Odes

Edible Odes

Presented by WLRN & O, Miami Poetry Festival

Food and place are inextricably linked. We identify family members by what they cooked, places by what we ate there, and regions by what they grow.

WLRN & O, Miami want to know: What are the foods that make you feel at home? Serve us, in a short, edible ode, what makes eating Floridian for you.

Can’t live without croquetas? Do burgers get you out of bed? Does lomo saltado leave you elated?

40 poems of 40 words or fewer will be selected to read at Vizcaya Village on Wednesday, April 26, 2017, at a feature event at the O, Miami Poetry Festival. You can get your ticket here and check out some of the finalists here. 

Recipe: Pick one food or food item that you identify with and praise (or curse) it in verse

Portion-size: 40 words or fewer

Pot goes on the stove: March 20, 2017

Dinner time (deadline for submissions) : April 21, 2017

Submit your entries using the form below:

Here are some sample poems to get your creative juices started. Or you can check the Tumblr with the finalists here. 

IN PRAISE OF THE MANGO-STRAWBERRY SHAKE FROM ROBERT-IS-HERE

I get one on the way back.
Twice a year, I listen to men
with life sentences – a poetry open mic
behind bars - then collect my ID
At Robert-Is-Here, I drink
the shake too fast, and it hurts.

ORANGE MEAL

Call it midwestern or Kids' menu fare.
Call me a freak or whatever you dare.
Ravioli from a can
cheddar chips from the bag
So I call it my orange
meal, can't rhyme with orange,
but I'll eat it all day because I don't care.

ODE TO TOSTONES

Crisp sun against the sky
of my plate, desert disk
peopled by salt grains
like tiny resting travellers
cloaked in white to ward
off light— golden promise
land of flat-Earth truther

ODE TO TATERTOTS

Highest aspiration of the
potato, autumn colored
dice with 7 on every side—
this is what their damp under-
ground dreams are made of.