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March 7th – Lionel’s Entourage Mirage

| Charlie Bown

I wrote this poem as part of a competition, using a word prompt. The word I was given was ‘entourage’.

The first thing I did was read a definition of the word:

ENTOURAGE
noun

  1. a group of people attending or surrounding an important person. “an entourage of loyal courtiers”

Then I created a mind-map around the definition, taking each part in turn.

‘A group of people’ – what if they weren’t people? Who else might they be?

‘surrounding’ – for what reason? Could it be sinister? Funny? How close could they get?

‘an important person’ – Why is the person (or animal) important? Are they only important to the entourage?

I then thought about what entourage meant to me. It meant celebrity culture – adoring fans surrounding a popular singer or actor.

All these questions and thoughts helped me get to the stage where I had the idea for this poem.

‘A group of people’ (fleas) ‘surrounding’ (living on) ‘an important person’ (Lionel). Poor Lionel, who has adoring fans by day who take photos and upload them to social media, but is left alone at night with his real entourage – his fleas.

A writing prompt can be a fun way into a poem – especially if you take the time to really think about all the different ways that word could be interpreted. Have a go with one of the following words:

adopted

treasure

disaster

March 5th – Boys Can’t Be A Princess

| Charlie Bown

I loved writing this poem and I really enjoy reading it with children. The ending always makes them laugh and it’s great fun to have two people read the poem as a conversation.

Have a go at writing a conversation poem. Who might be talking? Could it be a conversation between a parent and child – what if they swap traditional roles? Maybe the child could be telling the parent off for being silly… my son does this a lot to me!

What about a conversation poem between animals, or inanimate objects? Imagine what a pair of shoes or a bowl of fruit might have a conversation about – there is lots of fun to be had!

March 2nd – The Potion

| Charlie Bown

The Potion is a list poem. They are one of my favourite types of poem to read and write. This one was inspired by children’s bath time but they can be about absolutely anything!

Ian McMillan wrote one called ‘Ten Things Found in a Wizard’s Pocket’ and Colin West wrote one called ‘Socks’ – you should check it out – I bet you never knew there were so many types of sock!

Why not have a go at writing your own list poem? This can work well in the classroom as a starter activity with each child writing just one line to add to a shared poem.

How about ‘A List of Things I’ve Forgotten’ or ‘Times I’ve felt Scared’. You could write a poem called ‘Things I’d take to the Moon’ – I’d take some crackers to have with all that cheese.

For an extra challenge try using your list poem to tell a story – at the end of The Potion we can imagine bath time coming to an abrupt end. What will happen at the end of your poem?

March 1st – The Menu

| Charlie Bown

I haven’t blogged for a while and, like most things, blogging is much easier when it becomes a habit. I habitually brush my teeth in the morning, drink tea with one sweetener and leave the house with all the children and paraphernalia with which they are associated. This is routine and so it gets done.

When I blogged for 100 days in a row about exercise it wasn’t a chore (nor, surprisingly, was the exercise!) but now my trainers are lost to the back of the downstairs cupboard along with a few broken toys and that coat I never really liked but pretended I did to be polite. My blogging momentum lies abandoned with them.

So I have set myself a challenge. Inspired by poet Brian Moses’ blog, found here, I have challenged myself to share a poem a day for the month of March, alongside some tips for how they might be used to inspire ideas for writing poetry. You can follow Brian Moses on twitter: @moses_brian

I wrote this poem after watching our children playing in a role play kitchen. They did not concern themselves with making the usual foods one might find on a cafe menu; they let their imaginations run wild!

Have a go at writing a food poem.

You could write a BOGUS BREAKFAST menu or a list of treats to be sold at the CEMETERY’S MIDNIGHT CAKE STALL – what would be on it?

Perhaps your poem will contrast delicious foods with grotesque descriptions – there is lots of fun to be had!

Think of unusual places food might be served. What about afternoon tea on the moon? What might be on the menu then?

If you want to share your poem with me I’d love to read it! You can email charliebownauthor@outlook.com or share your work via Twitter @CharlieDBown