Today’s NaPoWriMo challenge is to write a “kenning” poem:
[T]hink of a single thing or person … and then write a poem that consists of kenning-like descriptions of that thing or person.
(Provided examples can be seen here and here.)
I love kennings! I love how playful they can be, and how they challenge you to conceptualize the world in a different, more essential, way.
There’s a sense from the way today’s challenge is described that a kenning poem should aspire to function as a riddle. I suck at riddles, though, so I’m confident the object I chose to describe is perfectly obvious to all. That’s OK—I’m proud of my description.
Kenning Poem
Ink-stained
Tree-pulped
Symbol-laden
Tightly-bound
Cover-protected
Leaf-riffled
Mean-making
Idea-elucidating
Knowledge-sharing
Assumption-challenging
Experience-voicing
Empathy-inducing
Mind-expanding
Imagination-inspiring
Dream-capturing
Record-of-humanity
John the Librarian 