Remembering a phenomenal woman

We say farewell this week to one of the world’s most revered poets, essayists, and storytellers, Maya Angelou. (Read her astounding biography at poetryfoundation.org.) Whether we know it or not, her work has touched us all. She was a legend and a role model for women, artists and activists everywhere.

Angelou’s writing manages to be both intensely personal and universally relevant, from her autobiographies to her poetry. Everyone who writes, everyone who struggles to be heard, everyone who yearns to make other people feel something is walking the same path as Maya Angelou, regardless of race, gender, genre, or technical ability. In fact, it is the themes and subjects of her poems that make them memorable, not their structure. She said it herself:

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

— from an interview in Beautifully Said Magazine, July 2012

We can’t all be Maya Angelou, but we can all take her words to heart. Write what you want people to feel. That’s what you want them to remember.

Challenge winners round-up

In case you missed them, here’s a summary of all the #163 winners. Take a few minutes to check out the best of all the grids right here.

Challenge grid

• Crowd favorite: Lisa at Priscilla Queen of the Dessert for McSticky Situation
• Top row: Cynthia for liquid courage and Michelle forAir Condtioner
• Kevin the Kiwi: Genna at writeamuck for Baptized in Grief
• Comment Bob: Linda of Elleroy Was Here and Meg of Pigspittle, Ohio.

Speakeasy

• Crowd favorites:  #1 Karen for Back to the Future; #2 Suzanne for Safe Distance; #3 EA Wicklund for Body Jumper; and #4 Jessica for Transitory
• Editors’ pick: Tweed and Tango for Persuasion

Gargleblaster

• Crowd favorite: Jo-Anne for Towards Eternity
• Editors’ pick: Veronica for Missing
• Top row seven: Jo-Anne plus Lisa for Good Girl; Karen for Creation Myth; Suzanne for Lost Girl; Rach for The Produce Isle; Susan for Accept No Imitations; and CC for That Morning Moment

Congratulations to all! Don’t forget: the moonshine grid is still open. Have something to add? Old posts and new are welcome. Go add yours, and while you’re there, visit your fellow yeah writers.

The ultimate question

We’re turning — of course — to Maya Angelou for this week’s ultimate question. Go read her phenomenal poem Caged Bird, and then tell us in your own words:

Why does the caged bird sing?

Give us your answer in 42 words. Be creative! Here are a couple of guidelines:

1. Do not mention anywhere in your post, either as intro or footnote, that you are writing to a prompt.
2. We want the story the furthest away in your imagination from the original prompt. Let your imagination loose.
3. Keep your writing style! Do you tell stories with humor? Prose? Verse? Photos? Illustrations? Keep doing that.

You don’t need to include the question in your 42-word response. Do make sure your answer stands alone. What do we mean? Write down the question. Write down your response. Now cover the question with your hand and read your answer out loud. Does it still make sense when you don’t know the question? That’s what we’re looking for.

The grid opens at midnight on Monday (that’s one minute after 11:59 PM on Sunday) and closes at midnight on Tuesday (that’s one minute after 11:59 PM on Monday). Yes, we give you only 24 hours to post, so you’d better get writing now! Come back to vote on Tuesday, and we’ll announce winners on Wednesday. Don’t forget to badge your post – the current gargleblaster badge is below.

Challenge schedule

There’s a lot going on around here lately. To make it simple, we’ll lay out the multi-grid schedule here:

• Sunday midnight: the gargleblaster prompt is announced in the kickoff post, and the speakeasy prompt is announced over at the speakeasy.
• Monday midnight: the gargleblaster grid opens for submissions.
• Tuesday midnight: the gargleblaster grid closes, and voting begins. The challenge grid and the speakeasy grid open for submissions. 10:00 PM: gargleblaster voting closes.
• Wednesday by noon: the gargleblaster winners are announced.
• Thursday midnight: the challenge grid and speakeasy grids close, and voting begins.10:00 PM: voting for both grids closes.
• Friday by noon: the challenge grid and speakeasy winners are announced, and the moonshine grid opens.
• Saturday and Sunday: moonshine grid is still open, writing, editing and rewriting happening for upcoming week!

Get your badges!

Below you’ll find the badges for yeah write challenge #164 and this week’s gargleblaster. Copy the code under the appropriate badge and paste it into the html or text view of your blog editor. Having trouble? Contact christine@yeahwrite.me for tech support.

<a href="https://yeahwrite.me/writing-challenge-164/"> <img src="https://yeahwrite.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/challenge164.png"> </a>

<a href="https://yeahwrite.me/gargleblaster-164/"> <img src="https://yeahwrite.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/gargle164.png"> </a>

 

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