 |
A thought,
an invocation; I, thou - an invitation! I go, acting a bit, miming "Outgoing", "macho", "comic", "chum"; (Am I convincing?) Hinting, I touch - Ah, magic! Ah, communion! -- "Yes & No", first stanza |
A thought, an invocation;
I, thou - an invitation!
I go, acting a bit, miming
"Outgoing", "macho", "comic", "chum";
(Am I convincing?)
Hinting, I touch -
Ah, magic! Ah, communion!-- "Yes & No", first stanza
From The Narrow Place: Rule-Based Poems
by Michael Keith
From the Narrow Place is a collection of rule-based or constrained poems: texts that, in addition to being interesting poems in their own right, obey one or more syntactical or semantic constraints. Paradoxically (as has been eloquently argued by the group of mostly French writers known as the Oulipo), such rules are not only constraining but also liberating, resulting in new forms and new ideas that might otherwise never arise.
Included in the book are poems that
- Consist of the letters in another poem rearranged (an anagram),
- Read the same backwards as forwards (a palindrome),
- Have the first letter of each word, or the number of letters in each word, determined according to some rule,
- Use only words from a limited vocabulary (e.g., those in a particular Shakespearean sonnet).Some of the constraints used are well known, while others appear in print here for the first time. For example, the stanza quoted above uses a novel constraint: only the letters next to even digits on the telephone dial are permitted.
In addition to the poems there is a section of end notes which explains all the composition rules in detail - some of which are so subtly handled as to be nearly invisible. This book should appeal to fans of both modern and traditional poetry as well as wordplay and puzzle enthusiasts. Order yours today!
From the Narrow Place is a softcover book with 61 pages, priced at $8.00 (U.S. dollars). To order one or more copies, send $8 per book (includes shipping anywhere in the U.S. or Canada) to
Antan Press
P.O. Box 15142
Richmond, VA 23227