Not a lot of other poetry news, except I have three poems coming up in the next issue of CSHS Quarterly, and I'm looking forward to attending this year's Dodge Poetry Festival with my son. I wish I could attend this year's Collingswood Book Festival (which I helped with last year by co-hosting a couple of poetry events), but I have a previous social engagement. The "poetry tent" lineup this year sounds terrific, featuring Patrick Rosal, Douglas Goetsch and BJ Ward, among others. It's a great outdoor fest in downtown Collingswood celebrating the written word, and you should attend this year if you can (Saturday, October 11).
Baseball: The 2014 season is coming mercifully to a close, and the less I say about the Phillies' season, the better. One of the few highlights was their combined no-hitter on September 1, tossed by Cole Hamels and three relievers. Hamels has been outstanding this year, but only has a 9-8 record to show for it, because his team has a hard time getting him run support. If not for that won-loss record, he'd be on the short list for the Cy Young Award. On a somewhat brighter note, my fantasy baseball team finished in third place in our ten-team league this year. The only prize, however, is bragging rights.
Music: I still haven't heard much new music that has knocked me over, but the new one from the New Pornographers, Brill Bruisers, sounds great, probably their best since Twin Cinema.
I've been more on a "classic rock" kick lately - I set up a nice long playlist when I discovered that I have over 500 songs on my iPod that fit the category. I've also been on a bit of a Weird Al Yankovic binge, after seeing a documentary about him on VH-1. His new album, Mandatory Fun, is pretty good, and "Word Crimes" (a song about mangling the English language, a parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines") is an instant classic.
Poem: Here's one I wrote earlier this year - it's a sijo, a three-line Korean form that's a bit longer and more complex than a haiku. The lines should be lyrical, with a syllabic count like this: 3-4-4-4, 3-4-4-4, 3-5-4-3. Line 1 presents the theme or situation, Line 2 elaborates on it, perhaps with a "turn" or argument or point of view, and Line 3 ends with a "twist" or conclusion. There should be a break of some type in each line. Sijo can be humorous, metaphysical or personal. This one was a runner-up in the Poetic Asides sijo contest.
Solution Unknown
Pencil sharp, I tackle them – crossword puzzles, devilish grids,
squares to fill with many words, intersecting. Yet you remain
an enigma. I write, then erase. No words I know can solve you.
1 comment:
Congrats on your results in April PAD. I've always enjoyed your poems and can't wait to read them when I get my copy of the book.
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