J is for Jazz Night

Okay, I admit, this one is a bit of a shameless plug, but J is for Jazz Night - my first ever published poem.

The process of writing the poem started in September 2010 with a freewrite based on a picture by Jack Vettriano (below) and the song 'It looks like rain' by Jann Arden. At the time I wrote 'I can easily imagine this song being sung late at night in a club with dim lights and small tables. I'll see where that takes me and go from there.'

After I'd done the freewrite, it sat around in my files for a few months until I had an assignment for my Open University course on poetry. I dug out the freewrite and looked at it to see if it was suitable for making into a poem, and then started tearing it apart, separating sentences, looking for rhymes and rhythms, and seeing if I could recreate the picture I'd been using as a prompt in poetry. The rhyme scheme was deliberately relaxed - ABBA and not AABB - and loose, breaking down completely in the last stanza.

The finished result was published by Every Day Poets in June 2011, nine months after I wrote the first freewrite. It got some very positive feedback and was also one of the top poems of the month. Writing Jazz Night was a good lesson in patience and revision, as well as proof to myself that I could produce something that other people wanted to read and that was worth doing.

Jazz Night by Pam Griffin

The tables set back from the glare
seat men who come to lose the night
in whisky under muted lights,
in jazz, in blues, in cheap affairs.

No talking here, no friends, no food,
just whisky poured out by the dram,
and saxophone, piano, drum -
The perfect place to sit and brood.

The sultry singer shows her range
and tells about her latest sin,
while drinks are served by faceless girls
who take your cash – and keep your change.

Jazz Night on Every Day Poets

My poem was published on Every Day Poets on June 17 and it seems that people like it as it's currently in the top ten favourite poems of the year list!
If you're one of the people who rated it, thank you! If not, then please go and read it and let me know what you think.

A Good Six Months

Well the first six months of 2011 have been pretty good on the writing front, what with being included in Write for Japan, having Jazz Night accepted by Every Day Poets, and with the creative writing course going well.

In a non-fiction vein I've got into podcasting as well, and written two podcasts for 365 Days of Astronomy - End of an Endeavour (broadcast May 31) and The Universe in your Phone (broadcast May 28).

My goals for the second half of 2011 are:

• Edit, edit, edit...
• Start submitting the short stories I've been writing to magazines.
• Finish the OU creative writing course and sign up for the advanced course.
• Do NaNoWriMo with the story I almost started for my last assignment (provisionally entitled Flux).
  

Decisions, decisions!

The last month has been pretty hectic, which is why I've been quiet for a few weeks, sorry...

My final assignment for my OU course is due in at the start of June, so I'm working on that at the moment. I'm torn between whether to do the whole thing in fiction or whether to throw in a bit of autobiographical travel writing as well. And then I came up with an idea for a new novel, so now I'm wondering if I should use that instead. Decisions, decisions!

And some news - my poem Jazz Night, which I originally wrote as part of the OU course, will be published on Every Day Poets on June 17. I'll post the link here when it appears.

Write for Japan & poetry

The Write for Japan project is well and truly off the ground now. To find out more visit www.writeforjapan.com, and please, please, please do consider donating.

All the authors are writing stories on the subject of destruction and/or hope. I don't know exactly what form the stories will take, but I'm looking forward to finding out. My story - Generation Three - is a sci-fi one set on board a generation ship, taking the human race to find another world after the Earth became uninhabitable.

And changing the subject completely, my poem Jazz Night has been accepted by Every Day Poets!

Poetry and charity books

Not much to say today. I didn't think poetry was my 'thing' but I seem to have done alright in the poetry part of the creative writing course, and one of my poems is now being considered for publication at Every Day Poets!

In other news... I'm getting involved in a project called (provisionally) Write for Japan, which is hoping to produce a book of short stories to sell for charity to help with the aid and rebuilding work for victims of the Japan earthquake. I'll keep you posted...

Newspaper blackout poetry

I really enjoy reading Austin Kleon's newspaper blackout poetry. In a nutshell, you take a newspaper article and cross out words you don't want until you're left with a poem.

These are my attempts at blackout poetry using an article from the New York Times (you can see the word 'blows' that I used in both). It's fun and challenging, and as a journalist I find it quite satisfying to know that the articles I write may have a future beyond their original purpose!

Song challenge: Day 10 & OU course

My OU course materiels arrived yesterday. Having a quick flick through the books it looks like it's going to be a very interesting course - more on that later when I've had chance to really have a read. The course starts on October 2...

On to today's song challenge - Day 10 – A song that makes you fall asleep

This song doesn't make me fall asleep, but it's on my playlist of songs that I play when I want some music to fall asleep to. It Looks Like Rain by Jann Arden is a beautiful bluesy type song with soft piano and relaxing vocals.

I'm not sure what I'm going to write about today, but I think I might just do a freewrite on the prompt of 'a singer in a club'. I can easily imagine this song being sung late at night in a club with dim lights and small tables. I'll see where that takes me and go from there.