The Power of Photos to Inspire Writing

Words and pictures can work together to communicate more powerfully than either alone.

William Albert Allard

American Photographer

Creative Concepts 4

       What do you do when your brain becomes oatmeal, your fingers become lead, and you watch the cursor on your monitor blink endlessly without moving even one millimeter? Brew another cup of coffee? Vacuum the rugs? Take the dog out for a walk? Pray for inspiration?

            “I wasn’t born to vacuum rugs,” writes Elizabeth Guy, poet, storyteller, and co-author of Reflect and Write.  “That’s why, when my brain turns to stone while I struggle for new ideas, I use photographs for inspiration.”

A New Photo Every Week

            Whether you’re a teacher, a student, an aspiring writer, a professional writer, or a poet, you’ll discover that the photos and ideas posted here during the coming weeks will help you overcome the dreaded “writer’s block,” while at the same time inspiring you to create new and exciting works of prose and poetry.

            Sometimes direct quotations will accompany the photos. At other times, suggested first lines will serve as motivation for writing. Occasionally, specific suggestions will present challenges. From time to time, keywords will stimulate ideas.

            For even more information about using photos to inspire writing, click on these links: www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/ and http://ebowmanguy.blogspot.com.

            Please note: feel free to download the photos for your personal use as inspiration; for use in classrooms or workshops; or, for use in your blog  with credit to Hank Kellner and a link to hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com.  For commercial use please contact the author for rates.

 The Guitar Player

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter”

–John Keats Ode on a Grecian Urn

     Obviously, you can’t hear the music this street musician is playing. Paradoxically, however, maybe you you can hear it in your mind. Is it folk music? Flamenco? Music to accompany modern lyrics? Perhaps you can “hear” the sound in your mind while you create words that go along with it.

     Keywords:  musical instrument, guitar player, street music, isolated man

     Challenges:Write a poem in which a musical instrument plays an important role. Write a detailed description of the guitar player and his surroundings. Write a composition in which you describe other street musicians you may have seen. Use your imagination to recall a time in your life when you felt isolated from friends and family. Describe your own experiences with a musical instrument.

     If you’re in a workshop or other group setting, exchange papers with your peers and read each other’s work, either aloud or silently. Then write positive comments, questions, and/or suggestions before returning the papers to their authors.

    Possible opening lines: When I was about ten years old, my parents decided that I should take piano lessons. Oh, how I hated to make those weekly trips to visit my teacher, a wizened old man named Mr. Paderewski. Every time I went there, the ancient piano teacher  would wave his baton in time to a metronome while I attempted to master the same scales over and over again.

And Don't Miss...

       English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “White and White” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of my twelve-part series USING PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/ , as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"

       Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

Coming Next Week

Avenger Woman Lives!

Two Books That Will Help to Inspire Writing

         Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. This collection will help stimulate discussion that will trigger meaningful writing at many levels.  Includes CD with photos and poems from the book.

       Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy , ISBN 978-1-61821-023-4, Prufrock Press, 2013, 153 pages, $24.95. See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx.

          Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing is a collection of photographs and writing prompts designed to inspire writing. In addition to the many photos and ideas it presents, this collection includes a section that cites “Ten Ways to Use Reflect and Write” as well as a second section titled “How Some Teachers Use Photos to Inspire Writing” An added bonus is a CD with photos and writing prompts.

        Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner, Prufrock Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-877673-83-2, 118 pages, includes CD, $24.95.  See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Write-What-You-See-P791.aspx.

    

The Power of Photos to Inspire Writing # 3

Creative Concepts # 3 

Words and pictures can work together to communicate more powerfully than either alone.

William Albert Allard

American Photographer

            What do you do when your brain becomes oatmeal, your fingers become lead, and you watch the cursor on your monitor blink endlessly without moving even one millimeter? Brew another cup of coffee? Vacuum the rugs? Take the dog out for a walk? Pray for inspiration?

            “I wasn’t born to vacuum rugs,” writes Elizabeth Guy, poet, storyteller, and co-author of Reflect and Write.  “That’s why, when my brain turns to stone while I struggle for new ideas, I use photographs for inspiration.”

           

A New Photo Every Week

            Whether you’re a teacher, a student, an aspiring writer, a professional writer, or a poet, you’ll discover that the photos and ideas posted here during the coming weeks will help you overcome the dreaded “writer’s block,” while at the same time inspiring you to create new and exciting works of prose and poetry.

            Sometimes direct quotations will accompany the photos. At other times, suggested first lines will serve as motivation for writing. Occasionally, specific suggestions will present challenges. From time to time, keywords will stimulate ideas.

            For even more information about using photos to inspire writing, click on these links: www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/ and http://ebowmanguy.blogspot.com

            Please note: feel free to download the photos for your personal use as inspiration; for use in classrooms or workshops; or, for use in your blog with credit to Hank Kellner and a link to hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com. For commercial use please contact the author for rates. For information about and to purchase Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing, please visit at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Photos by the author.

Descriptive Writing 

     In one of these photos a woman dressed in white stands before an outdoor bulletin board, her back to the camera. In a second photo a woman dressed in jeans sits on a fence. Both women appear to be engrossed in something they’re reading.

      Who are these two women? What are they like? What are the similarities/differences between them? What would they say to each other if they were to meet? What are their families like? Their occupations? Their hopes and dreams? What is the man in the background of the second photo thinking? Those are but a few of the many questions that can serve as inspiration for writing.

 Possible Writing Assignment:  The two women shown in the photos meet by chance in a coffee shop and discover that they are distant relatives. Write a composition in which you reveal the conversation that takes place between them.

Keywords: isolate, reading, women, onlooker

Suggested Opening Lines: When I looked across the coffee shop and saw the woman hunched over her laptop, I was sure I knew her.

Coming Next Week 

A Stone Wall and a Guitar Player

      

               Another Helpful Source for Inspiration 

         Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your   Includes CD with photos and poems from the book.

Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. This collection will help stimulate discussion that will trigger meaningful writing at many levels.

    Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy , ISBN 978-1-61821-023-4, Prufrock Press, 2013, 153 pages, $24.95. See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx.

The Power of Photos to Inspire Writing #2

Creative Concepts # 2 

 

If one picture is worth a thousand words, can the same picture inspire a thousand words?

            What do you do when your brain becomes oatmeal, your fingers become lead, and you watch the cursor on your monitor blink endlessly without moving even one millimeter? Brew another cup of coffee? Vacuum the rugs? Take the dog out for a walk? Pray for inspiration?

            “I wasn’t born to vacuum rugs,” writes Elizabeth Guy, poet, storyteller, and co-author of Reflect and Write.  “That’s why, when my brain turns to stone while I struggle for new ideas, I use photographs for inspiration.”

A New Photo Every Week

  Whether you’re a teacher, a student, an aspiring writer, a professional writer, or a poet, you’ll discover that the photos and ideas posted here during the coming weeks will help you overcome the dreaded “writer’s block,” while at the same time inspiring you to create new and exciting works of prose and poetry

            Sometimes direct quotations will accompany the photos. At other times, suggested first lines will serve as motivation for writing. Occasionally, specific suggestions will present challenges. From time to time, keywords will stimulate ideas. For more information about using photos to inspire writing, click on these links: www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/ and  http://ebowmanguy.blogspot.com

            Please note: feel free to download the photos for your personal use as inspiration; for use in classrooms or workshops; or, for use in your blog with credit to Hank Kellner and link to hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com. For commercial use please contact the author for rates.

A Boy, a Bicycle, and a Garden Hose

      One way to inspire writing in the classroom is to ask students to list the first words that come to mind when they view this photo. Aspiring writers can then compile a master list of keywords that will help to stimulate their imaginations. For example, the word bicycle suggests any number of possibilities, as do water, child, boy, and hose.

    Thoughts of another writer always provide inspiration for others. And sometimes just a portion of a direct quotation can serve as a trigger for new compositions, as in Walt Whitman’s “Silent and amazed, even when I was a little boy/I remember I heard…” Using this concept as the basis for an opening sentence, students can recall events that occurred earlier during their lives.

            Provocative questions can help to trigger written compositions. For example: Why is this boy not wearing any clothes while he washes the bicycle? What would be the responses of passersby when they see the boy, the bicycle, and the garden hose? Where are the boy’s parents? How would you respond to this situation if you witnessed it?

Keywords: bicycle, boy, childhood, garden hose

Challenge: Write a monologue from the point of view of a parent whose child is constantly creating problems for the family.

Possible Opening Line: I just don’t know what to do with that child. The other day my neighbor told me that …

Coming Next Week

Who is this woman?

Another Source of Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.  See the latest review of Reflect and Write at http://www.amazon.com/review/R29PUHZ6Z2QP53/ref=cm_sw_em_r_asr_3gqGF.1TBHQ8Y_r

The Power of Photos to Inspire Writing #1

Creative Concepts 

If one picture is worth a thousand words, can the same picture inspire a thousand words?

            What do you do when your brain becomes oatmeal, your fingers become lead, and you watch the cursor on your monitor blink endlessly without moving even one millimeter? Brew another cup of coffee? Vacuum the rugs? Take the dog out for a walk? Pray for inspiration?

            “I wasn’t born to vacuum rugs,” writes Elizabeth Guy, poet, storyteller, and co-author of Reflect and Write.  “That’s why, when my brain turns to stone while I struggle for new ideas, I use photographs for inspiration.”

           

A New Photo Every Week

            Whether you’re a teacher, a student, an aspiring writer, a professional writer, or a poet, you’ll discover that the photos and ideas posted here during the coming weeks will help you overcome the dreaded “writer’s block,” while at the same time inspiring you to create new and exciting works of prose and poetry.

            Sometimes direct quotations will accompany the photos. At other times, suggested first lines will serve as motivation for writing.  Occasionally, specific suggestions will present challenges. From time to time, keywords will stimulate ideas. 

            For even more information about using photos to inspire writing, click on these links: www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/ and ebowmanguy.blogspot.com.

            Please note: feel free to download the photos for your personal use as inspiration; for use in classrooms or workshops; or for use in your blog with credit to Hank Kellner and a link to hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com. For commercial use please contact the author for rates. For information about and to purchase Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing, please visit at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Photos by the author.

 Four Chairs

    Four empty chairs are lined up in front of a coffee shop. One can’t help wondering why the chairs are empty. Did something happen that caused the former occupants of the chairs to flee?  Who were these people? What were they thinking? Where did they come from? Did they speak the same language?

Keywords: leisure, danger, abandoned, empty

 

Challenges: 

              1. Write descriptions of each of the four people who might  have occupied the chairs.  

              2. Write a monologue in which you describe one or more of the chair’s occupants from the point of view of one of the chairs.

              3.  Reveal the thoughts of someone who had sat in one of the chairs.

           

Possible opening lines:

A. At first I was happy to find a delightful coffee shop in Rome that wasn’t crowded with tourists. But when I settled into the a chair in front of the shop, my day was ruined when…

or

B. Rui finished arranging the four chairs and stepped back into the shadow of the café awning. He leaned against the door jamb and glanced along the thoroughfare. He scanned the crowds for the middle aged woman who would order an espresso and sit in the third chair most days.  Rui glanced at his watch, 10.50, it wouldn’t be long.  

                  

Coming Next Week

Why isn't this boy wearing clothes?

Another Helpful Source for Inspiration

For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

         

      

                       

 Did you know that the human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than it processes text?

Memories of an Outdoor Café

           

            When I saw the little café in Copenhagen, I knew I had to photograph it. Quickly, before the image could disappear from my mind’s eye, I aimed my Leica at the scene and captured it. The lighting was perfect.

             “Another shot of a storefront?” remarked my longtime partner and co-author Elizabeth Guy. “You must have a million of them in your files. Don’t you think you’ve photographed enough of them?”

            “Maybe,” I  responded. ‘But you never know. Someone might be able to use this photo some day.”

            Six years later, while we were developing a major project for a publisher of educational materials, Elizabeth walked into my office and handed me a sheet of paper with a poem and a photo printed on it. I hadn’t read the poem before that moment, but I did recognize the photo I’d taken several years earlier.

An Outdoor Café in Europe

I met him at an outdoor café

In Europe.

Copenhagen, I think.

We talked until the sun—

A scarlet wafer in the sky—

Disappeared.

That’s when he kissed me.

His breath was sweet:

Honey floating in the air.

When morning came,

I reached for him

In our little room

Above the café.

But, like the sun,

He’d disappeared.

Gone like the lovely night—

A misted memory.

Disappeared at morning rise—

Another shattered dream.

Ah, well, I sighed

And stretched

And thought:

Long distance relationships

Almost never work out.

                    --Elizabeth Guy

            “That’s a nice little poem,” I said.  “I like the ending. By the way, who was your lover with the sweet breath?”

            Elizabeth smiled. “There was no lover. Don’t be such a wise guy.”

            “By the way,” I continued,  “Isn’t that one of the photos I took while we were in Copenhagen? The one you complained about? The same one about which you said, ‘Don’t you think you’ve photographed enough storefronts?’”  Truth to tell, I was beginning to enjoy what I thought would be my moment of triumph.

            Elizabeth didn’t miss a beat. “That’s not what I said,” she responded. “That’s your interpretation. The fact is, what I really said was: ‘I’m glad you took that photo. I’m sure that some day it’ll provide inspiration for someone to write a poem or other work.’ I just didn’t know it would be me.” She placed her hands on her hips and smiled.

            Knowing that it would be futile to contradict her, I grinned at my partner and offered up the ancient incantation behind which men always hide when they know they’ve been outmaneuvered once again.  “Yes, dear. Of course you’re right,” I declared.

Coming Next Week and Every Week Thereafter

     Don't miss our upcoming series of evocative photos and accompanying prompts that are sure to inspire writing both in and out of the classroom.

____________________________________

        Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. This collection will help stimulate discussion that will trigger meaningful writing at many levels.  Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. 

        Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy ISBN 978-1-61821-023-4, Prufrock Press, 2013, 153 pages, $24.95. See More and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx.

Another Helpful Source for Inspiration  

          Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing is a collection of photographs and writing prompts designed to inspire writing. In addition to the many photos and ideas it presents, this collection includes a section that cites “Ten Ways to Use Reflect and Write” as well as a second section titled “How Some Teachers Use Photos to Inspire Writing” An added bonus is a CD with photos and writing prompts.

      Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner, Prufrock Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-877673-83-2, 118 pages, includes CD, $24.95 See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Write-What-You-See-P791.aspx

      

      I'm delighted to offer a guest blog by Vivienne Neale, the director of The Writing Retreat and a prolific writer and author. Having earned a Masters degree in Creative Writing,  Neale is well qualified to conduct creative writing tutorials via Skype, as well as actual writing retreats from her base in Portugal.  You can book a tutorial or retreat by emailing info@writingretreatportugal.com.You can also catch up with Neale's blog at www.writingretreatportugal.com. Her poem "Black Saturday" graphically depicts the carnage inflicted on Great Britain during the opening days of World War II.

     

The Writing Retreat Steps Back in Time

     I had always been fascinated by World War II as a kid. It was not surprising really as there were so many people around me who had direct experience of it. My father was in the navy and I guess he always encouraged me to read as much as I could about that dreadful period.

    The reading I did as an adolescent has haunted me. Poems like "No More Hiroshimas" by James Kirkup, for example, have remained in my mind and if you don’t know the work it is well worth tracking down.

      I started using this conflict in my poetry when I was a teenager and often return to it. The video footage now on YouTube is fascinating but it was a visit to The Museum of London that was the starting point for the poem I share today.

     The Museum is set in Docklands and there are all kinds of exhibits outlining the tremendous damage that happened in the East End of London during the 1940s. I was mesmerized by the interviews of Londoners who had survived the appalling bombing raids that used to happen night after night all along the banks of the Thames. The Luftwaffe was determined to knock out the docks which was Britain’s lifeline in so many ways to the rest of the world.

     Such suffering and death are a million miles away from the environment I inhabit at the writing retreat in Portugal but I just couldn’t forget about what I had seen back in London and it was inevitable I should write this poem.

     I wanted to write something in memoriam. The names of the docks are part of the geography, the sociology, the history and the identity of everyone who lived there and somehow I wanted to bring the experience of that time back to life. I concentrated on the sounds and smells of the docks with its variety of goods all housed in massive warehouses and the desperate scenes firemen found as they arrived to tackle the intense blazes. Imagine dealing with all different types of fires but always very dangerous and volatile.

We owe much to all those who lost their lives and who showed incredible bravery. I just hope I have done them proud.

Black Saturday

Observers had mistaken a 20 mile formation of bombers over the East End Docks, for Allied planes.

In September 1940, the empire’s treasure struck back;

cracked pepper singed the air, fire fighters choked

as spices roasted, igniting in spumes of gritty smoke;

liquid fire poured under warehouse doors, elsewhere

barrels shot white firework flames skywards. Crackling

drowned the hissing hoses and yells of men burning;

the Thames soaked up explosions as timber yards, transit

sheds, rubber, jam and pickle factories took direct hits.

The Isle of Dogs was caramelised; West India Docks roasted

in oils; Millwall’s middle sector, lined by global shipping,

buckled, into a scrap metal flotilla. McDougall’s flour silos,

now exposed, pointed the way for yet more bombing. Black

smog, thick and toxic, spelled: ‘We’ve lost it!’; traitor’s talk.

Night fell but skies were alight, glowing daybreak pink, sunset

red. St Paul’s’ iconic silhouette fragile, as Silvertown, Woolwich

Arsenal, St Katherine’s Dock and Beckton Gasworks, copped it.

Coming Soon

        Be on the lookout for my upcoming Creative Concepts series! Each week I'll publish a different photo accompanied by keywords, direct quotations, suggested first lines, challenges, and many more prompts designed to inspire writing. 

       If  you're a teacher, a student, an established author, or an aspiring writer, you'll find that these photos and prompts will help to stimulate many creative ideas for writing. 

      Of course, you'll be able to download any of the Creative Concepts photos for your personal use, for use in the classroom, or for use at writing seminars. 

More Photos and Creative Prompts

        For more photos and creative prompts that won't be  included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.

 

             A Tsunami of Images

              Thanks to the digital revolution, visual images are everywhere. No matter where  we are, we can't escape from them.  For those who recognize the potential these images have for inspiring writing, the rewards are great.  Show a group of people a simple photograph of waves beating against the shore and you’ll be amazed by their responses. Some will recall memories of seaside childhoods; others will visualize sea stories, shipwrecks, mysteries of the deep, and more. Still others will venture into the abstract—the world of simile, metaphor, and personification—perhaps transcribing a bit of themselves.

            Did you ever wonder how  some observers would react to a simple photograph of fish? Here’s how Laura Pastuszek responded to the photograph she took when she taught English in South Korea during the summer of 2008. An adjunct professor at Towson University, Pastuszek currently teaches a course titled “Writing and Communications for Teachers.”      

       Foreign Fish                                                                       

Two strangers from two different sands
Observe the gathering of food
In a foreign land

How beautiful and plentiful the sea must be

Remarks one to the other

The reply is not of glee

It is the raping of oceans

Taking more than necessary

A crime of epic proportions

A culture far removed

Lives to feed its own

Without an invitation for others to approve

           Viewed in isolation, Pastuszek’s  photograph of fish provides ample inspiration for writing. What’s more, when you pair the photo with the poem, you create additional  possibilities for writing. But that’s not all. If you add a relevant quotation, you’ll have generated a combination that’s hard to beat. Here’s an example. “Three quarters of the miseries and misunderstandings in the world would finish if people were to put on the shoes of their adversaries and understand their points of view.” —Mahatma Ghandi

Inspiration from the Masters

           Of course, images other than photographs can offer many possibilities for stimulating creativity and inspiring writing. A teacher of English, drama, and creative writing at Lake Forest High School in the suburbs of Chicago, Karen Topham has been indulging in her passions for writing and the arts for thirty years. Here’s how she responded to Edvard Munch’s 1893 painting, The Scream.

       Scream (after Munch)

  

what rawness then

what orange blue intensity

what whirling winding nightmare

infests your soul

when like a man possessed

you turn your back on

the sweetness of the day—

the harbor rich with spreading sails

the sunset rolling waves across the sky—

and staring into empty space

or at some demon gnawing at your mind

you lift your hands to your face

hold tightly to your melting

frameless form

and wait to hear

the heavens

when they scream

            Munch’s painting and Topham’s poem provide another example of the power of images to trigger creative responses. As always, if you add a relevant quotation, you’ll create even more possibilities. In this example, you could cite these lines by Jean-Paul Sartre. “Anything, anything would be better than this agony of mind, this creeping pain that gnaws and fumbles and caresses one and never hurts quite enough.”

          Whether you’re seeking inspiration for your own writing, teaching students at any level, or conducting workshops or seminars for others, you’ll find that photographs and other images are powerful aids to eliciting creative responses and inspiring writing. And when you add relevant quotations, you’ll be delighted by the results.

Foreign Fish and Scream originally appeared in Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013). Now more than ever we must take advantage of the power of graphic images to help inspire writing.  Taken together, the more than 300 poems, photographs, and quotations included in this book will help stimulate creative ideas that will evoke meaningful writing not only by students in grades 7-12 and up, but also by writers of all ages. See sample pages, read reviews, and buy now at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx.

 What People Are Saying about Reflect and Write

“I love this book! Reflect and Write is a must have.”                                                                         

“This book should be a staple in every classroom in the country.”

 “Highly recommended for anyone interested in helping young writers create many different kinds of writing.”

 “In my opinion, the CD alone is worth more than the cost of the book.”                                                       

“Reflect and Write belongs on every English teacher’s desk."