This was a really fun workshop to teach, so I'm posting my handout and lesson plan here. 

Read the poems and try your hand at writing a bop or a tanka. Or teach the workshop yourself, if you like. The materials are here for you to use.

Link to Handout

Link to Lesson Plan

Crossing the Great Divide

Editing and revision may be the bane of a writer’s existence. Ted Kooser wrote:

“Revision, and I mean extensive revision, is the key to transforming a mediocre poem into a work that can touch and even alter a reader’s heart.  It’s the biggest part of the poet’s job description.  I’ve published hundreds of poems, most of them less than twenty lines in length, and people are always surprised to learn that I might take a single short poem through twenty, or thirty, or even forty versions before I think it’s finished” (The Poetry Home Repair Manual 16).

He reminds us to be patient:

“Don’t worry that the process of revision seems slow.  The writer’s tools were developed early - paper, pen, and ink; a watchful eye; an open heart - and good writing is still the patient handiwork of those simple tools.  A poet who makes only one really fine poem during his life gives far more to the world that the poet who publishes twenty books of mediocre verse” (ibid. 148).

Why should we bother to work so hard, for so little reward? Kenneth Koch in his discussion of “poetry language” concludes by saying:

"The last inclination of the poetry language I'll mention - though there are more - is specifically addressed to making whatever is said into a work of art. Without this one, of course, you may be writing, but you're not writing poetry" (Making Your Own Days 69).

Never Give Me a Security Clearance!

Seriously.

I attempted this writing prompt from Kenneth Koch's Making Your Own Days:

________________________ but I never told anyone 

[repeat as necessary to create the poem]

The Trade-Offs of Travel

Painted Desert, Arizona
©2023 Tina Quinn Durham

Last summer I took a 30-day cross-country road trip. Because diesel fuel was so expensive, I left the motor home and took my Toyota van. I stayed mostly in the cheapest Kampgrounds of America cabins - the ones without plumbing - or with relatives. For the cabins, I brought my own bedding, a minimal camp kitchen, a folding table and a chair. To avoid midnight treks across the campground, I bought a portable toilet, complete with plastic bags and chemicals to absorb moisture and odor. 

 I thought that I might miss home-cooked meals, my own bed, or watching TV and crafting in the evenings. I also expected to miss my husband, dogs and friends more than I actually did. Since I had no one to talk to, I listened to music and audio books. However, I soon discovered that I needed to be careful because I was liable to miss my exit while listening to exciting passages. After getting lost in a wilderness area with no cell signal and no GPS, I decided to hit the pause button more often. 

Garden of the Gods, IL
©2023 Tina Quinn Durham

 My father always told me, “Look out the window. You don’t know if you’ll ever come this way again.” So I planned my itinerary to include points of interest, knowing that every day could be my last chance to see them. I loved meeting new people and seeing new places every day. 

 Unfortunately, my husband grew up with a different kind of father, a pedal-to-the-metal driver who wanted to reach his final destination as soon as possible. They cannot see the journey as its own reward, and it’s difficult to persuade my DH to pull over for an unplanned stop. 

 My solo travel is leisurely and more spontaneous. Perhaps that's why I didn't long to be with my husband while on the road. 

Cave-In-Rock State Park, IL
©2023 Tina Quinn Durham

What I missed most, to my surprise, was my comfy chair. My lower back had quite a few complaints about long days of driving, despite the memory-foam cushion I bought for the trip. At the end of the day, I wanted to lean back in my recliner in front of the TV. Sitting in a camp chair wasn't the same, even if I could pop open a cold soda or a craft beer and watch YouTubes on my tablet, and my body knew the difference. 

 The other thing I really missed was having a refrigerator like the one in the motorhome. It was annoying to drain the cooler and buy ice every morning. Also, I couldn't shop ahead and keep the food cold for several days. Instead, I had to find a grocery store, and neighborhood grocery stores are rarely close to the interstate. Walmart Supercenters and small-town grocers became my go-to's, but sometimes all I could find was a convenience store, aisle after aisle of processed snack foods with not a fruit or vegetable in sight. 

 Have you ever taken a long trip? What was the most unexpected thing you missed when you were away from home?

The Open Road
©2023 Tina Quinn Durham