Poetry Prompt – April 25

April 25 – Another Oulipo prompt: Antonymy: In Oulipian usage, antonymy means the replacement of a designated element by its opposite. Each word is replaced by its opposite, when one exists (black/white) or by an alternative suggesting antonymy (a/the, and/or, glass/wood). 

Original: To be or not to be, that is the question. 

Antonymy: To not be and to be: this was an answer. 

Select a passage from a source text to complete this exercise. 

From the Muse Library: Life of Poetry by Muriel Rukeyser. Observing that poetry is a natural part of our pastimes and rituals, Muriel Rukeyser opposes elitist attitudes and confronts Americans’ fear of feeling. Multicultural and interdisciplinary, this collection of essays and speeches makes an irrefutable case for the centrality of poetry in American life.