Let's All Write Triolets

Rosa Triolet

I've just discovered poet Allison Joseph's blog, The Rondeau Roundup, which is decribed as "A blog for the exploration, appreciation and publication of the rondeau, rondel, roundel, rondeau redouble, rondolet, triolet, and ballade." In other words, a blog for poets interested in specific forms. At the blog Allison runs contests in forms. Right now she's running a contest on the triolet. There's no fee to enter. First place wins a $25 gift certificate at Amazon. Not huge, but hey, the poem is only 8 lines long and some of those lines are repeats. You have until December 28 to enter your triolet. Because the form is short, you are allowed to submit two poems. If you're unfamiliar with the form, here are the guidelines Allison provides:

* 8 lines
* Two rhymes
* 5 of the 8 lines are repeated or refrain lines
* First line repeats at the 4th and 7th lines
* Second line repeats at the 8th line
* Rhyme scheme (where an upper-case letter indicates the appearance of an identical line, while a lower-case letter indicates a rhyme with each line designated by the same lower-case or upper-case letter):

A
B
a - Rhymes with 1st line
A - Identical to 1st line
a - Rhymes with 1st line
b - Rhymes with 2nd line
A - Identical to 1st line
B - Identical to 2nd line

It might be easier to understand the rules if you see them operating in a poem. Here's one of Allison's, also posted at her blog:

A . . .Today I need your Texas wail,
B . . .your ragged voice of pain and hurt;
a . . . I need to walk your lonely trail.
A . . .Today I need your Texas wail
a . . . to buoy me up when I grow frail,
b . . . to pick me up from ash and dirt.
A . . .Today I need your Texas wail,
B . . . that ragged voice of pain and hurt.

You might want to try for 8 syllables per line, even for iambic tetrameter. I can't seem to ascertain whether the meter is required or optional, but most of the triolets I've looked at employ 8 syllables per line.

I think that the key to this form is getting a snazzy first line. Do you have an idea journal where you write down cool lines? Dip in and see if you can find something. Then just get started.

If you're into forms that capitalize on repeating lines, you might be interested in checking out a new online journal, Tilt-a-Whirl: A Poetry Sporadical of Repeating Forms. The first issue was recently posted and looks very tempting. This journal is an off-shoot of the online journal Umbrella, both edited by Kate Bernadette Benedict. The site includes a handy "cheat sheet" of definitions.

I'm mostly a free verse poet, but I also enjoy working in forms. I find they push me in directions I might not otherwise have pursued. It's raining dogs and cats in NJ today. A perfect day for staying inside and pursuing triolets.

---

New Valparaiso Poetry Review

Happy 10th Anniversary to Valparaiso Poetry Review! And kudos to its founder and editor, Ed Byrne. VPR has long been one of my favorite online journals; in fact, it was one of the first online ones I ever submitted to. And back then submissions were sent by snail mail. This special issue is absolutely fabulous. I'm so pleased to be part of it.

The issue begins with an essay by Byrne in which he thanks his readers and contributors and also explores the evolution of online journals. Speaking of his original intention, he says, "I felt a responsibility to produce an online literary journal that would attain a certain amount of respect and would contribute to the overall stature of electronic magazines . . ." That's exactly what he's done. Mission accomplished.

Byrne also says, "Moreover, when I glance at the 'acknowledgments' pages of new books of poetry or volumes of literary commentary, I find myself noting how many titles of online journals, including Valparaiso Poetry Review, are represented side by side with those titles of traditional print periodicals, all of which seem to have adopted at least some degree of online presence as well in recent years." I recall that until recently such Acknowledgments pages often distinguished between which journals were print and which were online. I no longer see that. And I'll add that my next book will contain 5 poems that first appeared in VPR.

Charles Wright is the featured poet in this issue. Here's the entire lineup of poets: Sherman Alexie, Mary Biddinger, Jared Carter, Katharine Coles, Alfred Corn, Kwame Dawes, Susan Donnelly, Cornelius Eady, Claudia Emerson, Patricia Fargnoli, Annie Finch, Daisy Fried, Reginald Gibbons, H. Palmer Hall, T.R. Hummer, Allison Joseph, David Kirby, Dorianne Laux, Frannie Lindsay, Diane Lockward, Sebastian Matthews, Eric Nelson, Joel Peckham, Greg Rappleye, Margot Schilpp, Jeffrey Skinner, Floyd Skloot, Martha Silano, Dave Smith, Alison Stine, Virgil Suarez, Elizabeth Swados, Daniel Tobin, Catherine Tufariello, Brian Turner. There are also five book reviews.

I have two poems in this issue, Hunger in the Garden and The Temptation of Mirage. The first one is a kind of form poem. (I challenge you to figure out the form). Check out the entire issue. You will find much to enjoy and admire there.

---

New Poemeleon

No, I'm not switching to porn or a discussion of anatomy. The above image is the cover of the latest issue of Poemeleon, one of my favorite online journals. Edited by Cati Porter, the journal appears twice a year. Why do I like it? Let me count the ways: 1) it's easy to navigate, 2) it's visually attractive, 3) it contains only poetry and poetry-related features, 4) each issue runs a handful of reviews and interviews, 5) there's an ample number of poems but not an overwhelming number, 6) it considers previously published poems, and 7) it has found its own niche by devoting each issue to a theme or type of poem.

The latest issue is the "gender issue." As soon as I saw the call for submissions several months ago, I immediately thought of my poem entitled Gender Issue. Seemed like that might be a good fit. The editor agreed. One more feature I like about this journal: each poem is accompanied by a brief author statement in which the author says something about his or her connection to the theme.

This issue contains work by a number of poets whose work I already admire, e.g., Michelle Bitting (I'm in the middle of her collection, Good Friday Kiss), Deborah Bogen, Kathryn Stripling Byer, Robin Chapman, Patricia Fargnoli (just finished her new book, Then, Something), Ann Fisher-Wirth (recently read her Carta Marina), Alex Grant (see my last blog post for a review of his book, Fear of Moving Water), Paul Hostovsky, Wendy Vardaman, and Charles Harper Webb. There are others whose work I'm looking forward to getting acquainted with.

So check out this issue. You'll find much to make you happy there.

---

How Sweet It Is

Several months ago I wrote a post entitled Online Journals I Admire. One of the journals I included was Sweet: A Literary Confection. Recently, I decided to try the journal with a submission. I'm happy to say that they took one of my poems for the current issue.

My poem, Learning to Live Alone, is one of eleven poems in the issue. One of the things I like about this journal is that they limit the number of poems and poets in each issue. I find that I'm more likely to read when the journal is on the small side. I feel sort of overwhelmed when an online journal includes dozens and dozens of poets and poems. This issue also includes four pieces of creative non-fiction.

Sweet publishes only poetry and non-fiction. I like that limited focus. The journal comes out three times a year, and each issue can be devoured in one or two visits. Another thing I like about the journal is the humor of the editors. They make me laugh. Check out their Masthead to see what I mean. And how could you not love a journal whose home page ends with this piece of good advice: Please remember to eat chocolate every day.

My poem was initially entitled "Still-Life," a total loser of a title and I knew it. That was a perfectly appropriate title with a juicy dual meaning. But how many poems have had that title? I'll bet dozens. So I just sat on the poem for weeks until I came up with something better. The new title, "Learning to Live Alone," adds, I think, something new to the poem. I love titles.

Here's a picture of something else I love. The editors ask each contributor to reveal his or her favorite dessert and that information is included in the bio note. Thus mine ends: Her favorite dessert is Bocconi Dolci.

We're talking three layers of meringue, each lightly covered with melted chocolate, each slathered with homemade whipped cream and sliced strawberries. The name means "sweet little mouthful" and is it ever.

---

New Valparaiso Poetry Review

Editor Ed Byrne recently posted the fall issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review, one of my favorite online journals. As always, the issue is full of good reads. In fact, this issue is fuller than usual. The featured poet is Elise Paschen. Her feature includes three poems and an interview with Byrne.

Then there are poems from such poets as Deborah Bogen, Al Maginnes, Jared Carter, Ann Hostetler, Athena Kildegaard, and Claire Keyes. That's just to name a handful. And don't miss the wonderful essay by Jennifer Yaros, "Nature and the Self: Dickinson, Bishop, Plath, and Oliver."

Finally, there are five book reviews, including my own of Paula Bohince's Incident at the Edge of Bayonet Woods. More about that later.

Invented Forms

Last summer I became interested in invented forms. I gathered together a bunch of them and tried my hand at some. I liked the challenge of them and often the zaniness. And in several cases, I liked the results. Recently, I submitted two invented form poems to The Del Sol Review, an online journal. Both appear in the current issue. I thought some of you might like to try your hand at these two forms. I'm offering you one today; the other will soon follow.

Today's challenge is an anagram poem. The instructions come from Terrance Hayes in his collection, Hip Logic. According to Hayes' note, he found the instructions in the puzzle section of newspapers.

First, choose a word of substantial length. Then quickly form as many words as you can from that lead word. You will need a minimum of eleven. Words should consist of four or more letters. That's the rule, but one I easily broke, and I allow you to break it also. You are not allowed to make a three-letter word into a four-letter one by the addition of s. I broke that rule also and so may you, if you like.

Then from your list of words, write an eleven-line poem. Each line must end with one of the words on your list. So if your list contains fifteen words, you will use only eleven of them. You could go on longer if inclined, but I obeyed this rule.

I found this form quite addictive. I was intrigued and pleased by the resulting sounds—the near rhymes, the alliteration, consonance, and assonance. Here's one of my favorite anagrams.

Ecdysiast

You think it's easy
to unravel the boa of feathers and cast
it off, to turn the act
of undressing into an art, suggest Yes
to each hungry face, go just so far and then desist?

Not one can touch, but all must leave feeling sated.

Sequins sparkle as she slinks across the dais,
peels the skirt and tosses it as if rolling dice,
and then the bustier, hook by hook, and thrown aside,
a spider molting, her gaze at once smoldering and icy,
the swivel of hips, to keep the tease slow and steady.

Poemeleon's New Issue

Good news: The latest issue of Poemeleon is now online and it's a beauty. Meticulously edited by Cati Porter, this journal has quickly become a force to be reckoned with. If you haven't yet checked it out, do not delay doing so. Devoted to the persona poem, this issue is filled with voices and surprising revelations.

Diana Adams offers two stunning poems in the voice of Frankenstein—"Frank, The Error of Days" and "Frankenstein's Ice Mirror." The second poem begins with these snazzy lines:

The left orb protrudes
but the right's a diamond,
it captures riverwords,
dwells on velvet faces
on turned earth and chittering trees.

Deborah Bogen is a poet whose work I've read in a number of journals and am always happy to meet again. Who could resist this title: "Pastor Jackson Attends the Grateful Dead Concert"? Her two persona poems prompted me to jot down the title of her book, Landscape with Silos, on my To Order Soon list.

Pat Fargnoli, Poet Laureate of New Hampshire, has three poems in this issue. One, "The Questions of Bluebeard's Wife," is particularly interesting as it consists of a series of questions. "Undertaker’s Wife" left me breathless as the speaker talks about being touched at night by the hands that all day have touched the bodies of the dead.

Be sure to read David Graham's multi-part poem, "I Call to Remembrance My Song in the Night," a poem written in the voice of his late father-in-law. The poet performs the difficult job of imagining and expressing someone else's struggle with Alzheimer's.

So far, I'm not quite halfway through the issue, thus the absence from my list of people with names later in the alphabet. But this should give you powerful motivation to take a trip on over to Poemeleon. Also, the introductory comments by each poet about the experience of writing persona poems are fascinating and instructive.

Of course, I'm also excited about this issue because there's a lovely review by Ingrid Wendt of my book, What Feeds Us.

Now I'm on the look-out for appropriate subjects for a persona poem or two of my own.



Share on Facebook

Valparaiso Poetry Review

The spring issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review recently appeared online. In my opinion, this is one of our best online poetry journals. It's aesthetically pleasing, yet simple enough that the graphics are not a distraction. The quality of the work is consistently high, and editor Ed Byrne supports well-known poets as well as those who will soon be well-known. I love the variety offered in each issue and return numerous times while the issue appears online. (Actually, each issue remains online in the archives, another nice feature of the journal.)

This issue offers three new poems by featured poet, Lynnell Edwards, and poems by familiar favorites such as Pat Fargnoli, April Lindner, and Julia Kasdorf. There are also poems by rising stars such as Greg McBride and Mary Biddinger, poems by poets I've met in person such as Jennifer MacPherson and Peggy Miller, and poems by poets whose work I'm looking forward to reading for the first time. There's an essay about the work of Zbigniew Herbert. And finally, there are five book reviews, including one by Ed Byrne of Lynnell Edwards' new collection, The Highwayman's Wife. If I hadn't already ordered the book, this review would certainly entice me to do so.

So check out this issue. Many pleasures await you.


Share on Facebook