Writing Prompt #3

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Writing Prompt #3 (w/ J. Scott Brownlee)

Hey Button fans! With just a couple weeks left in the video and chapbook contests, we’re excited to feature another writing prompt to help you with your own writing. If you’re comfortable, please share what you write in response to the prompt in the comments below this post, and feel free to include it in your submission for either contest! You can check our previous prompts here.
Today’s prompt comes courtesy of former Button chapbook contest winner J. Scott Brownlee. For further inspiration, you can check out some of Brownlee’s work on the Button channel here and here. The prompt is as follows:

Frank O’Hara’s famous line “Someday I’ll love Frank O’Hara” has ignited a chain of responses from contemporary poets started by Roger Reeves and continued by myself and poets like Ocean Vuong. Write a poem about yourself that is also about your place in the world. Let its title be, “Someday I’ll Love (Insert Your Full Name).” This is the only rule to follow for this prompt. Be bold. Think big. Say something you’ve been afraid to say about yourself and your identity. For an example, check out Ocean’s poem “Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong” in The New Yorker.

Again, feel free to share whatever you write in response to the prompt in the comments below this post (you can use a pseudonym if you’d prefer, and your email address won’t be public). We look forward to seeing your work!

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J. Scott Brownlee is a poet-of-place from rural Texas. He is the author of the full-length collection Requiem for Used Ignition Cap (2015 Orison Poetry Prize) as well as the chapbooks Highway or Belief (2013 Button Poetry Prize), Ascension (2014 Robert Phillips Prize), and On the Occasion of the Last Old Camp Meeting in Llano County (2015 Tree Light Books Prize). Brownlee is a founding member of The Localists, a literary collective that supports writing focused on working class life. You can learn more about him at www.jscottbrownlee.com.

Writing Prompt #2

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Writing Prompt #2 (w/ Jesse Parent)

Hey Button fans! With the chapbook and video contests in full swing, we’re excited to feature another writing prompt to help you with your own writing. If you’re comfortable, please share what you write in response to the prompt in the comments below this post (and feel free to use it for either of your contest submissions!) You can check out responses to our previous prompt here.
Today’s prompt comes courtesy of Jesse Parent. For further inspiration, you can check out some of Jesse’s work on the Button channel here, here and here. The prompt is as follows:

Choose an object that has a lot of sentimental value to you and an object you bought in the last week (or most recently). Write a letter from the sentimental object to the object you just bought explaining who you are and how to take care of you. (Optional: leave a few lines at the end for the object you just bought to respond).

Again, feel free to share whatever you write in response to the prompt in the comments below this post (you can use an anonymous name if you’d prefer, and your email address won’t be public). We look forward to seeing your work!

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Jesse Parent is an award-winning slam poet who was the runner up at the 2010 and 2011 Individual World Poetry Slams, a finalist in the 2012 Ontario International Poetry Slam and 2014 Ill List Poetry Slam Invitational, and a semifinalist at the 2011 and 2012 National Poetry Slams. He is also a touring improv comedian, a veteran of over 40 improv festivals, and was named an Artistic Associate of the prestigious Chicago Improv Festival in 2006. His work has been featured on the Huffington Post, UpWorthy.com, Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze.com, and the television show Lexus Verses and Flow on the TV One network. You can find out more about Jesse at his web site, JesseParent.com.

Writing Prompt #1

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Writing Prompt #1 (w/ Ollie Schminkey)

Hey Button fans! We know a lot of you are writers yourselves, and we’re excited to be launching a new series on this blog featuring writing prompts to help you with your own writing. If you’re comfortable, please share what you write in response to the prompt in the comments below this post!
Today’s prompt comes courtesy of Ollie Schminkey. You can check out some of Ollie’s work on the Button channel here, here and here. The prompt is as follows:

Write a love letter to someone who has betrayed you.
What have they given you? What have they taken?

Again, feel free to share whatever you write in response to the prompt in the comments below this post (you can use an anonymous name if you’d prefer, and your email address won’t be public). We look forward to seeing your work!

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Ollie Schminkey is a white, non-binary transgender poet/activist/ musician/artist. They facilitate, direct, and host many organizations, including the Macalester Poetry Slam, Well-Placed Commas (a weekly poetry workshop with Word Sprout, Inc.), and OUTspoken! (a queer open mic). They have also represented the Twin Cities in numerous national poetry competitions, and they are the author of one chapbook, The Taste of Iron. Publications that feature their work include Write Bloody and Andrea Gibson’s anthology, We Will Be Shelter, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, and 20% Theatre Co’s The Naked I. They have guest curated two shows, Rage, and STARE BACK, at the Fox Egg Gallery. You can find more of their work at http://ollieschminkey.weebly.com.