“I almost always urge people to write in the first person. … Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.” William Zinsser, American writer, editor, literary critic, and teacher.  He wrote eighteen books including the well-regarded On Writing Well, which is in its seventh edition

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Pen in the hand of the temple
Priestess, sifting and sorting and
Sustaining a concentration of word
Play, like the essence Rose Absolute,
Scenting the farther reaches of
Mind and closer regions of heaven …
Bliss in spirit to paper confab, a phrase
That lingers on the tongue, whispering
“I am” in unabridged collections. I am
the song. I am the Light. I am the poem.

© 2019, Jamie Dedes

Before you respond

PLEASE

READ THE PROMPT BELOW

not just the poem or the title of the poem. Thank you!

WEDNESDAY WRITING PROMPT:

How do you view your own creative process? Is your writing an act of ego as William Zinssner says, and a strictly intellectual undertaking? Is it a spiritual process involving a kind of meditation and the action of grace.* It is a serendipitous combination of the two? Tell us in your poetry and …

• please submit your poem/s by pasting them into the comments section and not by sharing a link
• please submit poems only, no photos, illustrations, essays, stories, or other prose

* grace – I understand this in the Christian sense as an unmerited gift of the Divine, “inspiration” in its original sense

PLEASE NOTE:

Poems submitted through email or Facebook will not be published.

IF this is your first time joining us for The Poet by Day, Wednesday Writing Prompt, please send a brief bio and photo to me at thepoetbyday@gmail.com to introduce yourself to the community … and to me :-). These are partnered with your poem/s on first publication.

PLEASE send the bio ONLY if you are with us on this for the first time AND only if you have posted a poem (or a link to one of yours) on theme in the comments section below.  

Deadline:  Monday, October 14 by 8 pm Pacific Time. If you are unsure when that would be in your time zone, check The Time Zone Converter.

Anyone may take part Wednesday Writing Prompt, no matter the status of your career: novice, emerging or pro.  It’s about exercising the poetic muscle, showcasing your work, and getting to know other poets who might be new to you.

You are welcome – encouraged – to share your poems in a language other than English but please accompany it with a translation into English.

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Jamie Dedes. I’m a freelance writer, poet, content editor, and blogger. I also manage The BeZine and its associated activities and The Poet by Day jamiededes.com, an info hub for writers meant to encourage good but lesser-known poets, women and minority poets, outsider artists, and artists just finding their voices in maturity. The Poet by Day is dedicated to supporting freedom of artistic expression and human rights.  Email thepoetbyday@gmail.com for permissions, commissions, or assignments.

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Recent and Upcoming in Digital Publications Poets Advocate for Peace, Justice, and Sustainability, How 100,000 Poets Are Fostering Peace, Justice, and Sustainability, YOPP! * The Damask Garden, In a Woman’s Voice, August 11, 2019 / This short story is dedicated to all refugees. That would be one in every 113 people. * Five poems, Spirit of Nature, Opa Anthology of Poetry, 2019 * From the Small Beginning, Entropy Magazine (Enclave, #Final Poems), July 2019 * Over His Morning Coffee, Front Porch Review, July 2019 * Three poems, Our Poetry Archive, September 2019

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“Every pair of eyes facing you has probably experienced something you could not endure.”  Lucille Clifton