I did an intensive demonstration of creating a poetry revision process and revising a poem. There are eight parts and it starts with Revising Poetry: Creating a process.
The final post in that series came out in June and then I took July off. In August I had some fun photographing and drawing flowers and I discovered the Changing Focus Challenge and made my first multi-media video with bokeh, music, and poetry. My piece is called Pathways.
In September Experience Writing had a guest post from author, poet, bioethicist, physician, lawyer and social critic, Jacob M. Appel called Vision and Revision. I attempted to do another multi-media video for the theme Reflections, but it didn’t come together.
October was October Poetry Writing Month OctPoWriMo, and Writober (flash fiction) and I found Tourmaline.’s Halloween Challenge which got me started with daily photography prompts.
In November, I made up my own daily photography prompts and continued daily photos and poetry, participating in Writer’s Digest’s November Poem a Day Challenge. I also won National Novel Writing Month attempting a rewrite of the novel I started in 2019. I wrote 50,000 words but the draft is far from complete. Guess what I’ll be working on in 2022.
And this month I made another daily photo prompt calendar, continued to write a poem every day, and made a multi-media project for the Changing Focus Challenge prompt Rest, Sleep and Hibernation.
That was a busy year. Looking back, I did a pretty good job of sticking with my revision theme. Though I did not complete as many revisions as I would have liked, I explored my process and have a better understanding of the steps I need to take to succeed. So here’s to a year of motivated revision!
If Snow Could Talk by Maria L. Berg 2021
New Poem
New Year’s Resolution
And the cycle continues but something has to change the barefoot and bicycles will arrive too soon coming or going they will circle and what will I have finished what sweet delight prepared to serve the gibberish and frothing fills pressed pulp like teeth in a shark’s wicked grin and yet I continue to chum the dark waters and the dollars and itches circle coming and going when will the attention rapt be enough to keep me in my seat carving to the revealed that is supposed to be inside but I find never finished and we cycle again the spokes bent the tire always needing air the road uphill both ways the music and stars will arrive too soon and any interest in taming the gibberish will float on the froth and effervesce
Snowflakes by Maria L. Berg 2021
The Ball Drops by Maria L. Berg 2021
The New Year
Tomorrow all day The Poetry Project is having its 48th annual poetry marathon. Hundreds of poets will be reading their poems. What a great way to enjoy the first day of the new year.
I was planning on taking a little time off, maybe switching to once a week for a while, but today, the final day of 2021, I will have posted new photos and poems every day for 92 days straight. It feels silly to stop 8 days short of 100, so I’ll keep it up through the first week of January.
So come back tomorrow and join me for some photography and poetry for the new year, and maybe I’ll have some ideas of how we can stay motivated to revise our work.
What joy to play with light to join it frolicking blue flashing white orange blushing pink or smiling yellow I slow the shutter and move the lens thinking I can control the dance but the ecstacy is in the unexpected when what I’ve captured is a delicious panoply no longer of its parts but a melded mutation in motion and now singular to be copied, resized, or manipulated but never reproduced
Blue Moon by Maria L. Berg 2021
Firefall by Maria L. Berg 2021
What’s Next?
Yesterday’s post was my 90th day of posting new photos and poetry every day. Though the new year is a good mile post for starting something new, I’ve decided to keep going until I hit 100 days. That will take us through the first week of January. Then it’s time to get back to revision and other writing experiences.
What would you like me to explore in 2022? What would you like to experience here on Experience Writing? What are your writing and reading plans for 2022? Any questions I can help you with?
December Daily Prompts by Maria L. Berg 2021 Please leave your links in the comments. I hope you will join me.
Experience Writing 