Poetry Month
Ella McCrystal has put up a good poetry challenge for this month on Blue Line called 20 Projects. I notice too the new/old forum, Critique Workshop is open again for business. Blue Line now has the Critique Workshop, the Heavy Duty Workshop (line by line crit, very demanding) and the Perfect Day for Poetry. Who hangs out at Blue Line? Ella does, Christopher T George, Arlene Ang as moderator of PD4P, Rhonda Maltbie, Louisa Howerow, Susan Constable, and John Vick although John has been spending a lot of time over at Mike Duron's PAD. Great people, many from the Poetry Writing Workshop, a listserv workshop.
Lots of problems on the Writer's Block. Very sad. I wish CTG and AnnMarie Eldon all the best in their efforts to fix it up although I don't know if the Editors really have much control over the forum code.
Good things/bad things
It is a pain to have to type recent crit titles at the top of my poem
It is a pain to have to crit three first then post poem. Needs to be the other way around for the way I work. I do the poem, post it, then hang out for a while, doin crits and stuff. All the time, I get to look back at my poem, and tweak it.
While graphically, the way the Block has it's posts drop down and down and down (not close up like most of the other forums) is a pain, it does allow an easy way to see if any particular poster is also posting crits. It also allows a reader to follow a particular critter - sometimes crits are as beautiful and helpful as the poems. It also allows me to see if anyone has left me a note.
It is GOOD to require that a crit have substance. A few vague lines are not acceptable.
OK, that's my rant for today.
I wrote a villanelle last night. It took about two hours! That's a long time - and I'm still not sure I've got it right. What do you think? (cheap trick to see if anyone really reads this stuff )
My Last Lover
If it happens that you were my last lover
and the memories of us mark my sexual end,
they'll have to do, if there'll be no other
romance, chance dance in the arms of another.
The candles we burned and the poetry penned
when it happened and you were at last my lover
and your fingers dodged sleep on my breast and the covers
slipped silkily over our nest back then
will have to do, if there'll be no other.
Now the telephone's still and the sensual sliver
of moon is released with no need to defend
what happened when you were my last lover
last shiver, last quiver, last person to smother
desire and fire, last man to pretend
the way they all do - there'll be no other.
In a pot by my bed I'll plant jade and think over
good things, leave weeds for the worms to attend
If it happens that you were my last lover
you'll have to do, if there'll be no other.
Lots of problems on the Writer's Block. Very sad. I wish CTG and AnnMarie Eldon all the best in their efforts to fix it up although I don't know if the Editors really have much control over the forum code.
Good things/bad things
It is a pain to have to type recent crit titles at the top of my poem
It is a pain to have to crit three first then post poem. Needs to be the other way around for the way I work. I do the poem, post it, then hang out for a while, doin crits and stuff. All the time, I get to look back at my poem, and tweak it.
While graphically, the way the Block has it's posts drop down and down and down (not close up like most of the other forums) is a pain, it does allow an easy way to see if any particular poster is also posting crits. It also allows a reader to follow a particular critter - sometimes crits are as beautiful and helpful as the poems. It also allows me to see if anyone has left me a note.
It is GOOD to require that a crit have substance. A few vague lines are not acceptable.
OK, that's my rant for today.
I wrote a villanelle last night. It took about two hours! That's a long time - and I'm still not sure I've got it right. What do you think? (cheap trick to see if anyone really reads this stuff )
My Last Lover
If it happens that you were my last lover
and the memories of us mark my sexual end,
they'll have to do, if there'll be no other
romance, chance dance in the arms of another.
The candles we burned and the poetry penned
when it happened and you were at last my lover
and your fingers dodged sleep on my breast and the covers
slipped silkily over our nest back then
will have to do, if there'll be no other.
Now the telephone's still and the sensual sliver
of moon is released with no need to defend
what happened when you were my last lover
last shiver, last quiver, last person to smother
desire and fire, last man to pretend
the way they all do - there'll be no other.
In a pot by my bed I'll plant jade and think over
good things, leave weeds for the worms to attend
If it happens that you were my last lover
you'll have to do, if there'll be no other.
posted by Squamish Writers Group at 6:24 PM
4 Comments:
If you want to see ghosts of traffic this might be useful. http://www.mybloglog.com/
If you want to be a real poet, you need to get away from the mediocre poets that populate the online poetry boards.
Personaly I think it all a journey--there is no way to be a "real" poet. Hell just write, any and every way you can. I like the block, always has given me good crit and GC is a hell of a good guest editor. I liked your poem I would loose some of the personal pronouns when u can. Hope all is well, T
Hi Jude
You will be glad to know that we are close to replacing Writer's Block with a new site that will prevent the idiocy that has infected the site of late. We should be able to make an announcement very soon.
All the best
Chris George
Editor, Writer's Block
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