Poetry Challenge #25-Double Dog Dare You . . .
When it comes to “don’t dos” I’m like a bull in a ring and that’s the red flag. It’s almost impossible for me to resist doing what I’m told not to do.
And yes, that does make me a lousy at word games like Password and Taboo.
As hard as it is for me (and maybe you) to resist using a word or phrase on purpose, it’s fun to try.
As having fun with words is the purpose of these 7-Minute Challenges, for this prompt we double dog dare you to put on your logologist’s hat.*
Say what?
A lipogram consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is avoided. In its easiest form, a writer avoids using uncommon letters like X, J, Q, or Z. Or avoids words with “ing” or “ed” endings.
More difficult lipograms avoid common letters like A, T or E—E being the most common letter in the English language.
If you think avoiding using E is tough, consider this: Ernest Vincent Wright wrote an entire 50,000-word novel, GADSBY, without using the letter E.
Below is an excerpt.
“So this small town of Branton Hills was lazily snoozing amidst up-and-doing towns, as Youth’s Champion, John Gadsby, took hold of it; and shook its dawdling, flabby body until its inhabitants thought a tornado had struck it. Call it tornado, volcano, military onslaught, or what you will, this town found that it had a bunch of kids who had wills that would admit of no snoozing; for that is Youth, on its forward march of inquiry, thought and action.”
James Thurber’s The Wonderful O is a fairy tale about an island where the letter O was banned.
Poetry Challenge #25
Double Dog Dare You to Drop the E!
Begin with a poem you’ve already written.
Revise it by deleting every “E” word and replacing it with another word, if necessary.
Or, if you’d rather, revise it using only “E” words.
Or, if you’d rather not mess with one of your existing poems, try writing an entirely new poem without the letter “E”.
(And no fair intentionally mis-spelling words to avoid using “E”, that’s cheating.)
Set the timer for 7 minutes.
Start writing!
Don’t think about it too much; just do it.
*We have award-winning author/VCFA faculty advisor Tim Wynne Jones to thank (or curse) for this prompt. Tim shared his passion for logology during a VCFA lecture one summer long long ago, in a world far far away.
And if you’ve caught the lipology bug, enjoy Michael S. Hennessey’s University of Cincinnati Lipogram Poetry Worksheet!
The example, on the left, is one Hennessey shared.
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**Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge at least 2800 days ago. We now take turns creating our own prompts to share with you. If you join us in the 7-Minute Poetry Challenge let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole dang poem. Scroll down and click on the comments!
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