You might have remembered that April is Poetry Month, that month where several of us celebrated by sharing poems we had found. Sometimes these were centered around an author or a theme, sometimes they were just poems that we loved. We were careful to provide citations, and I (mistakenly) thought this meant we were respecting the author's copyright. It became clear that if we were posting poetry written by someone else, then that is against copyright law unless the work is in the public domain or you have permission. Using small excerpts (~ two lines) from other poets' work may be allowed under "fair use," but reproducing entire poems requires permission.
None of us wanted to be stealing poetry, so despite the fact that our intentions were good (solely to share and enjoy poetry), we couldn't figure a way around this. We decided it was better to not to do our usual celebration of Poetry Month, which saddened many of us, but sometimes you just have to be a grownup and do the right thing.
But ... publishing your own poetry on a personal blog is not against copyright law, so that's what I'm doing today. I read an article about Zip Odes and was intrigued. Invented in 2015, the Zip Ode is a five-line poem about where you live, written in the form of your zip code. Write the numbers of your zip code down the left-hand side of the page. Each number determines the number of words in that line. If you have a zero in your zip code, that line is a wild card! You can leave it blank, insert an emoji or symbol, or use any number of words between 1 and 9.
Lucky me! My zip code is 08822, so I get a wild card line, along with two lines with eight words. I wrote my own Zip Ode, focusing on some of the things I love about this area.
Home again
Genius, Bonny! Pure genius! This is a brilliant and fun way to incorporate your own poetry into the month! (my zip code - 15243 - is challenging but I will play along and share my results later on this week!)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I love your zip ode and will try my hand at one.
ReplyDeleteOh, Bonny! This is wonderful -- both your personal Zip Ode AND the Zip Ode concept altogether. Perfect for National Poetry Month, too. I'm going to try one myself! (I also have a 0 in my zip code . . . right in the middle!)
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely a poet, Bonny! This is a lovely verse that stimulates visual and auditory sensations, and the pictures are a perfect accompaniment. I am impressed, and I enjoyed your Zip Ode this morning. I can almost feel the mist from the river fog on my cheeks.
ReplyDeleteI love your poem, and I want to try it. 99336 should give me some scope. I once lived at 98119, which would be a similar long/short challenge.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me of when we were all excited about doing the Ravelympics only to have the Olympic committee's layers shut it down. I like your work around. Your Zip Ode is lovely as are the accompanying photos.
ReplyDeleteI respect authors of all sorts and would never want to knowingly infringe upon their copyright. When you know better, you do better, plus, it gave me a chance to try writing some poetry of my own!
DeleteI'm not a poet, but here is my attempt:
ReplyDelete61920-
Morning on the prairie birds sing
to
wake the day, welcome the light, and bring hope
to people
who long for kindness, truth, and peace
I think that you clearly are a poet, Debbie! You have a somewhat challenging zip code, but this is just wonderful (especially the last line). I love your Zip Ode, and thank you very much for sharing it!
DeleteWhat a beautiful poem Bonny. I also love the photographs that accompany this post. What a perfect way to celebrate poetry month. I'll have to give the Zip Ode a try, alas though I have no wild card.
ReplyDeleteI did not know this about copyright...interesting but I guess totally fair to the poets. Your zip ode is perfect and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I love your Zip Ode!
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