Dreaming in Iambic Pentameter

I recently had the privilege of seeing a sonnet of mine compete in the “Sonnet Bake-Off” over on the poetry board Eratosphere. This annual contest pits 12 or 13 anonymous sonnets, selected from entrants by a distinguished judge–this year, Catherine Tufariello–against each other. The community comments and then ultimately votes. My sonnet, “At Memphis Library,” came third in the popular vote and Catherine did me the honor of rating it her personal favorite.

The Raintown Review will be one of twelve journals with links to New Jersey (and of three with links to ME seeing as the Schuylkill Valley Journal and Up & Under will also be there!) appearing at the West Caldwell Literary Festival this coming Sunday, May 16th, from 1-5 p.m. Kate Bernadette Benedict and Rick Mullin will be reading for the journal at 2.40 p.m. so do come along and hear them if you are in the area.

Also, I got a paid teaching gig through my NJSCA rostering at last. I will be teaching a 3 workshop mini-residency for the after school child care program at Elizabeth Haddon elementary school in Haddonfield for the next three Tuesdays. Should be fun! I am also volunteer teaching a poetry module for Becky’s seventh grade language arts teacher at the beginning of June.

And in other news, summer is coming. Yay!

National Poetry Month is drawing to a close, and boy, has it been a busy one! First, naturally, there was AWP in Denver, which really deserved a blog post all to itself. (I’ll probably do one when/if either of the exciting opportunities that came my way there come to fruition.)

I taught the last of my formal poetry workshops at the MAC, and that was a blast! A big shout out to my “students,” who made it so worthwhile–Peter, Pat, Annette, Fran, Mike and Sarah, and of course, my “intern” Christine!

I gave readings in three states–New York, Philly and of course New Jersey. Well, actually, that last one is at 7 p.m. tonight, at The Daily Grind in Mt Holly, if you are interested.

But of course the main thing that made this NaPoMo unlike any other is that I actually did write a poem a day. And, as my Facebook friends will be well aware, to make it easier on myself, I decided to write a pantoum every day. Now, I’m not sure how I knew that would be easier for me. I’m guessing it has something to do with structure and control, and something to do with the fact that I am a scary formalist geek, but it WAS easier.

Here’s a quick run down. 13 free verse pantoums, 6 in traditional abab iambic pentameter, 4 in abab iambic tetrameter, 1 anapestic, 1 in blank trimeter, 1 attempt at ballad stanzas (didn’t work well), 1 in dimeter couplets and 3 in invented forms–2 haikoums and 1 sonnetoum. (A haikoum is 8 haiku which is also a 6 quatrain pantoum; a sonnetoum is 2 sonnets which is also a 7 quatrain pantoum, rhyme scheme A1B1A2B2B1C1B2C2C1D1C2D2D1D3    D2D4D3E1D4E2E1A3E2A4A3A1A4A2.) Go ahead, try it! (Just give me credit!)

As far as subjects are concerned, there were 5 inspired by a friend of mine on whom I have a bit of a crush right now, 4 by my husband (No, I don’t know how he puts up with me either), 3 by various old boyfriends, 2 by Becky, 1 by Lorna, and the other 15 by a wide variety of subjects ranging from how Americans make tea to, yes, the killer whale, also absurdities like the Ultimate Fighting Championship, roadkill, ice-skating, sex and travel.

During my pantoum journey I discovered some fascinating things about the craft. Perhaps the most interesting to me as a metricist is that writing a metered pantoum automatically seems to address one of the perennial problems with meter in general, which is that the first syllable of each line tends to default into a dull word like “a”, “the”, or “and.” This happens, of course, because it is the weak syllable of the first iamb. Now, part of the fun of pantoums is generating enjambment, which is like playing that kids’ game where you have various top and bottom halves of animals and you put them together to make weird and wonderful mixtures. This enjambment tends to work better (harder) if the first word is NOT an article or conjunction–don’t ask me exactly why! (In the killer whale poem 15 of the 20 lines begin with a noun or a verb.)

Anyway, clearly I could go on and on about pantoums, such as how I can now write a 5 stanza pantoum in my head and hold it there, or the symmetrical beauty of the haikoum (Try it too! Same applies!), or how I’m going to put the best 18 in a chapbook called “Pantoumime,” but I won’t, because I’m boring you, aren’t I? Next year, the rondeau?

I can’t seem to stop! They just happen! (This one, which arrived while I was walking the dogs, is not very publishable, so I am sharing…) [Proper blogging soon, promise!]

I did not want to write a pantoum today—
in fact I refused.
One came to me all the same
like automatic writing.

How could I refuse
the tape unspooling in my head,
like automatic writing
or empty needles’ clack and clatter?

The tape unspooling in my head
proves anything can become a habit,
(The empty needles clack and clatter,)
or an addiction in under thirty days.

Anything can become a habit,
and habits, I know, are hard to break,
as are addictions. In under thirty days
I have become a circus freak.

Habits, I know, are hard to break:
I did not want to write a pantoum today.
I have become a circus freak—
one came to me, all the same.

Last night I attended this groundbreaking event, which was held at The Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington DC, and hosted by the project’s driving force, Kim Bridgford.

It was delightful to be reunited with so many of my fellow timeliners (from last June’s West Chester seminar)–Barbara Crooker, Marilyn L. Taylor, Patricia Valdata, Kathyrn Varnes and Kathryn Voorhees–for such a varied celebration of women’s poetry. After a brief introduction by Kim, we were treated to two songs from the hauntingly lyrical Somi. This was fittingly followed by a tribute to Lucille Clifton, presented by friend and former student Carleasa A. Coates. Alicia Ostriker delivered a fine keynote address, after which the names of the original timeline contributors, and all the women poets in attendance, were called by Kim and Marilyn respectively. Annie Finch read a spirited poem created specially for the event, which invoked the muses as well as pretty much every dead woman poet of any renown. Then the Timeline was officially launched with a ceremonial click of the mouse. (You can find it here on the Mezzo Cammin website.)

Following another two of Somi’s original songs and a brief intermission, Rhina P. Espaillat headed up the list of featured readers–I confess I am a little in awe of her, although she spoke to me (for the first time ever) with much grace and kindness. Then Molly Peacock gave her usual exuberant performance, and finally we enjoyed a dramatic recital by Terri Witek.

During the course of the evening I was also able to speak to Mike Peich, whose sponsorship originally got the project going, Mike Juster (current featured poet at The Barefoot Muse), Eratosphere moderator and fine poet Maryann Corbett, and recent Donald Justice Award winner Ned Balbo, among others.

All in all, it was a fantastic evening for women’s poetry, and the timeline will continue to roll out. (If you are interested in contributing an essay on a woman poet to the database, please query Kim at kbridgford@yahoo.com.)

A monthly bulletin is, somewhat shamefully, all I seem to be able to manage at the moment on the blogging front. Still, here goes:

Firstly a big thanks to Quincy and the Carmine St. Metrics crew for having me read at their splendid NYC series last Sunday night. The Bar on A is a nicely appointed venue in that it, well, has a bar, and the Open Mic is of an impressively high quality. I was delighted to acquaint myself with upcoming TRR contributors including Eric Norris and John Foy, plus I managed to sell out of the copies of Selected Sonnets I had brought with me. So, a good time was had by all. (more…)

If you are wondering why blog posts have been few and far between, look no further than my optimistic decision to stagger the launch dates of the Barefoot Muse and The Raintown Review in order to (ha!) even out my work load. Quincy and I are determined to get the Spring/Summer issue of TRR out in time for the West Chester Poetry Conference this year, and so we prepared a timetable based on how long it took to get the December issue out (January, part of the problem being that Q and I are not in control of much of the process.)

Alas, the timetable has us delivering final issue copy to John for the issue on March 19th. Therefore, I am in full swing moderating the panel discussion on the Swallow Anthology of New American Poets, reading the Tom Mathews book I intend to review, and planning my editorial WHILE desperately coding a redesigned Barefoot Muse, for which the new issue goes live on March 1st.

I think I’d better think it out again!

On the positive front, I’ve had a recent acceptance from Light Quarterly, and you can see several new poems up at Chanterelle’s Notebook. This Sunday coming is also the delayed start of my formal workshop poetry series at the Manayunk Art Center in Philadelphia. It will run from 12-3 and we will be covering all the material from the snow-cancelled first workshop (Blank Verse) and making a start on Rhyme. There are still spots available so you can turn up on spec and pay your $15, or email me and let me know you are planning to attend. (FYI the other 2 workshops are scheduled for March 14th and April 18th.)

Hopefully there will be a Quick & Dirty Poetry reading tomorrow night at The Daily Grind in Mt. Holly. The snow doesn’t look too bad out there right now, but one of our featured readers (Laurie Granieri) is driving from New Brunswick. Oh well, spring must be here soon!

Firstly a huge shout out to James Scannell McCormick whose poem “Trouble”, published in the most recent Barefoot Muse, was selected by Dzanc Books to appear in their print anthology Best of the Web 2010. This serves as a timely reminder of exactly WHY I choose to be involved with the production of FOUR journals.

While we are on the subject, my good friend Rachel Bunting also scored with Dzanc, gaining selection for her poem “Martha Stewart Claims She Has Been Struck By Lightning Three Times” (which deserves inclusion simply for the title!)

The formal poetry event at the MAC was a blast last Sunday! It was so gratifying to be with a bunch of poets who care as deeply about formal/metrical poetry as I do. There was plenty of surprising synergy too–Kit Marlowe, Walter Raleigh and even “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley (I had watched the excellent movie the night before).

I am proud to report that I am now ready to teach the first formal/metrical poetry workshop of the MAC series, which starts this Sunday at 12 p.m. (Weather permitting). Is a 6 page-handout too much? I just want to make certain my participants get value for money! There’s still time to register by the way. And you can find the online version of the registration form here. Either print it out and mail it to the MAC, or email it to myself or Peter Krok.

Finally, I need to make a serious point that I have made before in these pages. Quincy and I are getting close to filling the poetry requirement for Vol 9 Issue 1 of The Raintown Review (due out at the beginning of June). As usual he has supplied me with a breakdown of the poets’ demographics, and as usual we are disappointingly male heavy–about 2:1. Being the premier female editor of a predominantly formal poetry print journal (Um…that sounds like I’m boasting, which is not my intent) clearly this frustrates me immensely. But, there is NOTHING I can do as long as we receive approximately twice as many submissions from men as from women. In the past, I have made open calls here on my blog for more submissions from women, and been accused of reverse sexism as a result. I am not going to do that now–I’m just sayin’…

(The submissions guidelines are here.)

This coming Sunday, January 31st, at 3 p.m., the Manayunk Art Center kicks off the first of five programs devoted to formal and metrical poetry, featuring yours truly.

The first program is entitled “Formal Poetry is Alive & Well” and begins with me presenting a short talk on Philip Larkin & Edna St. Vincent Millay. Not seeing a connection apart from the obvious? Come hear the talk…! After that local formalists will read poems in the spirit of the event–either their own work or poems they admire. There will also be an Open Mic.

The event will be the perfect springboard for the series of formal poetry workshops that will follow throughout the spring. Sign up for a single workshop or all 4:

•    Workshop 1 – BASIC METER & BLANK VERSE – Sunday February 7th 12-2 p.m.
If you have ever shaken your head and claimed you can’t “hear meter” here is your opportunity to acquire this basic poetic skill

•    Workshop 2- RHYME & HOW NOT TO FORCE IT – Sunday February 28th 12-2 p.m.
Rhyme made subtle, slant rhyme, assonance, consonance, and tricks of the trade.

•    Workshop 3 – INTRODUCTION TO FORMS  – Sunday March 14th 12-2 p.m.
The villainous villanelle, the seductive sestina, the tricky little triolet and more…

•    Workshop 4 – THE SONNET – Sunday April 18th 12-2 p.m.
Your chance to create one of these classic 14-lined poetic jewels!

Registration forms will be available at Sunday’s event or online here. (Simply mail to Peter Krok, care of Manayunk Art Center, at the address given.)

I am very excited to have this opportunity, because it has long been a dream of mine to teach the craft of formal poetry to a willing audience. Hope to see you there!

My main piece of good news is that I got wait listed for the upcoming MacDowell Colony Winter/Spring residency period. Wait listing may not seem like that big of a deal, but it’s better than striking out completely, which is what happened to my previous two applications. I also received my beautiful contributor’s copies of 32 Poems, in which I am honored to appear alongside no fewer than three of my Sewanee buddies! Oh and I had a surprisingly political poem accepted by The Lyric. (more…)