Wild Whispers Poetry Magazine Issue 1:1 April, 2025
Articles
INDEX
- post-modern nostalgia poetry: objects of beauty
- sappho: the ancient queen of queer poetry
- using narrative essay writing for poetic writer’s block
- it’s all about the morning routine
- poetic levity is a balm to the spirit
- poetry book reviews
- poetic comicality
- spend an afternoon writing short prose poetry
- dylan thomas’ portrait poems
post-modern nostalgia poetry: objects of beauty
MINI-WORKSHOP BY WENDY BEACH
Title of your poem is a name of a small, yet significant object
Line 1: Link the object to a strong memory
Line 2: Explain the feeling evoked
Line 3: Show the objects very real use or misuse
Line 4: Showcase one of its sensory aspects
Line 5: Set the object in its place now and then.
Now reorder the lines and play with the words!
china cup with gold “mother” and flowers
honestly! we didn’t think they were that special
everyone had one somewhere in their kitchen
the vintage “mother” fashioned in cursive apron strings
replaced by the SUV driving, protein-shaker mum
a self-rattling ball in 800ml of biodegradable plastic
Title of your poem is a name of a small, yet significant object
Line 1: Link the object to a strong memory
Line 2: Explain the feeling evoked
Line 3: Show the objects very real use or misuse
Line 4: Showcase one of its sensory aspects
Line 5: Set the object in its place now and then.
Now reorder the lines and play with the words!
china cup with gold “mother” and flowers
honestly! we didn’t think they were that special
everyone had one somewhere in their kitchen
the vintage “mother” fashioned in cursive apron strings
replaced by the SUV driving, protein-shaker mum
a self-rattling ball in 800ml of biodegradable plastic
sappho: the ancient queen of queer poetry
ARTICLE BY RUTH COLLINS
Δέδυκε μὲν ἀ σελάννα
καὶ Πληΐαδες, μέσαι δέ
νύκτες, πάρα δ' ἔρχετ' ὤρα,
ἔγω δὲ μόνα κατεύδω
The moon and the Pleiades have set
it is midnight
time is passing
but I sleep alone
Sappho
Ah, Sappho, her very name conjures associations of tender and intimate girl on girl action. One of the two most famous citizens of Lesbos, a Greek Island in the Aegean, Sappho has been ruffling feathers in Greece and abroad since the 7th century BCE. Even as recently as 2008, modern day citizens of Lesbos brought a court case over their objection to queer-identifying women using the term lesbian. According to one protestor’s sign outside the courtroom, his name was Paul, and he was a Lesbian. The case was dismissed. Sapphic and lesbian are words that are here to stay.
Classical male writers constantly tried to undermine Sappho’s attraction to other women. A few centuries after her death, Greek authors created the bawdy character of Sappho in Athenian comedies. She was portrayed as man-crazed and fellatio performing, an unflattering image that contrasts with the actual woman. We don’t know much of Sappho’s life beyond that she really liked women, was wealthy, had been married, and had a daughter. Sappho was also educated in a time where women were not usually taught to write their names, let alone poetry.
Prompt: A four-line, Sapphic stanza
Δέδυκε μὲν ἀ σελάννα
καὶ Πληΐαδες, μέσαι δέ
νύκτες, πάρα δ' ἔρχετ' ὤρα,
ἔγω δὲ μόνα κατεύδω
The moon and the Pleiades have set
it is midnight
time is passing
but I sleep alone
Sappho
Ah, Sappho, her very name conjures associations of tender and intimate girl on girl action. One of the two most famous citizens of Lesbos, a Greek Island in the Aegean, Sappho has been ruffling feathers in Greece and abroad since the 7th century BCE. Even as recently as 2008, modern day citizens of Lesbos brought a court case over their objection to queer-identifying women using the term lesbian. According to one protestor’s sign outside the courtroom, his name was Paul, and he was a Lesbian. The case was dismissed. Sapphic and lesbian are words that are here to stay.
Classical male writers constantly tried to undermine Sappho’s attraction to other women. A few centuries after her death, Greek authors created the bawdy character of Sappho in Athenian comedies. She was portrayed as man-crazed and fellatio performing, an unflattering image that contrasts with the actual woman. We don’t know much of Sappho’s life beyond that she really liked women, was wealthy, had been married, and had a daughter. Sappho was also educated in a time where women were not usually taught to write their names, let alone poetry.
Prompt: A four-line, Sapphic stanza
- A theme of longing love
- First-Person character narrative
- Four Lines
- No rhyme
- Syllables on each line 11-11-11-5
- The fourth line reiterates the previous three for clarity
using narrative essay writing for poetic writer’s block
ARTICLE BY WENDY BEACH
Unfortunately, when a person has too much going on, creativity can be the first thing to disappear as the brain and body go into automatic survival mode.
Many poets, with the wisdom of a previous writer’s-block experience, have learned how to rediscover their creativity. Narrative essay writing lends itself well to unblocking our creativity because it tricks us into thinking we aren’t using any. I am just writing the facts—we can tell our resistant brain. In a narrative essay, the writer, as first-person narrator, gets to share relatable events with the reader. They get to say: Here I am. I exist. I experienced this event or situation, deeply. It was so deeply, in fact, that I started to see things in a different way. The process of writing out a factual experience—something all humans have as a matter of course in their lives, whether shared or not—is cathartic.
A narrative essay can explore a real event with all the elements of a story. It will have a theme and will make a point. It will have a beginning, middle, and end—and at that end, it can give the writer closure. No, it isn’t therapy or specialist medical care (if you need help please go and get it), but it is a form of self-help to remove some of that cognitive load blocking your writing. The event itself might be a happy event, such as a busy but joyful holiday ritual that is keeping your mind full of To-do and to-buy lists. Whatever it is that is keeping your mind overstimulated, address it.
Stop trying to write a poem—remove that pressure.
Instead, think about what it is that is preoccupying you.
Now write about that in one big flowing freewriting episode. Do not stop to edit or to censor yourself. Get it all down.
Next, remove the sections with your worries. Remove the off-topic tangents. Remove repetitive statements. Keep removing layer after layer from this overwhelm that was blocking your creativity.
Then stop. Breathe. Go have a cuppa.
Come back. Look at what remains. You have an essay—but did you also find your poem?
Unfortunately, when a person has too much going on, creativity can be the first thing to disappear as the brain and body go into automatic survival mode.
Many poets, with the wisdom of a previous writer’s-block experience, have learned how to rediscover their creativity. Narrative essay writing lends itself well to unblocking our creativity because it tricks us into thinking we aren’t using any. I am just writing the facts—we can tell our resistant brain. In a narrative essay, the writer, as first-person narrator, gets to share relatable events with the reader. They get to say: Here I am. I exist. I experienced this event or situation, deeply. It was so deeply, in fact, that I started to see things in a different way. The process of writing out a factual experience—something all humans have as a matter of course in their lives, whether shared or not—is cathartic.
A narrative essay can explore a real event with all the elements of a story. It will have a theme and will make a point. It will have a beginning, middle, and end—and at that end, it can give the writer closure. No, it isn’t therapy or specialist medical care (if you need help please go and get it), but it is a form of self-help to remove some of that cognitive load blocking your writing. The event itself might be a happy event, such as a busy but joyful holiday ritual that is keeping your mind full of To-do and to-buy lists. Whatever it is that is keeping your mind overstimulated, address it.
Stop trying to write a poem—remove that pressure.
Instead, think about what it is that is preoccupying you.
Now write about that in one big flowing freewriting episode. Do not stop to edit or to censor yourself. Get it all down.
Next, remove the sections with your worries. Remove the off-topic tangents. Remove repetitive statements. Keep removing layer after layer from this overwhelm that was blocking your creativity.
Then stop. Breathe. Go have a cuppa.
Come back. Look at what remains. You have an essay—but did you also find your poem?
it’s all about the morning routine
ARTICLE BY WENDY BEACH
“Poets are never unemployed, just unpaid.” Kathy Skaggs
I wake around 4:30 a.m. without an alarm, though I set one as a backup. I also have an alarm set for 6:30 a.m., which signals that I have 15 minutes left to finish my writing session. That second alarm is essential—once I get into the writing zone, I lose track of time and forget my other commitments.
Work doesn’t exist to me without that second alarm.
Another alarm follows at 6:45 a.m., demanding I stop writing. Most mornings, I’m still immersed and scrambling to get ready for work. This triggers a series of alarms—each five minutes apart, with increasingly vile ringtones—because stopping mid-flow feels nearly impossible. Eventually, I surrender. I take one final sip of cold coffee and kiss my creativity goodbye for the day.
Until tomorrow.
“Poets are never unemployed, just unpaid.” Kathy Skaggs
I wake around 4:30 a.m. without an alarm, though I set one as a backup. I also have an alarm set for 6:30 a.m., which signals that I have 15 minutes left to finish my writing session. That second alarm is essential—once I get into the writing zone, I lose track of time and forget my other commitments.
Work doesn’t exist to me without that second alarm.
Another alarm follows at 6:45 a.m., demanding I stop writing. Most mornings, I’m still immersed and scrambling to get ready for work. This triggers a series of alarms—each five minutes apart, with increasingly vile ringtones—because stopping mid-flow feels nearly impossible. Eventually, I surrender. I take one final sip of cold coffee and kiss my creativity goodbye for the day.
Until tomorrow.
poetic levity is a balm to the spirit
ARTICLE BY LORI ZAVADA
Whimsical poems invite readers to make sense of the world without taking life too seriously. They uncover difficult emotions while lifting our spirits.
For instance, I wrote an amusing poem about a bossy neighbor whose sharp words stemmed from loneliness. I created an adorable jack-o-lantern whose threatening voice came from feelings of exclusion. In another poem, a comforting cardinal whistled birdsong from someone in the afterlife. Whimsy does not require the element of despair, but it does create tension. In doing so, consider the emotion you seek to soothe. Is it anger, grief, fear, or injustice?
Dip into otherworldly realms like Xanadu or a land of faeries. Write about animals with human characteristics, plants with animal characteristics, amusing moments of sentience. Be tipsy, lazy, flirtatious, sarcastic, blissfully ignorant, nostalgic, in love, but not flippant. Readers will be turned off by a lack of sincerity.
Read “The First Time Percy Came Back” by Mary Oliver, a great example of crafting a joyous poem about immortality. Create movement like Ted Kooser’s “Skater.” Feel the swoosh of air as the skater cuts figure eights into ice, a metaphor for fleeting youth. Read “Aimless Love” written by Billy Collins in the voice of a daydreaming wanderer who reveals beauty in everyday items like soap.
“Do they feel enlightened? Did the poem soothe the intended emotion?”
Ensure lyrical quality by reading your poems aloud, version after version after painstaking version. Then, step away, and let the words marinate. Come back and begin the slow simmer until you feel it’s nicely done. Ask readers if the poem feels forced. Do they feel enlightened? Did the poem soothe the intended emotion? Final tip: Readers do not need to be other poets! It’s always a good idea to have non-writers read your work too.
my goth rescue cat
is coming ’round, but we both have social anxiety
introverted guests circling at an obligatory party
enduring small talk, loosening up after a couple of drinks
eventually sharing small truths, swapping spells
making room for trust
Whimsical poems invite readers to make sense of the world without taking life too seriously. They uncover difficult emotions while lifting our spirits.
For instance, I wrote an amusing poem about a bossy neighbor whose sharp words stemmed from loneliness. I created an adorable jack-o-lantern whose threatening voice came from feelings of exclusion. In another poem, a comforting cardinal whistled birdsong from someone in the afterlife. Whimsy does not require the element of despair, but it does create tension. In doing so, consider the emotion you seek to soothe. Is it anger, grief, fear, or injustice?
Dip into otherworldly realms like Xanadu or a land of faeries. Write about animals with human characteristics, plants with animal characteristics, amusing moments of sentience. Be tipsy, lazy, flirtatious, sarcastic, blissfully ignorant, nostalgic, in love, but not flippant. Readers will be turned off by a lack of sincerity.
Read “The First Time Percy Came Back” by Mary Oliver, a great example of crafting a joyous poem about immortality. Create movement like Ted Kooser’s “Skater.” Feel the swoosh of air as the skater cuts figure eights into ice, a metaphor for fleeting youth. Read “Aimless Love” written by Billy Collins in the voice of a daydreaming wanderer who reveals beauty in everyday items like soap.
“Do they feel enlightened? Did the poem soothe the intended emotion?”
Ensure lyrical quality by reading your poems aloud, version after version after painstaking version. Then, step away, and let the words marinate. Come back and begin the slow simmer until you feel it’s nicely done. Ask readers if the poem feels forced. Do they feel enlightened? Did the poem soothe the intended emotion? Final tip: Readers do not need to be other poets! It’s always a good idea to have non-writers read your work too.
my goth rescue cat
is coming ’round, but we both have social anxiety
introverted guests circling at an obligatory party
enduring small talk, loosening up after a couple of drinks
eventually sharing small truths, swapping spells
making room for trust
The Heart of the Adocate, Angela Costi
By Glen Hunting
Drawing upon her Greek-Cypriot heritage and her background as a legal practitioner, Angela Costi’s “The Heart of the Advocate” lays open the prejudice and longing that blemish the immigrant experience, and the traumas and systemic injustices inherent within the so-called justice system. The poems vary in tone from elegiac to quietly enraged, effortlessly melding the personal with the universal, and offering plenty of stylistic variation to match the subject matter. This is Costi’s sixth poetry collection. The publishers should be congratulated for bringing this memorable and heartfelt anthology into print. Highly recommended. $29.99 AUD liquidamberpress.com.au
Drawing upon her Greek-Cypriot heritage and her background as a legal practitioner, Angela Costi’s “The Heart of the Advocate” lays open the prejudice and longing that blemish the immigrant experience, and the traumas and systemic injustices inherent within the so-called justice system. The poems vary in tone from elegiac to quietly enraged, effortlessly melding the personal with the universal, and offering plenty of stylistic variation to match the subject matter. This is Costi’s sixth poetry collection. The publishers should be congratulated for bringing this memorable and heartfelt anthology into print. Highly recommended. $29.99 AUD liquidamberpress.com.au
Lakesong, Lakshmi Kanchi (SoulReserve)
By Wendy Beach
Quiet, introspective, first-person narrative, offering a deeper connection between poet and reader, combined with an elegant writing style, it had me scribbling side notes right from the start. It is clear the poet loves ecology. Her personifications of the moon, rivers, and lotus ponds make it easier to connect with the natural world and understand its fragile nature. Along with this were the characters I cared about, such as the aunty who is also a child of the mud and the ageless father walking along a river’s edge with the young poet. It is a gentle and beautiful debut poetry book, full of the depths of loss and cross-cultural harmonisation. $14.95 AUD centreforstories.com
Quiet, introspective, first-person narrative, offering a deeper connection between poet and reader, combined with an elegant writing style, it had me scribbling side notes right from the start. It is clear the poet loves ecology. Her personifications of the moon, rivers, and lotus ponds make it easier to connect with the natural world and understand its fragile nature. Along with this were the characters I cared about, such as the aunty who is also a child of the mud and the ageless father walking along a river’s edge with the young poet. It is a gentle and beautiful debut poetry book, full of the depths of loss and cross-cultural harmonisation. $14.95 AUD centreforstories.com
Visiting Her in Queens Is More Enlightening Than a Month in a Monastery in Tibet, Michael Mark
By Ruari Jack Hughes
In this prize-winning chapbook, Mark recounts a variety of incidents from his and his father's lives as they confront the reality of Alzheimer's disease in his mother and father’s wife. The opening poem, “Estelle”, says Mark’s mother was always atypical. But then there’s the thud when we learn she’s lost her memory and there’s no available cure. After that, each event and behaviour reflect a world where one in ten people over 65 years of age has Alzheimer’s. “Dancing with my father at my son’s wedding” stands out as a poem which gently reminds us of truths we know—but need to hear again. $6.00 USD rattle.com
In this prize-winning chapbook, Mark recounts a variety of incidents from his and his father's lives as they confront the reality of Alzheimer's disease in his mother and father’s wife. The opening poem, “Estelle”, says Mark’s mother was always atypical. But then there’s the thud when we learn she’s lost her memory and there’s no available cure. After that, each event and behaviour reflect a world where one in ten people over 65 years of age has Alzheimer’s. “Dancing with my father at my son’s wedding” stands out as a poem which gently reminds us of truths we know—but need to hear again. $6.00 USD rattle.com
poetic comicality
ARTICLE BY RUTH COLLINS
fang
my smile has been returned to me
I’m happy that it’s back
a dentist replaced my broken fang
now a gappy smile I lack
Poetry can be evocative, moving, and lyrical. Tt can transport us to recall a memory from our youth or bring us a comforting moment of peace in a busy life. There is nothing I like more than sitting reading a poetry book in front of a cosy fire, on a cold night.
I often try to ‘actively’ read. I will make notes in the margins of a book, usually in pencil and only in my own books that I know I will return to again. I may keep a notepad and write down interesting words, phrases and poems that I have come across. If they are really intriguing to me, I may transfer these thoughts into my commonplace book. It is a cross between a journal and my personal encyclopaedia of things that have taken my fancy.
Sometimes poems can and should be written or read for the sheer joy and humour that can be found. My father was a massive fan of The Goon Show and regularly played their radio recordings on a Marantz stereo in the living room. So, I grew up listening to the eccentric precursor to Monty Python, and the quirky writing styles of Spike Milligan.
There is a great joy that can be found if you lean into the humour. You can take a mundane concept like a trip to the dentist and record your life in a short comical poem.
fang
my smile has been returned to me
I’m happy that it’s back
a dentist replaced my broken fang
now a gappy smile I lack
Poetry can be evocative, moving, and lyrical. Tt can transport us to recall a memory from our youth or bring us a comforting moment of peace in a busy life. There is nothing I like more than sitting reading a poetry book in front of a cosy fire, on a cold night.
I often try to ‘actively’ read. I will make notes in the margins of a book, usually in pencil and only in my own books that I know I will return to again. I may keep a notepad and write down interesting words, phrases and poems that I have come across. If they are really intriguing to me, I may transfer these thoughts into my commonplace book. It is a cross between a journal and my personal encyclopaedia of things that have taken my fancy.
Sometimes poems can and should be written or read for the sheer joy and humour that can be found. My father was a massive fan of The Goon Show and regularly played their radio recordings on a Marantz stereo in the living room. So, I grew up listening to the eccentric precursor to Monty Python, and the quirky writing styles of Spike Milligan.
There is a great joy that can be found if you lean into the humour. You can take a mundane concept like a trip to the dentist and record your life in a short comical poem.
spend an afternoon writing short prose poetry
ARTICLE BY ANGELA ACOSTA
You write by hand, by machine, slipping between your mother tongue and English so readily, so only you will be able to interpret this in the end. Was it ever about posterity? ...
Prose poetry is to be admired for its creative possibilities. It is a good solution for an idea caught between poetry and flash fiction. It distinguishes itself as poetry in paragraphs of a few lines to several pages in length. There are no line breaks or overt devices being used. In this form, each sentence should have a subject and verb somewhere in the mix, and perhaps a refrain that runs through the prose poem.
Spend an afternoon writing a prose poem. You will see the ebb and flow of verse leaping from the page. A well-crafted prose poem works through a narrative problem: the poet or protagonist of the poem traces a timeline of events leading to the outcome of the poem.
These events are generally written chronologically but can also be non-linear. Through each sentence, a poet can record the protagonist’s thoughts or feelings, only to contradict them in their next comment or complaint.
Prose poetry is a form of poetry which can never be counted by its lines. It is always measured in words, like prose, and therefore lends itself to flash fiction and short essays rather than poetry competitions.
Writing Prompts: Time Specific
your garden in the morning
stuck in rush hour traffic
a big life decision late on a Sunday night
You write by hand, by machine, slipping between your mother tongue and English so readily, so only you will be able to interpret this in the end. Was it ever about posterity? ...
Prose poetry is to be admired for its creative possibilities. It is a good solution for an idea caught between poetry and flash fiction. It distinguishes itself as poetry in paragraphs of a few lines to several pages in length. There are no line breaks or overt devices being used. In this form, each sentence should have a subject and verb somewhere in the mix, and perhaps a refrain that runs through the prose poem.
Spend an afternoon writing a prose poem. You will see the ebb and flow of verse leaping from the page. A well-crafted prose poem works through a narrative problem: the poet or protagonist of the poem traces a timeline of events leading to the outcome of the poem.
These events are generally written chronologically but can also be non-linear. Through each sentence, a poet can record the protagonist’s thoughts or feelings, only to contradict them in their next comment or complaint.
Prose poetry is a form of poetry which can never be counted by its lines. It is always measured in words, like prose, and therefore lends itself to flash fiction and short essays rather than poetry competitions.
Writing Prompts: Time Specific
your garden in the morning
stuck in rush hour traffic
a big life decision late on a Sunday night
dylan thomas’ portrait poems
MINI-WORKSHOP BY WENDY BEACH
Poetic portraits are couplet poems about simple subjects any person might experience in their daily life, while also using compound words in an interesting way.
LINE ONE
The first line asks a question
The poet addresses the reader as ‘you’ Did YOU ever ...
The next word conveys imagery
see, taste, touch, smell, hear, or a synomym of any of these hold a jellyfish?
Then add a subject, which is concrete, real, and simple
an old man, a flower, the Eiffel Tower, or a music video
LINE TWO
To describe the subject to the reader, here we have a clever use of three sets of hyphenated, compound words, many made up. Rhyme is not used.
The first set gives imagery and a sense of movement Squishy-mass
The second set describes a body part soggy-armed
The final set is a statement or a mic drop moment, if you like passerby
Traditional Variations (optional)
Four sets of compound words on the second line
The second word of each set ending in an ‘ing’ word
A body part might be an ‘arm’ of a tree or the bottom of the ocean
The final set can be an unhyphenated compound word
Putting it all together with punctuation
Did you ever hold a jellyfish?
Squishy-mass, soggy-armed, passerby.
Challenge to our readers
Dylan Thomas’ poetry portraits are a well-known form of poetry. The portraits form is readily found in poetry books up into the 1980s. However, Dylan’s own poetry portraits are nowhere to be found online. We would love to hear from you if you have an old publication with them and could share the details. [email protected]
Poetic portraits are couplet poems about simple subjects any person might experience in their daily life, while also using compound words in an interesting way.
LINE ONE
The first line asks a question
The poet addresses the reader as ‘you’ Did YOU ever ...
The next word conveys imagery
see, taste, touch, smell, hear, or a synomym of any of these hold a jellyfish?
Then add a subject, which is concrete, real, and simple
an old man, a flower, the Eiffel Tower, or a music video
LINE TWO
To describe the subject to the reader, here we have a clever use of three sets of hyphenated, compound words, many made up. Rhyme is not used.
The first set gives imagery and a sense of movement Squishy-mass
The second set describes a body part soggy-armed
The final set is a statement or a mic drop moment, if you like passerby
Traditional Variations (optional)
Four sets of compound words on the second line
The second word of each set ending in an ‘ing’ word
A body part might be an ‘arm’ of a tree or the bottom of the ocean
The final set can be an unhyphenated compound word
Putting it all together with punctuation
Did you ever hold a jellyfish?
Squishy-mass, soggy-armed, passerby.
Challenge to our readers
Dylan Thomas’ poetry portraits are a well-known form of poetry. The portraits form is readily found in poetry books up into the 1980s. However, Dylan’s own poetry portraits are nowhere to be found online. We would love to hear from you if you have an old publication with them and could share the details. [email protected]
c. 2025 All Rights Reserved. Wild Whispers Poetry Magazine
