Lessons in being a Guerilla

I went out on Tuesday night to post up the first batch of 'Guerilla' poems around my town.  I learnt several things quite quickly:

1/ Practicing how you are going to tie or stick the poetry up BEFORE heading into the field is a good idea, as is a quick lesson in knots.  I wished I had a few options under my belt.

2/ However large the print, once your poems are up, they look very small!  Experiment with coloured paper?  Bold font?  I certainly plan to next time.

3/ A friend of mine suggested using plastic raffia to tie my laminated poems up.  This works really well, and adds a bit of colour.  (I sourced it at my local $2 shop). The downside is - it's plastic.  I plan to use eco-friendly twine next time, and dye my own with paint, ink or food colouring if I want it colourful. (Unless you know the source, the process for colouring 'biodegradeable' string might be just as damaging as plastic....)

4/ You do want to make sure to cut the ends or tie a neat bow after knotting.  The first poems I put up are a bit messy - I think I'll go back and do them again over the next few days.

5/ Take pavement chalk with you, and a book of inspiring words/poetry that is not subject to copyright laws (old stuff, for example).  I really liked how my chalked words enhanced my own sense of the event, and if people don't see the printed poetry, they might see the colourful chalk words.   I also chalked the pavement/walls close to my poems with things like "STOP - POEM" and some arrows, and "LOOK BEHIND YOU - POEM!" on the sea wall when I'd tied a poem to a bench.

6/ Don't fear security guards - charm them!  But look out - I chalked some Wordsworth on our ferry wharf walkway during the evening (despite the security guard's doubt about my activity) - it was gone by next morning, which is really annoying and very stupid on their part.  All the other chalking I did that night is still there...  I'll be back, though, to chalk the wharf again.

I went out the next day to put more poems up.  It's more time-consuming than you imagine it will be!  Last tranche will go up today.

WELCOME

Welcome to Guerilla Poets, the home of Guerilla Poetry.

'Guerilla' poetry is poetry that just 'appears' one morning in your local town, village or suburb. It's pertinent to the area, it's written by locals, and it's all about you.

Why? To inspire others about their local area, or the area they are passing through. To draw people's attention to places they perhaps take for granted, or have forgotten to look at. To show that inspiration is all around us. And to give us writers something else fun to do! And finally hey - our micro-world is worth writing about.

What I've learnt from writing, and reading, for most of my life, is that I write best what I know. This project is the result of two things 1/ An ongoing interest/obsession with the haiku form 2/ A project/book called 'Haiku on 42nd Street in New York... I'll quote the blurb on the back of the book of photos of the project - it says it best:

"Times Square. Crossroads of the world... not so long ago it... carried a slightly shabby dignity... Haiku on 42nd St. magically appeared one night on the abandoned movie marquees. This whimsical collection of wordplay put a smile on the face of everyone who passed by."

While the short form of haiku lends itself well to guerilla poetry since it can be read quickly by passers by, this guerilla poetry is open to all forms. HOWEVER, poems need to be able to be read swiftly - to encourage readers to stop, so I recommend not more than 14 lines (which means you could even pen a sonnet!).

If you feel inspired to set up an event in your home town - tell us about it here.