Category: Writing

Today is the anniversary of the Great Kantō earthquake, which hit Japan in 1923. This day is known as Disaster Prevention Day to commemorate the earthquake and remind people of the importance of preparedness. So today’s prompt is to write about a disaster you have experienced but using a metaphor of natural forces to describe […]

Wow, a lot happened on August 31st historically. We could be inspired today by: Isabella Di Medici, Maria Montessori, Malaysia gaining independence from the United Kingdom, the anniversary of the deaths of Diana Princess of Wales, Mary Ward or Empress Theodora of Byzantium. Please feel free to research and write about/with/from any of these. However, […]

Today is Diamanda Galás’ birthday. As well as being an extraordinary musician and incredible vocalist, Galás is also a performance artist, painter, and activist – particularly around AIDS campaigning. If you’ve never heard her music, I recommend you go listen to some now. Inspired by her vocalisations, today’s prompt is to think about non-verbal sounds […]

I’d like to mark that today is the anniversary of Emmett Till’s murder. This isn’t our writing prompt, but if you don’t know about Emmett, please go and find out, and consider donating to BLM, Amnesty or another human rights charity in his memory. Today’s prompt starts with another anniversary of a sudden death – […]

I’ve just read this really insightful and fascinating thread about gender and sexuality in Malaysia and South East Asia, written by Dorian Wilde. There is loads to unpack here about the ways colonialism imposes judgements and erases cultures, so this post is also hopefully an invitation to research and learn as much as it is […]

It’s stormy and windy today, so I’m thinking about power – the power of wind and weather is very present and obvious right now, blowing over objects and kicking up the river into waves, shoving the trees around. There are other kinds of power in the environment too – slow erosion, or small green shoots […]

Today is Marsha P Johnson‘s birthday, and the anniversary of the death of Bayard Rustin. I’m taking inspiration from their work as civil rights activists and LGBTQ+ people who worked, marched and protested for LGBTQ+ rights and for black people’s rights. Today’s prompt is to write your protest – maybe it’s a speech that you […]

Today is poet and civil rights activist Dorothy Parker’s birthday, so today’s prompt is to be inspired by her caustic wit and sardonic style. Access your own inner Dorothy and write from a place of anger, distaste, hate or heartbreak. Let your inner demons out to play. This prompt is probably a good one for […]

Today is the anniversary of several uprisings and rebellions around the world, including by Pueblo peoples, Tlingit peoples and Nat Turner’s rebellion – all fighting to reclaim their land or their own bodies. It is also the day Captain James Cook formally claimed eastern Australia and renamed it New South Wales – ignoring the existence […]

Today is my friend Alicia Radage’s birthday, so today’s prompt is to go look at Alicia’s artwork here and use the images, text or both to start something off (the fun technical term for this is ekphrastic poetry). You might place one of Alicia’s artwork titles inside a piece and write around it, you might […]