If you haven't already, read Rita Dove's poem, Quaker Oats, which I also posted today. You can also look up Robert Hayden's brilliant Aunt Jemima of the Ocean Waves and Denise Duhamel's Barbie poems (click here for Buddhist Barbie) for more wonderful poems to inspire you.
This week, write a poem (or story or essay) that uses a well-known fictional character in some way. Dove turns the Quaker Oats man into a menacing figure in a poem about America. Hayden imagines a conversation with Jemima that examines race. Duhamel's Barbie poems focus on gender and sexism. Although the poets use these characters in their poems, those characters are not the point of the poems.
At a loss for a character? Try one of these:
Mr. Clean
Flo (Progressive Insurance)
Madge (Palmolive)
Strawberry Shortcake
Mr. Whipple (Charmin Toilet Paper)
Nipper (RCA)
G. I. Joe
Juan Valdez (National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia)
Morton Salt Girl
Morris (9 Lives Cat Food)
Energizer Bunny
Toucan Sam (Fruit Loops)
Ronald MacDonald and other characters (MacDonalds)
Captain Crunch
Loneliest Repairman (Maytag)
Cabbage Patch Kid
Annie (Popeye's Chicken)
Hello Kitty
Mr. Peanut (Planters)
Jolly Green Giant
Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes)
Coppertone Girl
Gordon's Fisherman
Singing Snacks (Let's Go Out to the Movies)
Major Matt Mason
Gecko (Geico)
Leo the Lion (MGM)
Chatty Cathy
Lumberjack (Brawny Paper Towels)
Betty Crocker
Clippy (Microsoft Word)
Pillsbury Dough Boy
Rosie (Bounty Paper Towels)
My Little Pony
King (Burger King)
Marlboro Man
M&Ms Spokescandies
Chester Cheetah (Cheetos)
Gumby and Pokey
Fred the Baker (Dunkin' Donuts)
Kitty Cat Klock
Buster Brown (Brown Shoes)
Lucky Charms Leprechaun
Mrs. Beasley
