Form Poetry

Posted

 I spent the day polishing up a villanelle.

One of my wee ones was home sick so she heard me do my ‘read every line aloud ten thousand times’ thing.

If she thought I was a little off before, it’s now been formally confirmed and set in stone. 
I heard her tell her sister, “Mama talked to herself in poems today. Even in the bath!”

Reading aloud is part of my process, to be sure. Good thing I don’t work in a cube where the protocol is to put your phone on vibrate and think to yourself. I really can’t see what works and what doesn’t — I can only hear it. 

And it turns out that’s especially true with form poetry. 

OK, first of all, I’m a glutton for punishment. I committed to writing an ekphrastic poem (a poem inspired by another piece of art) about a piece in the permanent collection at The Blanton Museum of Art. But it could have been anything! A haiku, for goddsake. A prose poem cut-and-pasted straight from my journal. A list of words that came to mind as I sat there soaking in the image. 

But no. Nope. I had to do a villanelle. Which I always encourage people to write because they are so pretty and musical. 

Right? 

And also, how hard could it be? 19 lines, and a bunch of them are repeats. 

Well, the thing is, if you’re going to repeat an entire line it’s got to be, well, good.
And also, there’s a rhyme scheme. So once you pick your first couple of lines, you’re stuck with two particular sounds.
Or I guess ‘blessed’ with two particular sounds if stars are aligned. 

And then, to top it off, I received the invitation to write this poem months ago. Not weeks. Months.
But when did I get cracking on it? This week. This week. 
It is some crazy dysfunctional relationship I have with deadlines…

Wrap all that up and Mama’s talking to herself in poems. Even in the bath.

28 Responses to “Form Poetry”

  1. bernadettenoll

    two new words

    for me today! Villanelle and ekphrastic. I love the word ekphrastic. I might try to sneak it in somewhere.

    Will this be a show and a reading at the Blanton? I’d love to go if it is.

  2. Anonymous

    I hope it was a bubble bath, too. Bubbles plus reading poetry aloud equals a great bath.

    Jules, who, yes, probably does sacrifice sleep for blogging 🙂

  3. lurban

    I don’t write poetry, much, but I HEAR what is wrong, too. The spot that I’m working on in my current novel sounds all wrong and I can’t write past it until it sounds at least a little less clompy, until the lines sound like they echo one another in some way.

    And I read aloud when I revise, too.

    • liz_scanlon

      I know, right?? I’m always surprised when I meet writers who didn’t read their work aloud. They must have a quicker of more nuanced brain than I do. But you’re quick and nuanced, so go figure. I’m going to take comfort in your recitations, Linda…

  4. saralholmes

    Ooh, I love ekphrastic poetry. When I lived elsewhere, I participated in a yearly Art and Words show, where local artists and writers collaborated.

    I read out loud to myself, too, but I’m too self-conscious to do it if someone else is around, even my kids.

  5. kellyrfineman

    “Mama talked to herself in poems today. Even in the bath!”

    I’ve written one villanelle thus far, and it sucks. In fact, I’ve had better luck with a sestina, and that is saying something. I bow to your awesomeness for going for it.

    • liz_scanlon

      Re: “Mama talked to herself in poems today. Even in the bath!”

      Kelly. I cannot believe it sucked. Try another. I do love sestinas. I’m sensing another group project in the works…

  7. Anonymous

    Cloudscome says:

    I do hope you are going to share your villanelle with us one day soon. I always think of Sylvia Plath with this form.

    When I muttering to myself while driving my five year old always says, “Is that today’s poem mama?” LOL sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t.

    • liz_scanlon

      Re: Cloudscome says:

      Love that, Mama.
      I don’t know about sharing the villanelle. Maybe if I take a sedative first 🙂