April 30
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Future
Blaze
Treasure
Novel
Climb
Today’s words were contributed by your Life/Lines project team: Jean Allman, the J.H. Hexter Professor in the Humanities and director of the Center for the Humanities at Washington University, and Kathleen Fields, the center’s publications and communications editor.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 30 participants.
April 29
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Pines
Frets
Awake
Disintegration
Memory
Today’s words were contributed by Steve Givens, who retired as associate vice chancellor and chief of staff to Chancellor Mark Wrighton at Washington University last June and now spends his days as a freelance writer, poet, songwriter, blogger and spiritual director exploring the intersection of creativity and spirituality. He writes a blog at GivensCreative.com.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 29 participants.
April 28
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Murmur
Meadow
Leaf
Leave
Least
Today’s words were contributed by Wayne Fields, the Lynne Cooper Harvey Chair Emeritus in the Department of English at Washington University and author of What the River Knows: An Angler in Midstream, The Past Leads a Life of Its Own, and A Union of Words: A History of Presidential Eloquence.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 28 participants.
April 27
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
City
Open
Public
Design
Displaced
Today’s words were contributed by Tila Neguse, project coordinator for The Divided City: An Urban Humanities Initiative, a partnership of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Washington University’s Center for the Humanities and Sam Fox School.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 27 participants.
April 24
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Remote
Shelter
Digital
Breathe
Distance
Today’s words were contributed by Treasure Shields Redmond, a published poet, master educator, community arts organizer, and entrepreneur. She is author of chop: a collection of kwansabas for fannie lou hamer.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 24 participants.
April 23
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Aspen
Shadow
Fever
Hidden
Promise
Today’s words were contributed by alumna and poet Melissa Gurley Bancks, who earned master’s degrees in English and teaching from Washington University and an MFA from UMSL. She is former director of WashU’s Howard Nemerov Writing Scholars and former managing editor of River Styx.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 23 participants.
April 22
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Broadband
Fox
Hawk
Purell
Companion
Today’s words were contributed by Barbara Thomas, a member of the Washington University Board of Trustees and retired senior vice president and chief financial officer for HBO Sports, New York. She is also an NYC-based actress who performs in theater, television and film productions.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 22 participants.
April 21
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Petal
Opal
Hallway
Swish
Gleam
Today’s words were contributed by the Kling Undergraduate Honors Fellows in the Class of 2020, based in the Center for the Humanities.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 21 participants.
April 20
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Breath
Last
Rage
Close
Fortune
Today’s words were contributed by Rebecca Wanzo, associate professor of women, gender and sexuality studies. In July, she will begin her position as professor and chair of the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Washington University. Her new book, The Content of Our Caricature: African American Comic Art and Political Belonging, was released in April 2020.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 20 participants.
April 17
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Soft
Glass
Honey
Gust
Rest
Today’s words were contributed by Cheeraz Gormon, author of In the Midst of Loving and founder and executive director of Sibling Support Network, an organization dedicated to people who have lost blood-related or fictive kin siblings to violent crime.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 17 participants.
April 16
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Sunlight
Ceiling
Nostalgia
Bleak
Mother
Today’s words were contributed by Ray Hartmann, founder of The Riverfront Times (and columnist), co-founder and panelist for 33 years on KETC’s Donnybrook and host of the KTRS show St. Louis in the Know with Ray Hartmann.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 16 participants.
April 15
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Silent
Oxygen
Truth
Dedication
Owl
Today’s words were contributed by Barbara A. Schaal, Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences and the Mary-Dell Chilton Distinguished Professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 15 participants.
April 14
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Gift
Fall
Brief
Still
See
Today’s words were contributed by undergraduate students in German 4105: Creative Writing? In German? Geht klar!, co-taught by writer and Professor of the Practice Matthias Goeritz (Comparative Literature) and Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow Claire Ross (Germanic Languages and Literatures).
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 14 participants.
April 13
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Star
Stairway
Memory
Hour
Light
Today’s words were contributed by Ignacio Infante, associate professor of comparative literature and acting director of the Center for the Humanities at Washington University. His new book, Sky-Quake: Tremor of Heaven, a poetry co-translation of an avant-garde prose poem by Chilean writer Vicente Huidobro, comes out April 24.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 13 participants.
April 10
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Blue
Waves
Sky
Talk
Whale
Today’s words were contributed by Jane Ellen Ibur, an arts educator and the Poet Laureate for the City of St. Louis. She is most recently the author of The Little Mrs./Misses.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 10 participants.
April 9
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Start
Travel
Breeze
Jostled
Life
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 9 participants.
April 8
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Grateful
Spring
Walk
Water
Isolation
Today’s words were contributed by Washington University Chancellor Andrew Martin.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 8 participants.
April 7
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Forget
Shoulders
Fading
Disguises
Rock
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 7 participants.
April 6
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Brick
Light
River
Small
Feet
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 6 participants.
April 3
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Jelly
Branches
Animal
Window
Staple
Today’s words were contributed by poet Aaron Coleman, author of Threat Come Close and current PhD candidate in the Comparative Literature program at Washington University.
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 3 participants.
April 2
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Concert
Rebel
Iron
Forward
Tower
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 2 participants.
April 1
Write a short poem (rhyming not necessary) that includes each of the following 5 words (anywhere and in any order). Poems should not exceed 7 or 8 lines.
Room
Field
Brown
Left
Dash
Follow the link above to read the poems from our April 1 participants.
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