As for writing exercises, I like the ones that Lynda Barry has made, and she is one of my favorite artist-teacher-storytellers.
Here is her "6 Minute Diary":
and "9 Minutes of Writing":
I think the terms "Poet" and "Writer" are perhaps best reserved for someone who takes her work very seriously, and has been at it for a long time - whereas I am "just" exploring and exercising an open, receptive, or perceptive state of mind; learning how to play more with texts and images; and exploring how contemporary digital processes may influence our culture’s conception of the writing process.
As an example, when I practice writing lines of poetry, I wonder if my interests in compression and juxtaposition come from using Facebook – i.e. creating a strand of messages with a friend, in which a few short lines communicate mundane thoughts alongside complex feelings about friendship. How can we (should we) integrate Romantic sentiment into post-Romantic social media platforms?
When I switch back from writing online to writing by hand, my favorite materials are actually school supplies such as color Sharpies (ultra fine point), Uniball pens and post-its. I spend so much time in the classroom that sometimes my mind goes elsewhere, and wants to respond intuitively or emotionally, rather than intellectually and logically, to situations and people from my personal life. In the margins of my school notes, I construct small spaces for fragmentary thoughts about friends, family, things I like, or just word/sound play. When class is over and I return to my room, I like thinking about text-as-picture; I write down series of new words or rhyming words on index cards, and tape them to my wall to see connections between them, and to let them interact – i.e. create a poem.
