Poetry Friday: NPR's Poetry Games

It's almost week two of the 2012 Olympics. As many have stated, there was a long tradition -- sadly, now ended -- of poetry concurrent with athletics in Olympic celebrations.

National Public Radio is trying in a small, but fun, way to bring the Olympic poetic tradition back.

In honor of the 2012 Olympic Games, you can visit NPR's Poetry Games. There are five poems competing at the NPR Poetry Games site. Each one represents a different country. Each one also represents a different Olympic sport.

The U.S.'s contribution is "The Wrestler" by Kazim Ali. (My son wrestled for seven years and our family has a love-hate relationship with the sport. There were things I loved and recognized as true in this poem, but it was also painful to hear -- as the sport can be painful to watch for families.)

From 222.london2012.com

I will be voting for "Lifting" by Ouyang Yu, who is representing either his native China or Australia. But I'm an honest judge and I am looking for overall performance, not country.

Lifting

by Ouyang Yu

For years
I have been dreaming
of turning
writing into a sport
in the Olympic Games
that is called, tentatively
Wordlifting
in which I'd give
my simplest performance
by lifting
the lightest and the liveliest
word: Love

Read the rest at NPR's Poetry Games. Then, read the other four entries and vote. You will find poems about wrestling, swimming, tae kwon do, and diving, as well as the lifting poem by Ouyang Yu.

Although I think we've seen enough competition lately, I love the idea of the Poetry Games. Through NPR's program, I've been reading poets from other cultures who are new to me, and also experiencing sport, not through a commentator's banter, but through the rich language of poetry.

Writing Exercise: take an Olympic sport and change its name to suggest the atheticism of writing. Write a poem about it. Water Polo (what's up with NBC's huge amount of coverage) = Word Polo, Volleyball = Verbyball, the long jumper could be going for a leap over longer and longer sentences. It's a stretch, but something to have fun with.

This week's Poetry Friday host is Rena at On the Way to Somewhere.

P.S. For those of you who wanted to vote in the Fascination Awards, voting is now open. Author Amok is in the running for a "Best Creative Writing Teacher Blog." The nominated post features Poetry Friday's Robyn Hood Black!

Olympic Poetry Friday

It was a thrill to be in London right before the Olympics, even though we didn't make it to the games.

Olympic countdown clock in Trafalgar Square (which was oddly free of pigeons).

My kids are getting a kick out of watching pre-Olympics news coverage. They spot sites we visited and say, "We were there!" (They even saw our Tower of London tour guide.)

Tower Bridge seen from the Tower of London's grounds.

Because I live near Baltimore, home of Michael Phelps, swimming is a big story here. No poet has written about swimming with the beauty and depth of understanding Maxine Kumin has for the sport. According to the Poetry Archive, Kumin was a competitive swimmer as a child. (She has also written books for children, which I will have to check out.)


Here is her poem, "To Swim, To Believe"

To Swim, To Believe

by Maxine Kumin

Centre College, Danville, Kentucky

The beautiful excess of Jesus on the waters

is with me now in the Boles Natatorium.

This bud of me exults, giving witness:

these flippers that rose up to be arms.

These strings drawn to be fingers.

Legs plumped to make my useful fork.

Each time I tear this seam to enter,

all that I carry is taken from me,

shucked in the dive.

Lovers, children, even words go under.

Matters of dogma spin off in the freestyle

earning that mid-pool spurt, like faith.

Where have I come from? Where am I going?

Read the rest at  Ed Hirsch's "Poet's Choice."

One of my favorite concrete poems -- more subtle than most shape poems -- is Kumin's "400 Meter Freestyle," which you can find here, with questions for the classroom. The swimmer in "400 Meter Freestyle" is racing. This one's a good fit if you're looking for Olympics-themed poems.

So long, from Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square!

Enjoy this Friday's poetry posts by visiting Life is Better with Books. If you have a moment, please vote for my blog -- Author Amok has been nominated for a Fascination Award. The voting page has been updated and you can now vote.