Chickollage

What I learned about collage poetry in 2011

2012-01-01T16:25:00.000+11:00

So, I discovered a few things about collage poetry this year.

Firstly, I can't do the collage poem a day thing, so I won't be posting any more 365 day challenges - there lies the way of madness.

When I start creating collage poems (and the whole mess that goes with it), I generally have 4 or 5 poems on the go at once. A phrase may make absolutely no sense in one poem (though it's not always a bad thing to challenge logic) but will fit beautifully in another poem.

My poems come in binges - the workshop I presented in September led to a binge that lasted several weeks, spread across my dining room table and my work desk and resulted in 18 poems. On average for that period, I made a collage poem a day.

So for 2012, I have set a goal of having a collage poetry binge weekend once a month.

Check back here for the results.

Meanwhile, here is my 'theme' for the next 12 months.

Bitten by the Collage Bug

2011-09-18T15:26:00.000+10:00

Last Saturday, I presented my Sliced and Diced Collage Poetry workshop to Bellingen Writers Group at the gorgeous venue, North Farm. I have posted photos from the workshop on my Write on Track blog, but since the workshop, I have been constructing collage poems again. Not only did I get the participants excited about the process, I re-ignited my own collaging bug.

Since the workshop, I have created 8 new collage poems.

My desk has been littered with runaway words and other words trying to seek a home on a piece of cardboard.

And there was a reason why I excavated my dining room table last week. So I can collage and each poem can percolate exactly as long as it needs to...

A few years ago, I attempted a 365 days of collage poetry challenge - it lasted a month before it fizzled out. But there were a couple of things that hampered the project.
1. My Virgo partner - who wasn't very impressed by runaway words, cut outs and half-constructed poems everywhere.
2. my beautiful cat, Dorkus, who was impressed and liked to contribute - in not always a constructive way.

Sadly Dorkus is no longer around to mess up my half-constructed poems, and bless them with his cat hair, and the partner became an ex-partner last year, so he can no longer grumble about any kind of creative mess I make.

Have scissors, will cut.  

Have glue, will stick. 

Have imagination, will create. 

Have life, will have fun. 

With 8 or more poems in progress on the dining room table, I may re-commit to a 365 day challenge. I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks - stay tuned to see what the bug may bring...

The Body Image Project

2011-08-24T15:46:00.004+10:00

Nambucca Valley Writers Group is compiling an anthology called Food for Thought with all of our members asked for contributions based around food and recipes, up to 10 pages.

Instead of writing a short story with recipes, I decided to do something a little different, a little out of my comfort zone, a bit of a creative stretch for me. I decided to create a collage story.

The text was easy - once I started, it just flowed out. It became a story about body image, about the media's schizophrenic obsession with body image, about how my body image has been shaped over the years. I had many food magazines I could cut up for background collage photos along with the usual gossip magazines and sensationalist headlines. But then I was advised new parameters for the artwork: everything had to be in black and white, so it would reproduce okay.

That condition vetoed my use of magazine reproductions - photos of food in magazines do not come in black and white. So here I was with 490 words of text, and nothing to stick it on. I'd even worked out the layout of the text in a visual diary, but I was still waiting for the vision.

I started thinking about an artwork I'd seen many years ago, most likely in a Biennale at the Art Gallery of NSW. It was by Barbara Kruger and called "I can't look at you and breathe at the same time." The text was superimposed over a black and white image. This long ago memory became my base inspiration.

I bought a new camera. I thought about the words, and I thought about the text and the images that would suppport or juxtapose the text. I decided to take photos on my trip. Surely in Melbourne I would come up with some great photos for the project. My photos of chocolate on the chocoholics tour did not meet my requirements for the backgrounds - something about the way handmade chocolate is laid out for sale doesn't really make it photogenic. Nice in reality, but it doesn't make the conversion to two dimensions.

On my first free day, I went to Queen Victoria Markets. I gazed wistfully at The Drunken Poet pub and remembered the night back in April when I had watched Chris Wilson play, and thought briefly about the matchbox accommodation I'd stayed in that night. I'd picked much better accommodation this time around. Then I headed into the markets, only mildly distracted by clothes, because produce was my target.

And I took photo after photo of yummy stuff:

When I got back home, I had the images printed in black and white, cropping so that they were all in portrait view rather than landscape. I ordered 5X7 prints as that is the closest to A5 - the format the anthology will be printed in. Then I printed out the text, cut it up, and laid the photos on the table, matching the text against the background images.

And it worked. I didn't need any extra text cut from magazines. The food photos and the text are enough to make my point.

Now I'm wrestling with double-sided tape to get those words into place. Who knew it would take so long to stick the words down? Then I will scan the images and email them to our Food for Thought editor.

It's been a long absence from this blog, but I've noticed that I'm getting many hits on my website for collage poetry - so I plan to be around more often, creating poems more often and in two weeks time, I will be presenting a 'Sliced and Diced' collage poetry workshop to Bellingen Writers Group. Later I will publishing 'how to make collage poetry' tutorials to my website.

Stay tuned and cut and paste!

Nothing

2009-03-15T00:34:00.002+11:00

Finally, some new collage, thanks to my recent retreat with my writers groups. Jen and I got collaging, and I suggested we have some collage weekends in the future as there's no point getting out all those words and make all that mess for just one poem.

Zazzle shop

2008-11-26T15:57:00.002+11:00

Now that Zazzle has tools to create many products at once, I'm spending more time in my zazzle shop:

Come and have a browse!

Long time, no collage

2008-08-02T21:17:00.006+10:00

It's been a long time between collages...

but with Jen back in town and the Byron Bay Writers Festival to renew our mojo, new collage poetry was created.

Because Nicky, the main character in my story Diary of the Future creates collage poetry, I have been aiming to create poems that relate to teenage life. So I created the following about a teenage party:

Grin and party
Hot new hook-ups
Touchy-feely french kiss
too much to drink
spirals out of control
Let your lips do the
Slurring, staggering
The party is over
Everybody
Forget

I didn't create the next one to be part of the teenage theme, but as I posted it to the blog, I realised that there was a natural progression in themes. Hee hee! Actually, I'd created the next one, because I was amazed at how many times the word 'pregnant' had turned up in my box of words. And 'pregnant and paranoid'? I just had to use that.

not pregnant
pregnant!
you're pregnant?
PREGNANT AND PARANOID
too stunned to speak
the horror

I'm hoping that this new spurt of collaging will result in a renewal in the desire to collage. As I said, I want a number of poems that will fit in with Diary of the Future, and with the news that lulu.com now has a printer in Australia, a combined anthology featuring poems from both Jen and I is a real possibility.

The collage poetry recipe

2008-02-20T21:12:00.006+11:00

The recipe seems simple enough but I haven't been following it lately. The magazine collection has been growing but the words haven't been making it to paper.

But I really have to focus if I'm going to produce an anthology by the end of the year.

I have a fascination with cardboard coloured drawers to collect the cut-out words in. I've taken a small set of drawers to work - if I fill it with words, I may be able to turn out a poem during my teabreaks.

I've also started some visual collages of my novels - 'I'm with the Band' collage in progress is pictured.

Meanwhile, Jennifer has made some gorgeous Easter collages. I feel like eating Easter Eggs just looking at them.

Bright and colourful. Who says you only need to send cards at Christmas?

Available at The Chickollage shop right now!

New shop open at zazzle

2007-11-14T22:53:00.000+11:00

I've taken the plunge and opened a zazzle shop, firstly focusing on gifts for writers.

make custom gifts at Zazzle

When I should be writing, I'm thinking about more great products for writers. But guess I actually have to do some more writing for Nanowrimo to be a writer, instead of just wearing a t-shirt or drinking from a 'writers' mug.

New collage projects

2007-09-30T13:42:00.000+10:00

I've been very slack on the new collage front. Trying to develop systems to make the collaging easier but there is still so much to do which has nothing to do with collage.

Actually, I lie. I've completed a 3D collage poetry project. I cannot show it to you here now as it is a present for a friend and I don't want her to see it until she opens her parcel. But all will be revealed once I know she has her custom collage. This is probably the first of several 3D projects as long as I can get my hands on the raw materials. Unfortunately, items pictured in the Spotlight catalogue do not always appear in my local store, so I'm going to have to talk to someone to have them ordered in.

I think the anthology will be next year's project. We're heading into Nanowrimo in a month's time, and I want to knock my novel Diary of the Future into shape for submission so I doubt that I will be able to collage every day. It certainly was a nice idea but realistically I cannot keep it up for any extended period of time.

I also have now registered chickollage.com so am deciding what needs to go on that site. Last year when I first came up with the term chickollage, somebody registered the domain name, obviously thinking they would be able to sell it back to me at a profit. Well, the registration lapsed so I grabbed the domain.

I've also added a large number of Jennifer Gordon's photo collage designs to the greeting card section of The Chickollage Shop. It's great to see that you can now buy greeting cards in lots of 1 or 10, and there are also notecards.

A hiatus from Collage Poetry and a Cafepress special promotion

2007-07-22T12:15:00.001+10:00

Okay, I admit it. I've been really really slack when it comes to the collage poetry thing.

My scanner died, and combined with all the extra work I've been doing, I just couldn't fit in the time to collage. Until I got inspired to collage a mask for the upcoming Romance Writers of Australia conference. Here's the result.

Now it's that great time of the year where I actually get some money back from my taxes, so I've purchased one of those all-in-one scanner-copier-printers. I love it!

So it's time to get into the collage again

I haven't neglected it completely. I have bought a heap of second hand magazines and have been cutting out the necessary vocabulary. And I realise before the trip to Sydney in a couple of weeks, I may have to clear the magazine shelves at home to make room for four. Robbie's father has been storing a heap of magazines from the nineties for me. In fact, picking up half of them 18 months ago lead to the creation of Chickollage and the beginning of the collage poetry obsession. I guess he still has them....anyway, I'm prepared to pick them up and bring them home.

Cafepress has announced a special promotion on t-shirts: buy three t-shirts and get one free. Head over, check out the range....you just never know. I just purchased one of Jen's designs...Legendary Punk Poet...to wear to Byron Bay Writers Festival....

Jennifer Gordon on the other hand is making inspired photo collages with gorgeous flowers and colour designs. I have added a new section to the store purely for greeting cards because these collages will make stunning cards. You can now buy cards singularly, in packs of 10 or packs of 20 and Cafepress have also added notecards. Check out this new range - Jen has an amazing eye to putting these designs together.

#1 of 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-05-10T20:55:00.000+10:00

Okay, I decided to start afresh. See if I really can go 365 days straight with collage poetry. My head is back in my novel in progress, Diary of the Future. I attended a writing workshop on the weekend and received very encouraging feedback. I have a deadline in a month's time for a contest, so my mind is now with Nicky and her best friend Mel, boyfriend who needs to be renamed, and his ex- Sonya Scrag.

Nicky is a collage poet. She carries bags of words to school with her and makes collage poems at lunch time. I want to include some collage poetry in the novel. This may be one of them:

Teenage public spat

clueless girls dishing it out

performing for public attention

dirty tricks claws are out

Gossiping, snooping, gloating

much of it jealous dead air

a shortage of class

fashion competition

got nothin' to wear

damned silly ostracism

What do I do?

2007-05-07T18:59:00.000+10:00

So now I've had a break in the proceedings with the last collage poem on 1st May - what do I do?

Do I start the 365 Days again from today? (yes, I have a poem to post!)

Or do I try to catch up for the missing days?

Comments and suggestions would be appreciated.

Whoops: no poems

2007-05-04T21:40:00.000+10:00

Whoops, I hit May 1 and then completely fizzled out. I could say I have collage block but that would not be true (anyway would that require collagic therapy?). I'm exhausted. It's taking all my energy to push the words around a page and to think a coherent thought. Work has been really full on, and today I had the 2 hour commute there and back to help out my father with his accounts, and then grocery shopping - ugh! Don't you just hate real life?

Need an early night now (if you can call 9.45 pm early) because Saturday and Sunday I'm doing a writing workshop on the 10 commandments of writing. I will catch up. Looks like it's turning into an average of a collage poem a day.

Back on Sunday evening.

Pieces of you: #31 of the 365 day collage poetry challenge

2007-05-01T22:31:00.000+10:00

I'm in a dark mood today, dark stuff is appearing on the page but before you rush me off to the therapist, I only connect with murder on paper. My sympathy in the following poem is with the victim, and the people she left behind. In fact, I have no idea of who the perpetrator is -- that's probably why I don't write crime novels.

But I have a point to make. The kneejerk reaction of arresting students after handing in essays on violence is crazy. In the first play I wrote when I was 14, I killed off all but two characters (and they were robots) because I didn't know how else to end it. Hey, it worked for Shakespeare! In a later adult version, the two robots became a sexy android and she allowed one of the characters to live to be become her partner.

Teenagers write black brooding soul-tormented angst-ridden prose and poetry. It does not mean that they are going to act on these feelings or their creative urges. So guys, do some research before throwing them in the lock-up! One of them might be a budding Stephen King.

So I think my mood is because I passed a milestone today. 7 years in the one job - who would've thought it?

bloody female body becomes

today's news

pieces of

you on the street

difficult to recognise you

with your

demon makeover

shattered fragile beauty

brutally murdered

terror and the city

girl we've lost you

Unveiling Torment: #30 of the 365 Day Collage poetry challenge

2007-04-30T19:17:00.000+10:00

Well, I've made it to the end of the first month of 365 days of collage poetry. 30 days, 30 poems, some better than others. My favourites so far have been I said No and Myth of Fear. I quite like today's poem too, most of it composed on my desk at work.

Unveiling Torment

will never end

This dark world

of his own imagination

has taken on a life of its own.

Threatening

subversive

undiminished

desire

The enemy within

all the time

slowly revving up...

Love Hell: Day 29 of the 365 day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-29T22:38:00.000+10:00

Obsessive?

Warm up for

secret

passion

talking

mythical

ideas

Break and enter

love hell

Nasty Guy: DAy 28 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-28T22:14:00.000+10:00

Smart.

Wild at heart

Inconvenient

That's

THE NASTY GUY

challenge

every time

Seeing

for

yourself

you

need to retire

that

obsession

Living Dead Sidekicks: 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge #27

2007-04-27T23:30:00.000+10:00

Off-duty

Living dead sidekicks

in the driver's seat

Living it up

impulsive

partying,

cringe-making

screaming

headin' for

catastrophe

Yep, they're still doing it

Get Rich Quick Scheme: Day 26 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-26T22:39:00.000+10:00

My drawer of words is like a lucky dip. I draw out a few and a theme starts revealing itself within the first few phrases. And every day is different. Today I take a shot at all those get-rich-quick schemes in cyberspace, in the real world, those prosperity seminars that will share all their secrets with you, and the emails relegated to your spam folder. Over and over, we are bombarded with the message that we can have it all. Just sign up here...

P.S Jen, thanks for the black paper!

WELCOME

to your 100% reality-based

GET-RICH-QUICK

SCHEME

An exclusive invitation

just for you

and all your friends

Don't wait

take a look

we dare you

get into it

tell a friend

Forget work

within the first few seconds...

End destructive patterns

within the first minute...

Start living

within 3 minutes...

Ever wondered why it's a crock

We nearly always believe old wives' tales.

Catch-up Collage Poem: Fairytales

2007-04-25T23:07:00.000+10:00

This is the catch-up poem - Number 25 since I started the challenge.

Almost a what-if the CSI stumbled across a fairytale scenario?

Welcome to the fictional world

Nothing to See Here

A Princess

Hero

wicked stempmother

fairy queen

the villain

Shoes

Mirror

Apple

poisoned chalice

supernatural

character analysis -

murder investigation

It could only happen in fairytales

Collage Poetry Recipe: 365 Day collage poetry challenge

2007-04-25T15:51:00.000+10:00

The original collage poem recipe

cut-out ingredients

misplaced words

leftovers

recycled language

A dash of truth

A pinch of fantasy

stir up build it

Add something unexpected

Words hit their mark

no matter what happens

the language is sumptious

individual

infused with

creative nourishment

someone asked me how i do my collage the other day, so it got me thinking about my technique (if that's what you call it.) Sometimes I'll have a couple going at once. I'd like to have a dedicated surface so I could leave collages in progress out. However my cat believes that any flat surface is available to him and he makes the most of it. As it is, he has been sitting on a bunch of words today after I finished this poem.

Anyway, by thinkng about how the collage happens, I came up with 'the collage recipe.'

I'm a day behind with the collage at this point. Ironically, i had the day off work yesterday, and I didn't do a collage. I was having caffeine-withdrawal headaches, threatening to become a migraine and I ended up going to bed early.

I wonder if there's such a thing as collage block because that's probably what I'm going through right now. I will catch up.

New card designs at Chickollage

2007-04-24T18:34:00.000+10:00

While spending a lot of time concentrating on creating a collage poem every day, I 've neglected to mention that Jennifer has also been hard at work creating some beautiful floral photography collages.

These gorgeous collages are now uploaded to the Chickollage shop and I've created a special greeting card section - a one-stop shop for people looking for greeting cards for all occasions.

The cards include the floral designs, photo designs, collage and text. Step in and have a browse.

Human Prologue - #23 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-23T23:15:00.000+10:00

Introducing the authentic

human

prologue

Ancient & modern

myths

unfold

survival

against all the odds.

Woman

worshipped in art through the ages

shackled

changed

rekindled

revolution at last!

Eavesdropping- #22 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-22T22:41:00.000+10:00

I'm up to Day 22 of the challenge to create a new collage poem every day, and after another trip to Bookfest yesterday where I could fill a green shopping bag with $10 full of books and magazines, I now have plenty of source material.

Eavesdropping

on the

moon and stars

We've had to wait for

noises from space

Caterwauling

we want you

and your body

Are you ready?

Tomorrow's world

won't

hurt

a bit.

Desperately Seeking: #21 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-21T20:00:00.000+10:00

Years ago, I advertised in ther personals. First time was with my best friend - we advertised together and double-dated - we figured it was safer that way. Two weeks in a row we went to the same teppanyaki restaurant with different guys. The teppanyaki chefs noticed and commented that we were with different fellas the second week.

The next time I got brave and advertised by myself. I think I went on about twenty dates, after eliminating all the strange ones and old, old guys. It was fun. It was tiring. But in the end, it seemed very superficial. I did meet some nice guys but the ones that I thought were really nice didn't reciprocate. I can't imagine how you could know you want to speed some time with someone after five minutes of speed dating.

Strangely enough, about a year after that expirement, I met my partner through an ad. This time, I was advertising for a flatmate. After a few dud applicants (there's some really strange people out there and I think some were just casing the joint over the phone), he rang, we spoke, he came and looked at the flat and moved in. Three months later we were in a relationship. Obviously I need the slow build-up.

So here's a poem about personal ads:

Desperately Seeking Someone

Read Between the lines

decode your desires

to find a partner

nobody's perfect, but

don't stay home

get into the mood

start a conversation

speak to new people

try before

you buy

breaking the love rules

romance

worth waiting for

Metaphysical Swingers Club - #20 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-20T23:13:00.000+10:00

Day 20 of the 365 Collage Poetry Challenge and I seem to have stepped into strange territory:

Evening,

Come in,

To the METAPHYSICAL

swingers club!

all the way dinner partires have

anything you want

The near-naked truth

spiced with

the older woman

sex merry-go-round

Be as brave as you dare.

I wonder what sort of people would frequent the Metaphysical swingers club?

More Dark Fire: #19 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-19T23:12:00.000+10:00

dark

fire

baby

turn up

the heat

the way it should be

try it

Why: #18 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-18T22:40:00.000+10:00

The following collage poem is dedicated to the teachers and students at Virginia Tech, who lost their lives, who were injured or terrorised in yesterday's shooting.

I'll never understand what goes on in the head of the perpetrator, what could bring someone to inflict so much pain. Does he feel less pain as a result? Only because he then shot himself. But you have to ask why these gunman don't leave the innocent victims in peace and apply the first bullet to themselves instead of the last?

The questions of 'Why' would still remain but not spoken with as much angst as is currently gripping the world.

WHY

what went on inside his head

could this really be

how many murdered

FEAR

in ordinary

life

When love turns violent...

WHY

Myth of Fear: #17 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-17T18:28:00.000+10:00

This is the poem I started last night. The final joining words finished it off this afternoon. One for the madness that is the war in Iraq.

Finally, the planet

abandoning its

DRAMAS of religion.

paying attention to an already distorted situation.

A common dilemma

Name-caling Name of God Dropping

Hate Crime

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Choose responsibilities

Or simply act now.

Discover what we have in common.

Oddly enough,

It's the Myth of FEAR

Legends: #16 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-16T23:44:00.000+10:00

I am so tired. Why? it's 5 minutes to midnight, I have Mondayitis, andI've been working hard to make sure that I would post tonight (against a background of Desperate Housewives, half an hour of Brothers and Sisters and Wilfred). So much for getting to bed early. There are still words spread all over the lounge. The cat decided to plonk himself on my lap while I was collaging but that was uncomfortable for me. Later he sat on the lounge behind me and looked at the words with disdain. But with so many words floating around, I already have a head start on tomorrow's poem. In fact if I glue the words down now, I could post it after midnight. Nah, I need sleep instead.

Once they were very famous

day and night

She had known him through the centuries,

literary metaphor,

the stuff legends are made of

splitting the atom

up on his doorstep

Another great work of art

Now someone mourns the goddess

lost forever

Back with a vengeance -

Will it be a reunion of demigods,

mythology back to life

Behind the Scenes & Evolution: #15 & 14 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-15T20:42:00.000+10:00

Day 14 and I missed my goal. We spent the day at an air show, five hours straight on my feet.

Watching the formation flying of the Roulettes:

The fabuolus aerobatics of Inverted Down Under. How does he walk straight when he lands after hovering, diving, looping, and spinning in all directions?

And then I dropped in on the Bookfest. Book lover's heaven. I bought several out of print books, some more magazines to slice and dice, and a 1920 book called The Thousand Best Poems in the Worlds. The Books and Collectibles website indicates that it could be worth $80. I don't feel so bad about not buying the scripture book last weekend.

And then I got home and watched a couple episodes of Hex. And fell asleep. No collage poetry for the day.

So today, I made two collage poems to catch up.

Behind the scenes

The tide is turning

We're almost there

The collective imagination

artists, authors,

get creative

find your niche

something for everybody

inspiration

magic

amazing.

So go crazy

perspective changes

The world spins off its axis

Together we can't lose.

Twice a day.

don't be late....

Evolution begins

online and on time

about 74 per cent of the time.

Be what you want to be

Totally enthralling

Wow! Look at you now

These people are

a must see destination

And it's back to work tomorrow, why does the weekend go so quickly?

Dead Blonde #13 of The 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-13T23:36:00.000+10:00

The curse of the dead blonde celebrity mum

three men and a baby

'I slept with her' they say

'I think this is my baby'

DNA merry-go-round

The truth

Unveiled at last

She's got your eyes

and a lot of money

Congratulations Dad!

Well, I only just made it with 20 minutes to spare as it's 11.40 pm.

Sometimes it's the connecting words that take the longest to find. This one is dedicated to Anna-Nicole, may she rest in peace!

Secret Photos #12 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-12T20:51:00.000+10:00

sometimes

secret photos of

ancient

boyfriends

- stirs up painful memories

Hard-won wisdom

relationships

time together

compromise

And the magic's

overboard

not your soulmate?

you can buy romances....

but to avoid disappointment

Make your attitude takeaway

stay single

Mmm....tasty!

I Said No - #11 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-11T20:16:00.000+10:00

At first the whole page was going to be covered with the word 'no' but then the 'nos' shuffled around and starting forming a picture. So today's collage poem has colour, leaves and a visual form. And if you can't understand the meaning, I'm not sure I can help you.

Real Talent: #10 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-10T20:13:00.000+10:00

Poking fun at all the people who audition for Australian Idol (or American Idol if you're in the Northern Hemisphere)

Wanting a Little Less Drama - #9 of the 365 Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-09T21:07:00.000+10:00

And we're back to the present after a little time travelling.

Easter Monday and another market on the way home. Again, very little in the way of magazines so I didn't make any purchases. In retrospect, I'm kicking myself for not buying an antiquarian book on scripture illustrations. It was a large format book, and the seller said it was published in 1899 although I didn't verify the date within the cover. I wanted to think about it, and go back later. Besides I would've had to ask Robbie to hand some money over for me to purchase it. And then it started to pour with rain, and we ran back to the car, and I forgot all about it. I can't even remember the exact title so I can't torture myself by googling to find out it was worth a fortune.

At the market was the silver statue. The little kid told him it was easy to stand still for long periods of time, so the statue got down from his platform and dared the kid to try it.

Today's collage is a wish of how I'd like things to be:

Bad Sex #8 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-08T20:56:00.000+10:00

Easter Sunday and no, I'm not collaging about chocolate, eggs and bunnies. Sometimes the oddest things come into my mind when I start moving the words around on the page, and different word associations occur.

Oops

After BAD SEX,

the obvious sneaky quick trick

is to phone home...

change the time zone

Transport yourself

to another half-naked spunk

Gorgeous!

Get it on.

It's all about the fantasy...

"What did you do this summer?"

time to smile!

(n)ever Kiss & Tell

Art of Being You #7 of the 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-07T20:33:00.000+10:00

On Easter Saturday, we discovered some markets at Laurieton, but not much in the way of magazines. I came away, unusually, empty-handed.

Saturday afternoon, I decided to throw in a bit of colour to the day's collage poem.

THE ART OF BEING YOU

Don't Panic

Imagine a Blank Canvas

Ignite Your Senses

See how it feels...

Discover broader horizons

Experiment with

Creative dynamique

Risky Expression

Unreal Dreams

With Attitude

Attractive Newcomer #6 of the 365 Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-06T19:57:00.000+10:00

I'm back after my Easter weekend holiday. Before you blink at the date of the posting, I'm manipulating the dates to remain faithful to my collage poem a day.

As you can see from the photo above, I busied myself with collaging on my retreat. Far from the reaches of the internet, and forced inside by intermittent rain, I busied myself with my drawers of words. I have an elaborate system set up and it proved to travel very well. The yellow drawer holds all my black text, the green drawer holds all the coloured text, the blue drawer holds all the super-size text, and the pink drawer has pictures, little plastic ziplock bags with words that are congregating together through shared themes or ideas, plus my scissors and my glue.

A portable collage poetry factory.

Words, words everywhere....

And now for the first one off the factory production line...

The Text

People said

Beware

Attractive newcomer

entertaining Rich

Genius

The Wine is Everything

You like him and he likes you

But keep your knickers on

It's up to you to mention his

Baggage

Women Family Religious Beliefs

Could this be

too good to be true

All men are toxic #5 of the 365 Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-05T19:59:00.000+10:00

POEM TEXT:

She madly in love

He not so

Humiliated after a night of passion

Mortifying moments

Stiff Sentences Banished Words

Romance Angst

Love-Gone-Wrong

If only she had a

Window into the male mind

Found out the hard way

All men are toxic for now.

Okay, so today wasn't a good day as this poem indicates. I'm sure I'll like men again tomorrow, and one in particular.

This is the last post until after Easter because I'm going off the internet grid. Perhaps it will wean me off my internet addicition.

Can't Believe Everything You Read Day 4 of the 365 Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-04T19:37:00.000+10:00

Today's poem has been influenced by my Blog-off for Breast Cancer post on Privacy. We are competing in a blog-off with a different one-word topic each week. Visit the post for all the details.

Difficult Art #3 of the 356 days of collage poetry

2007-04-03T18:16:00.000+10:00

There are two collages for the price of one today. This morning I received a package from Jen filled with designs for the Chickollage shop so she got me inspired to do my own.

First I made the Boyfriend Addiction collage which will soon be available as a t-shirt and many other products at Cafepress.

And then I thought? Four cut-outs? - that's not exactly challenging myself for today's collage poem, is it? So I created another poem:

The Text:

Difficult Art

Provokes Envy

Nightmares Seduce

The Troubled Hit Rock Bottom

Welcome to Hell

don't get comfy, friends.

Beyond the Cliche Day 2 of The 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-02T16:02:00.000+10:00

It's ironic that I cut up magazines, and use their text to criticise their content.

But I no longer support the magazine industy as an active consumer. I rarely buy magazines new anymore. If I'm only buying them to cut up, what's the point of buying them new when I can get a lot more second hand and compensate the person who shelled out the full price for them. And when I look at second hand magazines to buy, I don't even look at the stories. I look at the quality of the text. And older magazines are better than contemporary magazines. The Art Departments have just tried to get too fancy lately with overlapping text and graphics. I need my text plain, simple but evocative.

There was one word in this poem that I couldn't find in a magazine. I think it says something about the kind of magazines that I have to slice and dice.

The word was 'society' and I printed it out on the computer. A little cheat, I suppose - but it's only one word! Do you forgive me?

BEYOND THE CLICHE

Copyright 2007 Diane Curran

The Text:
Beyond the cliche
A Deeper Side
She was angry, bitter and
She hated life.
Bingeing and eating disorders.
Body demons.
Who's to blame?
Magazines. Business. Society.
Young women under pressure.
We all want what we can't have.
The Perfect Guy. The Perfect Life.

Try ditching your criteria -
You might just find YOU.

Evil Girlfriends #1 of theThe 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-04-01T20:54:00.000+10:00

It's Day One of the challenge and I've completed my first collage poem - EVIL GIRLFRIENDS

Yesterday, I received a fortuitous sign for the challenge when I went to the annual market sale at our local community hall. I picked up 30 teenage magazines for $9 plus Frida (Frida Kahlo's biography) for $1. I have quite a few references to Frida Kahlo in my novel Diary of the Future. and now I have lots of magazines to provide text and inspiration for the collages.

The 365 Day Collage Poetry Challenge

2007-03-28T20:36:00.000+10:00

I've been inspired by World of Cow where Stik produced a cow cartoon every day for 365 days, so I've set myself a daily collage poetry challenge.

From April 1, I will produce a new collage poem every day and this is not an April Fool's joke. I want to stretch myself and challenge my creativity even on the days that the muse wants to run and hide.

My only disclaimer is that I will not be able to post the poems every single day, as there will be days that I have no internet access such as Easter, but on these occasions, I plan to catch up with multiple postings, separately dated.

I'm thinking of having some sort of penalty if I don't meet my challenge. Any suggestions?

Meanwhile, to warm up, I'll post the collage poem I completed at the Writers Retreat for my friend Jennifer, who is seeking a new life in Melbourne.

Here is Enough Already!

Enough Already!

Bad Dreams

Alien Sighting

Life is really shit

Bugger it!

Enough Already!

Get Happy

Know thyself

Make an impact...

Write the word

Use it or lose it

Art is important

Literally

Tap into your gut instinct and trust your inner voice

Words to Fly By

Do Not Disturb

2007-03-25T19:27:00.000+10:00

Another poem from the black and white series. DO NOT DISTURB

I composed another poem last week during our writers' retreat. I hadn't planned on doing any collage poetry while I was away and I didn't take any magazines with me. However, I discovered an envelope full of words in the side of my suitcase, words I must've cut out when I was in Adelaide and composed a poem to cheer up Jen, who has moved to Melbourne, and hasn't yet found the life she was looking for. It's incredible how the right words were exactly what I needed.

I've purchased some old Dolly mags off ebay (from the 80's) because I want Nicky, the character from my novel Diary of the Future, to construct some more teen-angst collage poems. But I've yet to receive them. I emailed the seller two weeks ago and she said she'd send them in a couple of days but I'm still waiting.... Grrr!

New poem

2007-03-03T10:18:00.000+11:00

It's been a long time since I uploaded any new collage poetry to this site. Here is one from the black and white series. I was going to bring you an R-rated one but it is hiding at the moment, and hasn't been scanned. Next time....

I saw a piece of an Australian short film last night (I was channel surfing), and I noticed one of the characters had word collages stuck all over his walls. Of course, I wanted to read them. But the camera never got close enough.

For now, I'm off to edit Diary of the Future - 50 hours in March for Nanoedmo, and I haven't even started yet. Thankfully, it's only day 3, and it's the weekend!

New items at Chickollage

2007-02-11T17:02:00.000+11:00

I have been busy this weekend adding all the new colours and t-shirt styles to the Chickollage shop.

We have women's dark and light v-neck t-shirts.

Women's t-shirts in dark, red, carribean blue and violet.

Men's t-shirts in red, military green, brown, grey, cardinal and navy.

So for a splash of colour, drop into Chickollage. Select the t-shirts that say More Colors Available, run your mouse over the swatch and you will seen the t-shirt change colour before your eyes.

In other news, I have received my copy of Diary of the Future from lulu.com, after successfully writing 50,000 words in November during Nanowrimo. I will be reading it again a few times, editing, polishing before reformating and printing it again. And then getting ready to submit, submit, submit.

Collage poetry is on hold while I sort out my writing room - too many boxes full of who knows what and I want them out of here! I bought a desk hutch from the Salvos last weekend so I now have a dedicated surface for collaging (when the cat's not sleeping on there). In other words I won't be able to leave any in-progress collages out, or he might add his own creativity to the work. Either that or he'll sit down on top of them (as he is wont to do) and when he gets up he will have words stuck to him - the collage cat.

Collage queen delivers the legendary punk poet

2007-01-28T18:34:00.000+11:00

It was both a sad and exciting day on the Sunday we held a farewell luncheon for Jennifer, the queen of collage poetry.

Jen has departed for Melbourne but not before delivering some kickass designs for the Chickollage Shop.

Check this one out!

This design for the legendary punk poet is available on t-shirts, journals, mousepads etc. I'll probably play around with it a bit more so that a textual design will be available with just 'legendary punk poet' as well as the full collage poem.

To see all of Jennifer's great designs visit Jen's Full Colour Designs or The Dark Side of Jen.

I hope that Jen's migration to Melbourne will inspire more fabulous designs.

Ransom Note Winner & Ransom Note Diaries for sale!

2006-12-26T10:47:00.000+11:00

I've been really slack and concentrating on writing and editing, updating the Chickollage shop, and my other blogs: so, firstly my apologies for my inattention to Chickollage and the ransom note competition to win a copy of the Ransom Notes Collage Poetry Diary produced by the Nambucca Valley Writers Group.

We have a winner: 'Hollivander'

And here is the winning ransom note:

Quite appropriate for the season!

Here are a few pictures from the Ransom Notes Diary launch!

The door to the box office is too tall for Lyn.

Jen, our president launching the Collage Poetry Diary.

Carrolline and Roby ready to sell diaries!

There are a few diaries left to sell, and I've put a couple up for sale on Ebay.

The green cover is Auction 1.

The black cover is Auction 2.

And here are thumbnails of the collage poems for each month:

January

New Beginning by Diane Curran

February

Breaking Up by Gill Chapman

March

The Journey by Diane Curran

April

Begin by Carrolline Rhodes

May

Cracked by Jennifer Gordon

June

Stalker by Jennifer Gordon

July

Secrets Talk by Jennifer Gordon

August

Stoic by Carrolline Rhodes

September

On Sale Now by Diane Curran

October

Magical by Lisa Milner

November

The Easiest by Jennifer Gordon

December
You at a Glance by Robyn Aiken

The Diaries have a week to an opening, and feature quotations from famous writers, ransom notes, flash fiction, haiku and other poetry.

I hope this very long post and pics make up for the weeks of inactivity on this blog.

New collage poems

2006-10-31T21:13:00.000+11:00

Here is the first of my new black and white series in collage poetry. Now that I'm not thinking about how the colours relate to each other, I can concentrate on the words. And I guess people at work are getting used to seeing my desk covered in words.

I am working.

Really!

On the other hand, Jennifer Gordon has been designing in glorious technicolour and I will be adding some more of her designs to the Chickollage shop very soon.

In the meantime, enjoy The Dark Side of Jen - 'Stalker' is now available in the Chickollage shop on many items including t-shirts, greeting cards and fridge magnets. The poem also features in the 2007 Collage Poetry Diary.

I start Nanowrimo tomorrow. Maybe I can have my main character be a collage poet, which would certainly attract some taunting at school. And it could boost the word count. The story will be called Diary of the Future - the diary can include Collage poems. I may just have to raid the old Dolly mags and other teenage mags to find some suitable teenage angst.

Ransom Note competition closes 31st October

2006-10-24T12:40:00.000+10:00

Only a week to go to get your entries in to the Ransom Note Competition. The best ransom note will win a copy of the 2007 Collage Poetry Diary, produced by the Nambucca Valley Writers Group, and to be launched at the Bowraville Theatre on November 18.

For full details, click here.

I had planned to produce my own anthology of collage poetry (which was the catalyst for the idea of my writers group producing the diary) but I've made the task more difficult and pricey by producing all my collage poetry in beautiful glossy colour. So I bring you the practical anthology-you-have-when-you're-not-having-an-anthology: a 2007 calendar!

The Chickollage 2007 Collage Poetry calendar is now available at the Chickollage shop. It features 12 full-coloured collage poems (one per month)
including On Sale Now - The Perfect Man, the prize winning poems Yesterday, and Sex and the Single Girl, New Beginning, Love: the Perfect Weapon, The Bitch Club, 100% anticipation, The Journey, Chick Manifesto, Love Rat, The Fame Game & What's your poison?

The poems are collage poetry with words and phrases sourced from women's magazines - collage poetry with a chick lit twist. The poems cover all possible facets of a chick's life from relationships, sex, one night stands, addiction, creativity and jealousy.

I have started working on a collage poetry anthology but this time, to make the poems easily printable, I am working only in black and white.

But don't despair. I will still be designing for the Chickollage shop in both black and white and full colour.

Collage Poetry Diary

2006-09-29T20:38:00.000+10:00

The Collage Poetry Diary is complete and off to be printed.

Five different covers, 12 collage poems, and a piece of flash fiction, poetry or a ransom note for every week.

The ransom note competition is still on, for your chance to win a copy of the 2007 diary. Send your ransom note to disyc at yahoo dot com by 31st October 2006.

I have also uploaded 'The Dark Side of Jen' to the Chickollage shop. Click here and have a wander - Jennifer Gordon's stalker collage poem is fabulous, and is also available in the diary.

A Laugh a Minute

2006-09-10T12:36:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I attended a 'Writing Funny' workshop with
Bruno Bouchet, many other members of our writers group,
and writers from other areas. What a great day!
I haven't laughed so much for a long time.
We fractured fairy tales, we made up words,
defined them and then used them in sentences
and we had a ball. After such a sombre week,
with so many legends in Australia passing away
(RIP Steve Irwin, Colin Thiele and Peter Brock),
it was so good to laugh again.

I also saw the prototype of the Collage Poetry Diary.
It is cool and I am really proud of our work.
The diary features quotes from famous writers,
flash fiction (50-worders, one sentence stories),
haiku, 12 full colour collage poems,
and the inevitable Ransom Notes.

We will be doing a
limited edition print run
of 200 diaries.
The RRP will be $20 Aussie
(plus postage).

If anyone wishes to order one,
drop me a line to
disyc at yahoo dot com,
and I will email you an
order form. For overseas buyers,
I can accept paypal.

But don't forget you can WIN A DIARY
by creating an original RANSOM NOTE.
Email your text or jpg to disyc at yahoo.dot com.
Entries are welcome from overseas readers
and close on 31st October 2006.

See the previous post for full details.

Competition - win a collage poetry diary

2006-09-03T11:45:00.000+10:00

Win a copy of the 2007 Collage Poetry Diary
published by Nambucca Valley Writers Group.

How to win:

Write a ransom note,
either using traditional cut and paste methods,
or plain text.

Email your entry to disyc @ yahoo dot com.
(jpeg for cut and paste or in body of email for text)

The best ransom note will win a copy of the diary,
to be launched on November 18, 2006.

Entries close on 31st October, 2006
and you may enter as many times as you like.
You retain copyright of your ransom note
(how many authors of ransom notes can claim that?)
and by entering, you grant permission for your
ransom note to be published on this blog.

Following is my ransom note which appears in the diary:

We've got your brain.

You probably didn't know it was missing,
because you act the same way with or without it.

If you want it back, you need to move away from the bar,
leave the car behind and walk home.

You'll find it in a package on your front door step
tomorrow afternoon, when the hangover subsides.

Good luck, and I look forward to the entries.

Note: The Ransom Note diary has several covers and
the winner may receive a diary with a different cover
to the one depicted.

Ransom Notes Collage Poetry Diary

2006-09-02T09:39:00.000+10:00

Not so much collage poetry happening at the moment.
I've been busy writing ransom notes? Huh?

No, I haven't actually kidnapped anyone, but the Nambucca Valley Writers' Group
is compiling a 2007 Collage Poetry Diary and I am the editor
with a strict deadline this weekend.

Stay tuned for details of a competion to win
your own copy of the diary.

If you would like to subscribe to the Chickollage blog,
I have added a link to Feedblitz on the right hand side.
Add your email address and new posts will be
delivered to your inbox.

Back to the diary.....

Back from Byron Bay Writers Festival

2006-08-08T11:41:00.000+10:00

I'm back from Byron Bay Writers Festival.
It was so good to spend 4 days thinking creatively,
with writing buddies, tossing around ideas,
people-watching, drinking, eating, and having fun.

On the final night, we did some collage poetry.

Here are some photos of the process:

What's your poison?

2006-07-29T17:08:00.000+10:00

I haven't got a new collage poem at this point.
Maybe it's because we've got a lady coming in to clean the house
every couple of weeks, and I don't want her to be greeted
by word trails, or maybe, I've just been spending way too much time
surfing the net and reading other people's blogs
and being distracted by the on-line stuff.

But I'm on holidays now so it's time to be
thinking creatively and collaging again.

And as I am now giving up the black evil liquid known as Coke,
here is a poem about addiction.

What's your poison?

Shopaholic
Alcoholic
Serious Shoe Addict

What's your poison?
Pornography
Chocolate
Reality?
Whiskey and marijuana
Ecstasy
Fashion
Cocaine
Scheming Naked Guys

All those Little Things

We invite you to pig out
on whatever.

Speaking of addiction, check out Chocablog.
Chocolate is one addiction I refuse to give up.

Chickollage opens at Cafepress.com

2006-07-09T17:35:00.000+10:00

It's ready...
and TWO designs make their debut on Cafepress.com this weekend
at my Chickollage store.

If those gossipy catty gals have been getting you down,
restore some self-esteem with The Bitch Club.

The Chick Manifesto - what do you want to be remembered for?

Love and business

2006-07-02T17:26:00.000+10:00

I'm in love. Truly.

And it's not human.

It's my new toy. I'm typing on it right now.
I'd forgotten what speedy connection could be
until this afternoon when I connected my new laptop
to the internet. Wow.
Okay, so we're at the beginning of the new financial year.
I've got the major work tool -the laptop on Flexirent -
and I've started working on the cafepress shop.
Then I will have some sample t-shirts made,
to take to boutiques here, there and everywhere,
taking advantage of any trip I make out of this town.
I'm very excited, feeling motivated -
this is a whole new adventure for me.

Crazy

2006-06-23T22:37:00.000+10:00

I must be crazy!
Tomorrow is Saturday morning. I should have a lazy lie-in,
a browse of the newspapers
before I meet my friendly writing group for lunch,
a meeting, and a collage poetry workshop.

But no, I'm crazy!
I've decided to squeeze 4 hours of overtime in before the
writers' group meeting.
No sleep in.
No newspaper browsing until Saturday evening.
And 15 minutes or so of lunch missed.
But some money to spend on me
(for a change) will be lovely, thanks!

Did I mean chocolate?

2006-06-21T21:17:00.000+10:00

When I google 'Chickollage', it asks me -

'Did you mean: chocolate '

Well, no, I didn't - but now that you mention it,
a Caramello Koala or a Freddo Frog would be lovely.
Thanks. Oh the power of suggestion!

But Google does bring up seven entries linking to my two blogs:
this one, chickollage and Write on Track and NOTHING ELSE!.
Woo hoo! I've coined a word!

Google's attempts to interpret Chickollage as chocolate
reminds me of the time a decade or so ago when I was
typing up information about Romeo and Juliet.
Microsoft Word's spell checker was a lot less sophisticated then
- and it questioned the use of the name Capulet.

It's suggestion - copulate.

So of course, after that, I had to nickname
the characters Lord and Lady Copulate.

Of course, that suggestion doesn't happen anymore.
I have tried it since and the spellchecker doesn't even question it.
But imagine if I'd blindly accepted the spellchecker's suggestions
and all the theatre programs had been printed that way!

Words escape me

2006-06-19T18:50:00.000+10:00

One thing about working in collage poetry.... .

...the words like to escape, cut loose, set themselves free,

flutter in the breeze
and create word trails back across the study.

Is it like tarot where if a card falls out of the pack,

you should pay special attention to that card?

So here are the words that are trying to make their escape:

Some people might think become Call the shots about

(Either way you can't lose) I'll have the Creative ideas

the whole truth stir things up It's a joke

Next victims>> you? public spat Hate crime

I don't think how come they

I wonder what it all means!

Slippery little critters, these words...

Missed the workshop

2006-06-17T19:00:00.000+10:00

I had intended to go to a scrapbooking workshop today. I figure its the other side of the coin - collage and scrapbooking. But I didn't get there.

I have started scrapping my trip to Egypt in 1996, and wanted to do a page or more today at the workshop. But I couldn't find my photos. We moved in March and there are so many boxes still in the shed waiting to be excavated. But real life has got in the way, and to this point, if it's not something to wear or to eat off, or if I haven't missed it yet, I haven't spent time looking for it. Until today. But with a car with no battery sitting in the way and fifteen minutes to find the photos, the task was too hard, and I decided I would go to the workshop next month instead.

Chick Manifesto

2006-06-14T20:28:00.000+10:00

This image is now available on t-shirts and other selected products at my new Chickollage store at Cafepress.com!

New template

2006-06-14T20:10:00.000+10:00

New blog, new template - thanks Caz! The collage poems and their colourful backgrounds are going to look great against the black.

Was going to publish another poem today, but again Blogger doesn't want to upload an image.

Maybe I should collate a poem about my frustration with blogger instead:

Meanwhile you can see some poems at my other blog, Write on Track.

A New Beginning

2006-06-12T13:18:00.000+10:00

A NEW BEGINNING
Today is a good day.
Time for a change.
Explode the Myth
There is no Dress Rehearsal.
Free your Mind.
Meet an Original.
Keep only the best bits.
Always be you.
Life's full of alternatives.
It's an attitude.
Best Year Ever.
Copyright Diane Curran 2006

Blogger doesn't want to play

2006-06-12T11:34:00.000+10:00

Last year was a crap year. We spent most of the year living in a crappy townhouse, backing out of the driveway when neighbours wanted to come out, putting up with drunken louts walking past and throwing beer bottles in the early hours of the morning, pollution and loads of noise from constant traffic. I never slept well there, even with earplugs in -- there was always a constant background noise intruding into my thoughts and dreams. And our world collapsed around us as well, the thing that we'd put all our energy into for five years was snatched away, and things got really nasty. My blood pressure hit the roof, and our time was spent scrimping to pay the creditors and the basic necessities.

I decided that this year was going to be much better - so I created a collage poem for the beginning of my diary. So far this year is so much better: we're in a lovely new house, back in the countryside, with a beautiful garden, a fireplace, a sun room which is my writing room, fresh lemons, mandarins and oranges. It's peaceful and I sleep so much better out here. Okay, so the drive takes 30 minutes to get to work each day, and it's fifteen minutes to the local supermarket, but that is a small price to pay.

I was going to post 'Best Year Ever' here today, but it seems that blogger doesn't want to add an image today. I click on the image box and nothing happens. Just ignores me. Like it doesn't want to know.

Later.

Meantime, I'm creating another collage poem: The Rise of the Bitch Club, just seeking the right words to finish it now.

A tangle of words

2006-06-02T18:22:00.000+10:00

So many words, so many combinations, so many possibilites.

As you can see, collage poetry can get a bit messy, and miscellanous words seem to end up on the floor, in the oddest of places. But seriously - who cares? I'm having fun, and at least, these magazines now have a purpose!

2006-05-30T20:55:00.000+10:00

Welcome to Chickollage - the Chick Lit Collage Poetry Blog site.

Taking a break from the chick lit novel writing, I have immersed myself in the creation of Collage Poetry, and borrowed some themes from Chick Lit. Inspired by the timeless articles in Cleo and Cosmo, I realised that the dilemmas of today's chick have not changed over time...although today she must face the breakup by SMS or email rather than a face to face let-down.

It's relaxing, it's creative and it's fun, cutting up the mags, juxtaposing phrases and words and collating a poem which is both a visual and a statement at the same time. I'm enjoying myself...so much that I was surprised to win the Poetry competition of my writer's group last week with a collage poem called Yesterday, and come second with a collage poem called Sex and the Single Girl.

The plan is to have a collection of Chickollage by the end of the year - the perfect gift for an avid chick lit reader, a Reader's Digest condensed version of Chick Lit, our lives in fifty words or less.

And it will expand...look out soon for a CafePress site ... t-shirts, cards, tote bags.

Chickollage is here!