Regarding Updates

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to let you know that despite the lack of new posts here on my blog in recent months, I do continue to write new poetry. I’ve also remained active on the official “Kevin Frederick Smith – Poet” Facebook page, and while it is my intention to continue using this blog to display my poems and possibly to publish occasional longer updates, the aforementioned Facebook page is the best source for regular updates on my poetry-related activities. The “About” and “Current Publications” blog pages will be kept up-to-date.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

National Poetry Month Challenge Format List

Sorry this is so late, but as promised, here is the list of poetry formats which resulted from part one of my National Poetry Day challenge:

• Acrostic
• Ballad
• Ballade
• Canzone
• Envelope Quatrain(s?)
• Ghazal
• Haiku
• Heroic Couplet
• Italian Sonnet
• Ottava Rima
• Pantoum
• Paradelle
• Rengay
• Rondeau
• Rubyat
• Sapphic Stanza(s?)
• Sestina
• Shakespearean Sonnet
• Terza Rima
• Villanelle

I intend to fulfill my half of the challenge, but just in case I run out of time, and in order to maximize the educational benefits of this endeavor, I intend to focus first on those formats on the list with which I’ve never worked before.

Oh, and thanks are due to Joshua Gage for contributing most of the suggestions listed!

Big Feature This Week At Mac’s Backs! (+ Room For Improvement?)

I’ve been talking about this in my Facebook posts for a while, but because I’m psyched, here’s one more shameless self-promotion: I’m being featured at this month’s session of Mac’s Backs’ poetry event series! Please be there this Wednesday,  August 12 at 7pm, not only to support me and the other featured readers, but also the venue, which has been a fixture in the Coventry community for years! For those not from the area, here’s the address:

1820 Coventry Road
Cleveland Heights, OH 44106
216.321.2665

My performance is going to include at least one new piece, and an optional open mic is included as well! I genuinely hope to see you there!

There is another topic I’d like to address in this post: It has come to my attention that despite my occasional reminders that I welcome feedback, I rarely receive any comments on this blog. This is an issue on which I’d like to work, and in contemplating it, I’ve formed the broader goal of improving the blog in general.

My questions for you are these:

• What can I to encourage more interaction between my readers & myself?
  and
• What other steps would you like to see me take to improve this blog?

Poetry à la Meme!

Good morning, everyone!

If we’re friends on Facebook, you may have noticed that I was tagged last night in a poetry meme which is currently circulating among writers. The prompt states that beginning on the day I was tagged, I am to post a poem on Facebook for 5 consecutive days. I intend to fulfill this requirement with impromptu pieces, each inspired by an aspect of the day on which it is written. I began last night with a senryū entitled “Prescription,” and I will follow up tonight with poem #2! I’ll update the list below with all five poems as they are completed:

1. “Prescription”

2. “A Gamer’s Acronym Soup”
   

3. “An Ally’s Celebratory Reflection”
   

4. Drowsy Senryū
   

5. Modern Proverb
   

I Write Like…

…James Joyce, according to “I Write Like,” an online tool which–you guessed it–generates the name of a famous writer whose work is similar in style to your own! Anything written in English can be analyzed, and potential results are not limited to writers of poetry, so you may have to try it multiple times with different samples of your work before you are presented with a poet. Of course, you are also welcome to run multiple pieces through the system just to see what happens!

Once again, for your convenience, here’s the link: I Write Like

I’m curious what others’ results might be, so feel free to comment on this post with any interesting output you receive!

SPOILER ALERT! Following up on my Pi Day Post & Poem

SPOILER ALERT! Do NOT read this post unless you’ve read the one preceding it AND failed or decided not to decipher the deeper connection between the poem and the number π!

(Not ready to give up after all? Click here to return to the original Pi Day post.)

Alright, you’ve been warned. Here’s the hidden meaning (scroll down):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The number of letters in each word of the 32-word poem correspond to the first 32 digits of π:
3.1415926535897932384626433832795

Click here to return to the original Pi Day post.

“Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?” by Prince Ea

Recently, it was suggested that I might enjoy the below YouTube video by artist Prince Ea. I was, indeed, impressed with the masterful word-crafting evident in the performer-poet’s passionate message, which I now pass on to you:

What are your thoughts and feelings after watching the video? Please comment!

A Bit Of Entertainment While You Wait

Progress is being made on recovering my files, but I’m not quite there yet. In the meantime, here are some pieces of poetic humor from across the Web for your enjoyment:

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Texted the raven, "nvrmor."

— Tim Siedell (@badbanana) July 20, 2014

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⇓NSFW⇓

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⇓NSFW⇓

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CLICK TO SEE ALL 25: “Literary Pun Names For Your Cat”
(In my personal opinion, some of the best ones are in the comments on the original post, such as “Margaret Catwood.”)

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Meanwhile…

Due to tech issues, I currently have no access to any of my in-progress poems. While I’m working on that, I’d like to share this neat writing tool which caught my attention on my Facebook News Feed:

Facebook post where this was shared: https://www.facebook.com/OhioEducationAssociation/photos/a.161167287247401.31089.105126636184800/789702784393845

“The ‘PPP'”

If you’ve visited here recently, you may have noticed that I’ve created a new page (pages, not to be confused with posts, are listed in the top navigation of this blog) to welcome visitors who arrive via something called the “Poetic Plague Project”. What is the “PPP”, you may ask? Well, it is best explained by its developer, B.M. Stroud, on this page of his website (click here). [Did that help you to understand the workings of the “PPP”? If not, feel free to ask me questions for clarification via a comment on this post and I will get back to you in a timely fashion.] Anyway, the poems which I submitted to the “PPP” to be published as “germs” are two of my personal favorites: “Woodland Retribution” and “Always Remember Me“. As of 4/20/14, I’ve dispensed 3 “germs”, each containing one of the 2 aforementioned poems, and made plans for the placement of an additional 3 “germs”.

Alright; I believe I’ve said enough for one evening. Be 0n the lookout for a new poem sometime this week!