And we are back! Over the last few months I’ve been trying to finalize what I call my ABC project. Those who have been here a lot know I wrote a bunch of abcedarian poems. Within that project I was also trying to write a poem for each letter of the alphabet that touched on a form or a literary term with that letter. I’ve had quite a few blah poems from this project, but it has been fun. Now I only have about three more I want to try. I had four before the one below. It is a pantoum which I have worked in before. Working in forms is difficult sometimes, but it can open you up to new things. If you don’t know the pantoum try to see if you can find the patterns. Feel free to discuss how the form does or does not work.
–and now I will work on the poem away…
As always I’ll take down my poem and any work anyone posts in comments a week from today. I am hoping to continue the Thursday Poem Share even after the first of the year when I will start offering some online workshops as well as for pay critique (of manuscript etc) services. I’ll have more details on that before the end of the year. If there are specific topics (thinking 5 week courses that will cost $10-$20 a week) you would like covered in one of these workshops or other services you’d like to see me offer. For sure I am going to offer a poetry manuscript reading.
This week I managed to submit a set of poems I had revised and a copy of my third manuscript. I’ve also had a few rejections so back to the drawing board on those!
In poetry reading I have to give a shout out to Jessica Graustein who sent Mark DeCarteret’s chapbook The Great Apology my way, and another BIG shout out to one of my former grad school teachers, Alan Michael Parker, whose collection Long Division is wonderful and has wonderful won a NC Poetry Award. Awesome.
On the sort of, not poetry, but poetic side, I went to see Life of Pi last weekend and is gorgeous. I absolutely loved that book. Think I should get the graphic novel version to read now. Also finally saw The Artist because it came on Netflix. I liked its poetic style as well, but I don’t think I was in love with it as much as everyone else. Too much hype?
And now, it is your turn to share your artistic endeavors 
Guess where I spent my morning?
–thanks for sharing!
Ah immediate poetry
Love when I can read a haiku in different line combinations. Thanks for starting us off!
Oops. Typo.
Guess where I spent my morning?
–and took out the typos as well
I thought this was wonderful, Leslie! Thanks for sharing!
Wow. Great haiku.
I have a poet friend who writes Tanka, it amazes me you can get so much with so little Leslie…reminds me of a visit in Jan coming up.
Tanka is great fun to play with! But writing in short forms definitely takes a certain skill
So happy to read your pantoum, Jessie! I thought it was really strong and that last stanza especially grabs us. Excited about your upcoming online workshops and readings. Wondering how you will have time for all of this, but then again, you are amazing and can do anything!
I want to look up about the Life of Pi . ..I have someone in mind for it in graphic novel form.
I did have one little poem accepted out of the three I submitted. So, here’s one that didn’t get accepted . . .
Well, I have a couple of little things to share. Didn’t do too good with the whole NovPad challenge. But, don’t feel too bad for not doing too good.
–BOO
Congrats on your acceptance!! Keep submitting!!
I think your little poem could be expanded into something really great. I feel like you have a beginning and an ending here, and the middle could be filled with some brilliant metaphor– for whatever makes sense to you– I keep thinking about how life just seems to zoom by, and all we can do is stand by and watch and hope disaster is averted. lol. but that’s just me. I suppose it is also kind of minimalist-y and sublime in it’s own way.
Either way you know how I feel about your poems.
Thank you, Val, for giving me ideas to expand! I love what you thought about, how life keeps zooming. I kind of want to step out and just let it go on without me sometimes! haha!
and I totally get that from the poem! –which means, maybe it’s enough!
Too funny, Debbie! I actually did what you described! I was about 14 or so and I didn’t understand you were supposed to put a car into park. My Dad was letting me move the car from one part of the yard to the other and it just kept going. DOH! Congrats on the acceptance!!!!
It has happened to me too, Jessie! With Aubrey in the car still!!! Oh the look on her little face as she and the car started to roll on without me. We joke about it now, about how our car is like Herbie and wants to drive on its own.
Heh! Is it me or are you guys doing it on purpose? Some of your words have separate letters on the next line, kind of like Debbie’s poem! I agree with Val, you could expand this one, even if it is a few stanzas longer. Congrats! I have a sub in mind but working with another poet on my piece inspired by my cousin JR Ewing who just passed away.
Elizabeth . ..I am seeing that too, the words getting split up funny at the end of each line. Maybe a wordpress issue?
Thanks for poem ideas and cheering you on as you write!
Brilliant Pantoum, Jessie. These can easily sound contrived, and yours doesn’t at all. The “modern” and personal subject matter makes it all the better. Loved it.
Love the idea of workshops and critiques…pretty sure I’d join in…..
As for me, after the very generous news I received — thank you guys very much– I felt super encouraged and inspired, but then it just kind of petered out. It’s just this time of year I guess…I’m a bit preoccupied. I’ve managed to get a few seeds of poems planted, but I haven’t watered them at all…ha ha.
Here’s one–
It’s basically a few ideas thrown together, doesn’t even have a title.
—and the untitled one is gone as well
You do have the buds of something there I think. Funny how I just did some work with one of my comp 2 classes on trying to feel out extended metaphors and analogies. Thought of doing one of the workshops on that sometime. Might be a good time to try a form with this one as well since you already have the repetition going
. I love the transition from a charm to I think needle.
I loved all the imagery in this one, Val! Like a mini movie in my mind. Or kind of like a charm bracelet.
And the group of hummingbirds . . I really liked that line!
Thanks, Debbie. It all started when I read that a group of hummingbirds is called a charm. Strange, the links that appear in my head afterward! I’m going to try what Jessie said and put it into a form– I think that may work out really well.
That’s a good idea Jessie. I will try that!
As usual you have inspired something, or is it watered my own seed? I like where this is going Val!
Cool! Thanks E. I took Jessie’s advice and am now expanding it via a specific form. I think it just may work….fingers crossed, lol!
So, question: Apparently it’s okay to ignore rhyme schemes in certain forms? Some say that the pantoum has a rhyme scheme of abab, and there have been a million modern sonnets written that don’t rhyme, though traditionally, they do. Like, the poetry police aren’t gonna arrest me if I don’t rhyme, or anything, right?
What’s your opinion on this?
I think of the form as a guide. Sometimes I want to stick with it 100% but often I don’t, especially when it comes to things like iambic pentameter.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Good to hear it from a pro!
Will you take a payment plan? Heh!
I felt the same about the Artist. I didn’t even finish it, went back to my reading and left hubs downstairs.
I like the poem, although it rattles a bit. I will go back and read it again. Love calling the kettle black lines… Now to read the others!
I’m definitely still tweaking this one
I would consider payment plans. The first year the prices are rock bottom cheap. Check the services pages.
This is something I was playing with…poetry doesn’t have to make sense, right?
–this poem sank down
I love when a poem may or may not make “sense.” I think if you titled this ars poetica and saw where that takes you”
This was fantastic, Elizabeth .. .just so many good lines , taking us on a journey. Sometimes the ones that don’t always make ‘sense’ give the readers the freedom to make their own sense out of it!
I like the idea of the “ars poetica” viewpoint as well.
If I go back to the original draft that would work, as it was written about an email from a guy in Tibet, but his website could have been anywhere in the world. A young poet at that. Thanks guys…