The poetry of Wanda Coleman
I first came across Wanda Coleman in a podcast with Terrance Hayes.
I bought the ‘Selected Poems’ and it has been a massive influence to me. She didn’t have an academic background and was largely an outcast within the American poetry scene. That anti-establishment feeling runs through the work. It’s autobiographical at points but also seems to capture a nuanced account of what it is to be a black woman in America. I love it. Here’s a poem that never fails to impress me.
Your prompt for the day
Think of a possession that you have always loved. Imagine your title as ‘I live for my …………….’
Describe your possession.
2. Create a string of situations where you have loved your possession.
3. Have a section when you dream it to be ‘pimped-up’ in some way.
4. Have a section where you imagine it doing something you know it should not do.
Have fun!
