NaPoWriMo Prompt 11

By on Apr 11, 2015 in Blog

For day 11 of the NaPoWriMo challenge, as we follow the alphabet, we reach the letter “J.” There are practically no poetic terms or forms in English that start with “J.” Don’t despair, however. Let me suggest that “J” is for “Joke.” Light verse, or humorous verse, has an enduring charm that can often appeal across age ranges. Many people have introduced their children to poetry through the humorous works of Jack Prelutsky or Shel Silverstein. Even such canonical poets as Alexander Pope used humor frequently and well. Write a poem in any form that involves comic elements. Or perhaps you could come at this prompt another way: perhaps by deconstructing a joke, retelling it as a poetic meditation; or even reflecting on the great cosmic joke that is our existence.

Feel free to share your poem (or a link to your poem) in the comments.

About

Alyce Wilson is the editor of Wild Violet and in her copious spare time writes humor, non-fiction, fiction and poetry and infrequently keeps an online journal. Her first chapbook, Picturebook of the Martyrs; her e-book/pamphlet, Stay Out of the Bin! An Editor's Tips on Getting Published in Lit Mags ; her book of essays and columns, The Art of Life; her humorous nonfiction ebook, Dedicated Idiocy: How Monty Python Fandom Changed My Life, and her newest poetry collection, Owning the Ghosts, can all be ordered from her Web site, AlyceWilson.com. In late 2019, she published a volume of poetry by her third great-grandfather, Reading's Physician Poet: Poems by Dr. James Meredith Mathews, which also contains genealogical information about the Mathews family. She lives with her husband and son in the Philadelphia area and takes far too many photos of her handsome, creative son, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda.