Poet, Writer, Instructor
A long time ago, when I first came across Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “Sestina,” I didn’t realize that the title referred to the poem’s form. I thought that “Sestina” was, perhaps, the grandmother’s first name—a different form, if you will, of the name “Tina” – “In the failing light, the old grandmother / sits in the kitchen with the child.”
“A new lens for an old form,” hinted at ideas that have interested me for years: inventing and stretching the limits of poetic forms, as well as juxtaposing poetry and different types of creative expression. But what, I wondered, was the connection to disability?
Just for fun, here are five poetry forms you might not be familiar with. I hope they spark some creativity.
When I hear poets read out loud, I am often disappointed. Either it sounds flat, as if they were reading an article from the business section of the newspaper, or condescending, or interrupted with asides, as if the audience needed spoon-feeding, or, worst of all, rendered in a breathy sing-song somewhere between a sermon and a singer practicing scales. This is called “the Poetry Voice,” and all poets know immediately what it means.
La llamada (The Call), Remedios Varo, 1961 I was reading Exit Opera, Kim Addonizio’s latest book of poems, when I came across the following lines from “20.5 Light Years from Earth:” “Sometimes writing feels so stupid I think I should get out into the world & do something like repairing fountain pens, milking snakes, something useful—… Continue reading Why I love being a poet
"Take Your Pick" by John Frederick Peto, 1885 Does this sound familiar? You’re doing something boring and repetitive, maybe folding laundry, and an idea pops into your head. When this happens to me, I drop the shirt I was just hanging up, grab a pen, and write the idea down. I know this seems obvious;… Continue reading What happened when I stopped judging my ideas
Some mornings I wake to a golden, slanted light filtered through dense fog. It softens outlines, blurs the houses on my street, and mutes the noises of my neighborhood. This is when I feel my mother’s presence. I release my tears to the foggy air. I’ve learned some new things about grieving. For example, sudden… Continue reading Bubbles, bacon and rainbows: the hard work of grief
I first encountered the term “the speaker,” in reference to poetry, at a graduate writing workshop. One of my fellow students said, “the speaker seems angry here” and “I’m not sure what the speaker means with this statement.” It took me a minute to realize that she meant the voice of the narrator in the poem, not its actual… Continue reading Excuse me, I’m speaking: the role of the speaker in poetry
“The Dark Garden” by Yves Tanguy On July 23 at 5:56 PM, I received an email from Broadstone Books which began: “Dear Erica, On behalf of the Broadstone Books acquisitions team, thank you for the opportunity to read your manuscript Landscape with Womb and Paradox, and for your patience with the time it has taken for us… Continue reading My New Book, Landscape with Womb and Paradox, to be published in 2025
I was rummaging around my kitchen the other day when an idea struck me: just like every pantry needs to be stocked with the basic foods most meals are built on, poets need a supply of staples they can use to create poetry. I thought it would be fun to compare food pantry staples to… Continue reading Poetry Staples