For Female Formalists

The new issue of Mezzo Cammin has recently gone live. The journal appears twice a year and is limited to formal poetry by women. Each issue also features an artist. This issue's artist is Jean Shin whose installations are shown in photos, along with a bio and a discussion of her work.

The journal is the brainchild of poet Kim Bridgford who created the website and serves as the journal's editor. The journal evolved out of a seminar on women's poetry held at The Westchester Poetry Conference several years ago.

Another outgrowth of the conference is The Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline Project, which was officially launched in March 2010 and will eventually be the largest database of women poets in the world. Dozens of women poets have entries, each written by another woman poet. Along the top of the Timeline page, date ranges are listed. Click on one to find a linked list of poets covered in that time range. This is an invaluable resource, and it's still growing.

In addition to poetry, each issue of the journal includes essays on any aspect of poetry in form, received or invented, by a woman.

The current issue includes 17 women poets, one of whom is me. I'm joined by the following:

Diann Blakely

Terese Coe

Edna Coyle-Greene

Erica Dawson (Featured Poet)

Nicole Caruso Garcia

Terry Godbey

Tracey Gratch

Athena Kildegaard

Diane Lockward          

Mary McLean

Mary Meriam          

Jennifer Reeser        

Susan Spear      

Myrna Stone        

Doris Watts        

Gail White

Marly Youmans

My poems are Apple Rondeau and In My Yard, the Bones of Trees. The first is obviously a rondeau, fun form which you should try if you haven't already. The second is written in tercets.

A bio and photo are included for each poet. The editor limits the number of poets included in each issue but includes 2-3 poems by each poet, more by the featured poet.