Game 1: Write down the first word that pops into your head.
Game 2: Write down the following: 3 words that rhyme with the original word, 2 synonyms of the original word and 1 opposite of the original word.
Game 3: Take 7 minutes to write a poem in any style you like, but make sure you use all 7 words you’ve written at some point.
I used to tell people
your lips moved weirdly when you spoke.
You weren’t bad on children’s TV.
I think I was annoyed
because you looked taller than me.
I like your podcast
because I’m a big boy now.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
Game 1: Take a minute to think of a celebrity you like.
Game 2: Get into a blazing row with them for 4 minutes. Consider: What would it be about? What would you say? How far would you go? Would you get personal?
Game 3: Spend 5 minutes trying to make up with them in a poem.
I try not to
believe a word
but sometimes
they’re said too loud.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
Game 1: Listen to the instrumental piece
Tall Tales by Human Pyramids.
Game 2: Listen to it 3 more times on repeat and see if any lyrics or a poem come to mind.
I’ve always eaten the crusts on my sandwiches.
10.5 in trainers, 11 in football boots, 12 in wellies.
The weather is fine up here.
It’s called vitiligo.
I was about 18 and 2 months old.
Daniel Bryan.
A chippendale or lead singer of Status Quo.
Roast dinner.
Being falsely imprisoned.
It depends when you ask,
but right now Salt and Vinegar.
I think about him every day,
it doesn’t matter how long you know someone.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
Game 1: Imagine you’ve met your doppelgänger – someone who looks exactly like you.
Game 2: Take 3 minutes to scribble down all the questions you would ask them.
Game 3: You are now the doppelgänger! Take 7 minutes to answer the questions the other you wrote in a 10 line (or more) poem.
There’s a framed picture of Frank Sinatra
frowning at a toddler
nailed wonkily to the wall
above a knackered juke box
playing Babyshambles on repeat.
The 70s wallpaper has chunks missing
and I can see at least three rusty pipes
behind the Japanese gins and American ales.
The exposed brick is crying damp.
Tripled cooked chips are sitting
in the middle of greasy upside down hats,
beetroot ketchup is dripping through the gaps.
There ain’t a smile in the gaff
and everyone feels at home.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
Game 1: Spend 2 minutes coming up with fake pub names (or cafes). List as many as you can.
Game 2: Pick the one you like the most.
Game 3: For 8 minutes, imagine you’re sitting in that pub or cafe. Write a poem with, as poet Tim Clare would say, “crunchy specificity”. Describe the place with great detail. What’s happening there? Who’s having a drink? Is anyone eating? Etc.
Carl Burkitt
I love how old you are.
I love how smooth you are.
I love how you keep going.
I love how secure you make me feel.
I love how you just decided
furniture is allowed to be fun.
I love how you keep going.
I love how you remind me of the sea.
I love thinking about being with you
on the porch drinking homemade lemonade
growing old and creaking together.
I love how you keep going.
I hate how often I imagine you rocking
in the dark with no one sitting on you.
© Carl Burkitt 2021
Carl tells tales 