POETRY PROMTS

Seth Leeper

Let’s delve into mythical archetypes. Pick one: the Hero(ine), the Hunter(ess), the Jester, or the Creator. (Feel free to go rogue and pick a different archetype.) Take a moment to feel where in your body you may be holding a memory, or just a physiological response to the notion of embodying this mythical model. Once you have locked in on an archetype, follow it to a memory from your life, (or a fictive scene), ripe for disruption, revision, or repair. Write a poem in which you harness the power of this archetype to disrupt, upend, or heal a conflict central to the Speaker’s life, psyche, or wellbeing. Where in this mythic figure’s story is there an opportunity to invert an expectation? What tool(s) unique to this archetype can be used in the poem to conjure a shift, or a turn? What agency can be redeemed for oneself when assuming the persona of a divinity? What can be challenged or transformed? Prioritize your own wellbeing when writing this piece if you choose to take on personal subject matter, and have your selfcare toolbox, (whatever that looks like for you), nearby.

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