Poetry Challenges in the Spirit of Frank O’Hara’s Lunch Poems
From the MoMA Website:
Stefania Heim’s Challenge:
LUNCH POEM RECIPE
(Please use as many of these as possible in constructing your lunch poem)
1.A description of the contents of your pocket or bag
2.One food item you or someone you see is eating
3.One foreign phrase, place name, or the name of a foreign head of state
4.One instance of personification
5.The current day and time (ideally this should interrupt other action in the poem)
6.The weather and your opinion about it
7.One sentence you hear someone say
8.One existential question
9.A comparison of someone you see to a famous person
10.One thing you wish you were doing
11.One literary reference
12.Your current attitude toward love
Or see Wayne Koestenbaum’s challenge--18 prompts/assignments in the spririt of Frank O'Hara's lunch poems. Some really great ideas to spark creative thinking.
On June 8 and 15, poet-scholars Stefania Heim and Wayne Koestenbaum shared their favorite “lunch poems” by the beloved poet Frank O’Hara—who worked on and off at MoMA from 1951 to 1966—in the Museum’s Sculpture Garden at lunchtime. They effortlessly elicited O’Hara’s humor, earnestness, and timelessness, while also giving the public the chance to experience what his creative process might have looked and felt like.I think it's a great challenge whether you live in NYC or not. Whether you fudge and write them at dinner, or whenever, this could be fun!
Both Heim and Koestenbaum pose a challenge to all of you: go out onto the streets of New York and write your own lunch poems according to their prompts and guidelines.
Stefania Heim’s Challenge:
LUNCH POEM RECIPE
(Please use as many of these as possible in constructing your lunch poem)
1.A description of the contents of your pocket or bag
2.One food item you or someone you see is eating
3.One foreign phrase, place name, or the name of a foreign head of state
4.One instance of personification
5.The current day and time (ideally this should interrupt other action in the poem)
6.The weather and your opinion about it
7.One sentence you hear someone say
8.One existential question
9.A comparison of someone you see to a famous person
10.One thing you wish you were doing
11.One literary reference
12.Your current attitude toward love
Or see Wayne Koestenbaum’s challenge--18 prompts/assignments in the spririt of Frank O'Hara's lunch poems. Some really great ideas to spark creative thinking.
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