Impromptu Poetry

Poetry has a way of cropping up in unexpected places. Yesterday, in celebration of a dear friend's birthday, I went into Port Townsend. We saw the Rhody Parade.

We attended a cake picnic (and community dance party).

We went to a carnival.

View from the Ferris wheel.

And when wandering through the Farmers Market, I met this woman: Afrose Fatima Ahmed.

She was typing out name-your-price poems on a portable typewriter. I was impressed both by her ability to focus in the midst of the market noise and by the quality of her lightning-speed work. Her website contains some brief information about what she refers to as her "impromptu poetry."



I find this idea of a poem written instantly and then cast out—bread upon the waters, no copies saved, no revisions made—both intriguing and terrifying.

Reading Challenge 2015 Update (May)

It's been. . .that kind of week. So instead of focusing on things that I'm behind on, let's look at my progress on unnecessary goals. (Can I get a self-delusional "Wooo!"?)

Here's an update on my PopSugar Reading Challenge. Books read previously are in green (and mentioned here). New reads are in purple (with pictures).


1.       A book with more than 500 pages (The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach, 512 p.)
2.       A classic romance
3.       A book that became a movie
4.       A book published this year
5.       A book with a number in the title (Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal)
6.       A book written by someone under 30 (Relish)
7.       A book with nonhuman characters (Bone: The Great Cow Race)
8.       A funny book (Hyperbole and a Half—Allie Brosh)

Sort of cheating since I haven't quite finished it yet, but it's the first book that's made me laugh out loud several times.

9.      A book by a female author (Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal—G. Willow Wilson)
10.   A mystery or thriller (The Yiddish Policemen’s Union)
11.   A book with a one-word title (Trillium by Jeff Lemire)

All the other "one-word title" books I read had long subtitles. Posers.

12.   A book of short stories
13.   A book set in a different country (Behind the Beautiful Forevers)
14.   A nonfiction book (Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas)
15.   A popular author’s first book
16.   A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet (Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang)
17.   A book a friend recommended (In the Open)
18.   A Pulitzer-Prize winning book
19.   A book based on a true story (Gaijin: American Prisoner of War)
20.   A book at the bottom of your to-read list (At Home by Bill Bryson)

Bryson made the history of cement and Western sewage as interesting as possible. But this wasn't even my first pick for a Bill Bryson book. If my book club hadn't chosen this 500+ page tome, maybe I could have finally finished Moby Dick.

21.   A book your mom loves
22.   A book that scares you (Through the Woods)

I'm not going to admit to being scared exactly. But this one didn't make my "before bed reading" list.

23.   A book more than 100 years old
24.   A book based entirely on its cover (Mister Orange)
25.   A book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t
26.   A memoir (Relish)
27.   A book you can finish in a day (Return of the Dapper Men)
28.   A book with antonyms in the title
29.   A book set somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit
30.   A book that came out the year you were born
31.   A book with bad reviews
32.   A trilogy
33.   A book from your childhood
34.   A book with a love triangle
35.   A book set in the future
36.   A book set in high school (Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal)
37.   A book with a color in the title (Little White Duck)
38.   A book that made you cry
39.   A book with magic (How Mirka Met a Meteorite—magic not explicitly mentioned, but a witch turns a meteorite into a person)
40.   A graphic novel (Relish)
41.   A book by an author you’ve never read before (Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal—G. Willow Wilson)
42.   A book you own but have never read (The Yiddish Policemen’s Union)
43.   A book that takes place in your hometown
44.   A book that was originally written in a different language (Mister Orange—Dutch)
45.   A book set during Christmas (Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas)
46.   A book written by an author with your same initials
47.   A play
48.   A banned book
49.   A book based on or turned into a TV show
50.   A book you started but never finished


That's twenty-six down, twenty-four to go. How are your reading goals for the year going?

Images from Simon & Schuster, Vertigo, Penguin Random House, and Simon & Schuster.