Posts

Spindrift / Laurence W. Thomas

Published on by Editorial Staff

SpindriftCoverSpindrift suggests stuff blown onto beaches, beaches of discovery in one’s mind. When these poems show a squirrel, a fish, birds, a beggar, an Irish pub, or a dish we see these as metaphors which conjure up ideas or feelings from our own familiarity with them. A poem that begins as an abstraction, like an enemy or peace or patience, becomes objectified. Spindrift is comprised of whatever little gems might be found along the shore, examined closely to become part of the reader’s experience. These jottings of spindrift take off from that experience like going to an airport when you want to be someplace else – or like poems which say one thing when they mean another.

Published by Atmosphere Press, 2021. 124 Pages, ISBN 163649532X
or purchase from Barnes and Noble or Amazon.

aaLarryThomasLaurence W. Thomas is the founding editor of Third Wednesday Magazine. He has been around long enough to know the sting of rejection and the salve of acceptance. His shelves are lined with his own publications as well as the works of many other poets. He Chancelor Emertus of the Poetry Society of Michigan.

3WYouTubeNow you can see and hear Laurence read poems from this book on 3rd Wednesday’s Youtube Channel!

Art Work / Terry Allen

Published on by Editorial Staff

ArtWorkFrontArt Work
Publisher: Kelsay Books
Publication date: March 9, 2021
Available for Purchase: Amazon.com & Kelsay Books

These poems will surprise you. Their deep concerns are handled in ways that the reader can’t help but be reminded, if not stunned into revelations, concerning the human predicament.  Terry Allen’s Art Work opens with the poem Isadora, about one of the most famous avant-garde dancers of the 20th Century. We see in her life the rewards and dangers of opening up to the world, how we are liberated and yet die in the act of liberation, leaving the reader with the echo of her words, no matter the risk, “Don’t let them tame you.” Allen then takes us on a wild ride through history but never abandoning the historical moment to the past, but showing how it touches the present moment, as when he pays tribute to the florescence of ancient Greek playwriting, especially, the comedies of 2,500 years ago, but then the poem begins its closing with these lines: It’s like Bertolt Brecht/said…one shouldn’t fight/dictators one should/ridicule them, and how tragically that sentiment reflects the present day. Reader, these poems are all in the early pages of Art Work. You have so much more to look forward to. From a 1910 Vatican decree against Modernism to the speak-easy years between the two World Wars, to a delightful dialogue between father and son on the way to school as they challenge each other to name famous movie dogs, and expect to find Latin, Cicero, Harry Potter, and Trivial Pursuit banging up against each other in a single poem, all telling us that history never stops revealing itself to us. This book is a masterful achievement.
–Walter Bargen, first Poet Laureate of Missouri and author of Pole Dancing in the Night Club of God

The poems in Art Work are both accessible and engaging. Terry Allen’s involvement in theater and his love of jazz shines through on many pages. This is a collection to read, savor, and read again.
– Karen Loeb, Eau Claire, Wisconsin Writer in Residence, 2018-2020, author of Jump Rope Queen & Other Stories

Terry Allen’s poems pull you in like an intriguing conversation and leave you with a jolt of surprise and smiling at their sly humor.
–Rebecca Graves, librarian, poet, and author of The Racoon at the Bottom of the Stairs

terry_allenTerry Allen was born in Brisbane, Australia. He is emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he taught theatre arts. His poems have appeared in numerous journals and he is the author of the chapbook, Monsters in the Rain. He lives in Columbia, Missouri with his wife Nancy.

A Quick Exercise in Ekphrastic Poetry

Published on by Editorial Staff4 Comments

Writing ekphrastic poetry is a great way to break out of slump (I never say writer’s block). Here is a technique that makes an ekphastic poem seem to write itself. To demonstrate we’ll use a poem that was originally published in The Ekphrastic Review. It was insprired by the famous photo of the same title as the poem.

The poem is written in three parts, each part it’s own stanza, though that is not any kind of rule. It’s just how I chose to work with this short poem. I think it’s brevity contributes to it’s impact.

The first stanza is a simple description of what’s seen in the photograph. It’s best to concentrate on just one or two details and extend them, perhaps through comparison using simile or metaphor.

In step two I have brought in sensory experiences beyond the visual. This animates the photograph, turns it into a living scene that includes movement and the senses of hearing and smell.

The final step is for the poet to enter the photograph and to interact with the visual elements. This is purely imaginative and the most engaging part of writing the poem. You can talk to people, touch or pick up objects, use tools, taste food etc.

There you have it, short and sweet; 1) Describe, 2) Animate, 3) Enter and interact.