Poetry Prompt #2

This poem by Todd Davis, “Logjam on Lookout Creek,” is from one of the reflection sites at the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon, home to 200-year scientific studies and Long-Term Ecological Reflections, a program to combine arts and humanities with the sciences, which has inspired similar programs around the world, including here in Indiana with NICHES Land Trust and ACRES Land Trust.

Read Davis’ poem and go to the oldest thing near you to write about it. A building, a tree, a rock, a historic site. This is a good way to write a poem about history or timelessness or the future.

If that doesn’t work, write about fishing after reading these Todd Davis poems or Bruce Snider’s “Afterlife.”

 

Kevin McKelvey is place-based writer, poet, designer, and social practice artist. His poetry book, Dream Wilderness, was published last year, and another book, Indiana Nocturnes, written with Curtis Crisler, will be published this year. He is at work on a novel and regularly completes workshops, art installations, and placemaking projects around Indiana. At University of Indianapolis, he serves as associate professor in the English Department and as director of the university’s Masters in Social Practice of Art program. Kevin grew up on the edge of a corn field near Lebanon, Indiana, and attended DePauw University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale.