It's The 2025 Poem-A-Week Challenge Discussion Thread

I have been working on a longer, interrelated poem. I entered it as one poem broken into three.

Last time I wrote three separate ones.

I dunno if that was the right answer or not. Love to hear your opinions.
Hi Wonderer. I really like that you're putting these connected pieces together. You may eventually discover you have a whole bunch of poems that weave around the same theme and thus a chapbook is born.

Like Smiling Lez (another NJ homie 😊), I have fond memories of the State Fair (when it was in Trenton) and 4H clubs. More recently I'd go to the Bucks County Ag Fair which always has a big 4H presence. So your poem resonates for me, especially the contests (congrats on that mega sunflower!) and the tractor pulls.

I like the idea of titles although i think an overall title would work better. The separate poems are self-explanatory, but overall the poem is about the fair, right?

The poems are good. They have movement and some strong imagery. My only query is who are these poems for? If the answer is you and your wife then fine. If you think there might eventually be a wider audience then you may want to comb through the poems and edit anything that isn't relevant. But that's just food for thought.
 
Hi Wonderer. I really like that you're putting these connected pieces together. You may eventually discover you have a whole bunch of poems that weave around the same theme and thus a chapbook is born.

Like Smiling Lez (another NJ homie 😊), I have fond memories of the State Fair (when it was in Trenton) and 4H clubs. More recently I'd go to the Bucks County Ag Fair which always has a big 4H presence. So your poem resonates for me, especially the contests (congrats on that mega sunflower!) and the tractor pulls.
I don’t recall the state fair, but we would go to the hundred and County fair at the old racetrack ever since I was a kid. Great memories!! We did go to Trenton for the races but I don’t think we ever went for the fairs. 🫤

The poems are good. They have movement and some strong imagery. My only query is who are these poems for? If the answer is you and your wife then fine. If you think there might eventually be a wider audience then you may want to comb through the poems and edit anything that isn't relevant. But that's just food for thought.
I don’t really know who the poems are for. Mostly for me and my wife. For me, it’s just a good creative outlet.

I really wouldn’t know how to start editing them, although I do edit them down considerably.

I simply like the fact that poetry seems to have very few rules. Sort of works for me.
 
I just read your poem. I don't think you need the titles of each individual part. I enjoyed it very much having been to many a 4H fair when I was younger
Thanks. I did not really know if I should break them apart or keep it the same poem. Maybe I could retitle the whole thing three days in August.

I like them yet feel a bit dissatisfied at the whole. Hmmmm.
 
Oh Wow: didn't know of this spelling!!!
Hi Ash. 🌹

Punkin isn't technically an alternate spelling. It's more an American dialect thing that you see in casual uses and folk tales, etc. I'm sure there are analogs in Hindi, Marathi, even Urdu right? (I won't even try to name any more of the bazillion languages and dialects on the Indian subcontinent!!!)
 
I don’t recall the state fair, but we would go to the hundred and County fair at the old racetrack ever since I was a kid. Great memories!! We did go to Trenton for the races but I don’t think we ever went for the fairs. 🫤


I don’t really know who the poems are for. Mostly for me and my wife. For me, it’s just a good creative outlet.

I really wouldn’t know how to start editing them, although I do edit them down considerably.

I simply like the fact that poetry seems to have very few rules. Sort of works for me.
If it's working for you that's all that matters. Otoh I do think you could publish your poetry if you polished it up some and I always try to suggest that path....though I'm not sure why because, Literotica aside, the publishing game can be a huge pain in the ass. And of course it's really easy now to self-publish. But I'm just thinking out loud!

So yes the NJ State Fair used to be in Hamilton Township. I think it moved to the Meadowlands in the 80s. It was off Nottingham Way, where the Grounds for Sculpture is now. It was a big deal with the racetrack, a huge midway, the ag halls and competitions. Dick Clark used to bring a big rock and roll revue show every year. And school-aged kids would get free tickets and a half day off to attend at the start of the school year. They'd have big concerts there too. I saw The Band there when I was around 14. 😍
 
If it's working for you that's all that matters. Otoh I do think you could publish your poetry if you polished it up some and I always try to suggest that path....though I'm not sure why because, Literotica aside, the publishing game can be a huge pain in the ass. And of course it's really easy now to self-publish. But I'm just thinking out loud!

So yes the NJ State Fair used to be in Hamilton Township. I think it moved to the Meadowlands in the 80s. It was off Nottingham Way, where the Grounds for Sculpture is now. It was a big deal with the racetrack, a huge midway, the ag halls and competitions. Dick Clark used to bring a big rock and roll revue show every year. And school-aged kids would get free tickets and a half day off to attend at the start of the school year. They'd have big concerts there too. I saw The Band there when I was around 14. 😍
Wow! That must’ve been cool seeing the band.

I wish I’d been to the fair, but we did go to the races there: the modified race of champions and once the Indy car races where I saw Gordon johncock and AJ Foyt race. It was really cool. I think k AAA was still the sanctioning body for the race. Yeah, that aaa!

Good memories. I’ve been to the grounds of sculpture.

Trenton had a great shaped track, complete with a right turn. It was bean shaped.

I digress. I miss the olden daze.


 
If you haven't discovered her thread yet, I highly recommend you read Moochienanu who posts her poems in the Hangout here. She is really, really good. Start with her most recent post, which is an absolute wow!
 
Hi Ash. 🌹

Punkin isn't technically an alternate spelling. It's more an American dialect thing that you see in casual uses and folk tales, etc. I'm sure there are analogs in Hindi, Marathi, even Urdu right? (I won't even try to name any more of the bazillion languages and dialects on the Indian subcontinent!!!)
U're so right , Angie: every district of India has a distinct dialect, spelling, pronunciation quite different from neighboring district...
 
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