ALL NEXT MONTH IN THIS SPACE: OULIPOST, OULIPOST, OULIPOST

Every year I see these calls for a national novel writing or poetry writing month, or notices for experimental writing, and every year I pretty much shrug and think "someday maybe I'll think about getting involved, but not now, not now."

Until, well, now.

So next month I will be writing a poem every day based on something found in the local newspaper (in my case, The Daily Item) and posting it here. I have absolutely no idea how this will play out, but I welcome the challenge and change in writing routine.

Part of this effort involves me answering the following questions, so here goes.

1. WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT OULIPOST? 

Being forced out of my authorial comfort zone and into new directions and avenues.

2. WHAT, IF ANYTHING, SCARES YOU ABOUT OULIPOST? 

See the above.

3. HAVE YOU WRITTEN EXPERIMENTAL OR FOUND POETRY BEFORE? IF SO, TELL US ABOUT IT. 

This is a difficult question to answer, because it depends on one's definition of "experimental." I've never been a huge proponent of, say, a Jackson Pollock approach to poetry; collaging is in my wheelhouse but there is always a serious degree of craft and thought that goes into each poem. Given this, the most experimental poem I've ever written is a collage of bits from various literary journal rejection emails, where I turned all the bland, dismissive form-letter anti-prose into a lurching, mental-case parody of that particular voice. It's entitled "Nothing Ventured." I'm very proud of it, but, of course, no one wants to publish it.

4. WHAT NEWSPAPER WILL SERVE AS YOUR SOURCE TEXT? 

The Daily Item 

5. WHO’S YOUR SPIRIT OULIPIAN?

Can I take a rain check on this one? I'll do some research over the next couple days and post an answer in the next couple days.