Poetic Solitaire

Russell

Creative Writing

Poetic Solitaire

Make Your Personal Universe Deck:

Choose 20 sight words

Choose 10 hearing words

Choose 5 touch words

Choose 5 taste words

Choose 12 wild card words—They can be personal to you.

Put each word on the face/number side of a card. Follow the directions to write a poem.

Writing Your Poem:

Deal the usual solitaire layout and put aside the remaining cards in the deck. You may not use them in this “game.”

Look at your layout. One or more of the cards turned face up after you deal your layout should appear in your first line. Write that line. When you have used a word, you may turn up the next card in its stack.

Continue producing lines, each one using at least one upturned card. You should see a poem developing before your eyes. You’ll find your subject as you go.

The game is over when you have used at least a dozen of your words, but beyond that, it’s up to you.

Read your draft. Do anything you need to do to make it a “real” poem. Title it, of course.