Good Stuff Going On Here and There

I've had a handful of poems recently published here and there as well as a few other tidbits going on.

My poem, "Pyromania," appears in the new print anthology, This Is Poetry Volume I: Women of the Small Press. Edited by Michele MacDannold and published by Citizens for Decent Literature Press, the collection includes the work of forty contemporary women poets. "Pyromania" first appeared in Prairie Schooner. It is also in my book, What Feeds Us. I'll have one more poem in Volume II which should appear six months from now.

In the online world I have five poems in the annual issue of Avatar Review. I've never had a journal accept that many poems in one fell swoop. Kind of sweet. Two of the poems have audios.

Then my poem, "The Morphology of Mushrooms," appears in the current issue of Cider Press Review. This is my first appearance in this online journal since it switched from print to online. The new poetry editor, Ruth Foley, is doing a great job. My poem was written to one of the prompts in my book, The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop. I practice what I preach. Well, sometimes I do.

I recently did a five-question interview on process with Laura E. Foley at Dear Outer Space. This is part of a writers on writing series that Laura does twice a week. She sent ten questions and I chose five to respond to. Many secrets are revealed.

A few months ago Nic Sebastian invited me to submit some poems to The Poetry Storehouse where poems are given new life by becoming part of video remixes. I submitted my poem "Orchids" from my book, What Feeds Us. Nic recorded the poem. Then she turned the poem and the recording into a remix with gorgeous still images. Shortly thereafter, I got double lucky when videographer Paul Broderick chose to do another remix using an entirely different set of images and video clips. Both of these videos are exquisite. Nic subsequently interviewed me about my experience with the remixes. "Remixing the vocabulary of orchids: an interview with Diane Lockward" is posted at the Moving Poems Forums, hosted by Dave Bonta.

As if that weren’t enough excitement, Erica Goss, in her column "The Third Form" at Connotation Press, did an article in which she features five pairs of videos. In each pair both videos use the same poem. One of the pairs is the two videos of “Orchids.” Erica, by the way, contributed a lovely poem, “The Scent of Orange Blossoms,” to The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop. 

A New Incarnation for "Orchids"

If you're not familiar with Nic Sebastian's The Poetry Storehouse, you must get familiar. It's a wonderful resource of poems, audios, and videos. Poets are invited to submit poems. If selected, the poems are posted at the site. The poets may then send in an audio for each poem. Nic and her team of readers may also choose to make an audio of a poem. The poem and audio are then made available for a "remix." Someone who has skill in making videos may select one of the poems and transform it into a video. The videos sometimes incorporate video clips from other sources and sometimes are made from still images. A music track is added. The result is a new version of the poem. I've viewed a number of these remixes and they are of incredible beauty.

Nic, who is a wonderful reader of poetry—she has a great voice and really captures the pulse of a poem—made an audio of my poem, "Orchids," from my book, What Feeds Us. I was delighted with that and then some days later completely thrilled with the video she made of the poem. Here's the poem:

Orchids

    They are hot and moist in operation, under the
    dominion of Venus, and provoke lust exceedingly.
        —The British Herbal Guide, 1653

Such flowers must be used with discretion.
Love of them becomes obsession.

A man pursues an orchid as he once
pursued a green-eyed woman. He hunts

in Florida swamps, Thailand, and Brazil,
delirious with lust, blissed on the smell

of dust and mulch, steamy veil of moisture,
breathing pores on leaves, tessellated lure

of waxy sepals, pouched lips, and tubers,
stamen and pistil twisted together,

inflorescence of Phalaenopsis,
Vanda Sanderiana, Cryptanthus.

Dream-haunted nights—ghost, slipper, and spider,
the deep plunge to the nectar inside her.

Now take a look at what Nic did with the poem:

As if that weren't enough bountiful gift for me, another filmmaker, Paul Broderick, also chose the same poem and audio for a new video and produced a very different version, also fantastic. I'm glad I don't have to choose only one. I love them both.

Check out Paul's version:

If I were still teaching, I think it would be fun to do a lesson with the poem and videos. Ask students to read and respond to the poem. Show the two videos and ask students to compare and contrast. Then perhaps ask them to find a poem they like and make a video.

All of the videos produced by The Poetry Storehouse are available at their Vimeo page.