[stylist] Phases of the Moon

Sat Feb 25 11:46:14 UTC 2012

Jackie,
I forgot to say, about dashes of MD, that my very close friend, Dr. Lynda 
Szabo of Geneva College, has written extensively on the meaning that is held 
IN the dashes. I heard her give a presentation on it - the dash is loaded 
with meaning in EDs work.  Every mark in a poem holds meaning. It sets 
rhythmn, separates or brings together ideas, fills in a space for what is 
unspeakable or unknown, provides content, and more.

My view is this: as soon as one mark is placed on a blank sheet of paper, 
there is NOW content. No mark is meaningless. One mark can convey a story.

Lynda
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lynda Lambert" <llambert at zoominternet.net>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 8:56 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] Phases of the Moon

> Hi Jackie,
> I was about to turn the computer off for the night, and there was your 
> message. What a delight for find a thoughtful explication of my poem. It 
> is a gift! thank you. Let me say it again, "I like the way YOU think."
>
> One of the things I really love to do, is to explicate a poem. I mean, 
> really work to begin to enter into to find what might be there for me to 
> find. It is a treasure hunt, of sorts. I find that in writing the poem, I 
> find treasures as I write - during the many shifts and drafts of the 
> writing process that the work goes through. The writing process teaches 
> ME, as I write, too.
>
> I taught Sappho's poetry,  and ancient to medieval literature for years, 
> so I am invluenced by the works of these writers.
> I also taught modern/postmodern literature for years, and my work combines 
> ideas from the ancients to the post modernists, I am sure. None of us can 
> escape who we are, our past, and our passions when we write.
>
>
> Yes, I have the MFA  degree and have taught senior level poetry courses 
> for English majors.
>
> Yes, each word is intentional, each punctuation mark is intentional and 
> each piece holds meaning for the big picture of the entire poem. I see the 
> poem as a world, a universe, complete within itself. It means what it 
> says.
>
>
>
> You get an A+ for being a really good detective.
> How I would love to have some afternoons to sit and look at poems with 
> YOU.
>
>
> Lynda
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 7:52 PM
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Phases of the Moon
>
>
>> Lynda,
>> Here goes.
>> Do you mean for the title to mean Phase of the Moon, or Phases of the 
>> Moon.
>> Since the poem is in three stanzas, I surmise you mean the latter instead 
>> of
>> the singular.
>> Since it is to Sappho, and I suffer from having a very literal mind, I 
>> used
>> all the information on her to give me clues to understanding this poem-a
>> Greek poet, whose remnants of poetry survive in libraries in Greece, and
>> other places. Thus a possible explanation of the two shy librarians.
>> Also, there is the speculation that she was       a lesbian, coming from
>> Lesbos. The two shy librarians are Certainly Sappho held enough words to
>> write an epic poem for she was very prolific. The other, fearful, could 
>> have
>> been in fear of being revealed as Sappho's companion.
>> Certainly Sappho slid around time, and the variety of "neighbors she had 
>> in
>> the fifth and sixth centuries B.C.
>> Also, Vegans first made themselves known at this same time. Not having to 
>> do
>> with health, but because they objected morally to the use of animals for
>> food. They were believed by Vegans to have equal standing as human beings 
>> as
>> far as rights. That is the only meaning I can find for having that line 
>> in
>> the poem, other than the dog is black which fits the mood of the sky.
>> The phrase, "swaddled around" seems like it should "swaddled by" instead. 
>> It
>> seems like the lunar field would be wrapped around the shadows.
>> I love the first stanza. It gives a vivid visual picture of this night. I 
>> do
>> question whether you need three adjectives to describe the night. I love
>> "reluctant" and the other two are equally descriptive, but would not just
>> one of those be enough to go with reluctant?
>> I shall think of a wounded moon, double red, in the future when I look at
>> the sky, and see the slight subordinate branches holding something. Even
>> though I cannot see.
>> Wonderful language.
>> Does the Vegan walk his black dog mean he is an audience for the poet 
>> when
>> she writes with her neon lipstick?  Sunspots can have a double meaning. 
>> The
>> Cosmos, or aging skin. For your poem, I am assuming the cosmos.
>> For the larger meaning, I am not sure. I might think that it is about a
>> wildly imaginative woman who has been wounded, but makes beauty take the
>> place of hurt by sliding around doors  she  may have found closed to her
>> over time.
>> Am I even close to your meaning?
>> You have a period after the word, "illustrations" yet it is followed  by
>> lowered case, "on."
>> I am a fan of m-dashes, and I see you have used dashes like Emily 
>> Dickenson.
>>
>> I have never been particularly good at critiquing, but when I really take
>> time, I find I learn much.
>> I suspect you have an MFA. Am I correct?
>> And this is what I must learn from.
>> Jackie
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>> Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 5:56 PM
>> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Phases of the Moon
>>
>> Hi Jacquelin,
>> Here is the poem I have been working on for a few days.  It is in three
>> phases so I hope it comes through ok for you to read. NO rhyming.
>>
>> Phase of the Moon
>>
>>    (to Sappho)
>>
>>
>>
>> Wounded - on a dark, late, reluctant night
>>
>> double red Crescent  Moon, hiding  something
>>
>> beyond the slight, subordinate branches  -
>>
>> She slides  around time-painted neighborhood doors..
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Two shy Irish librarians have stopped
>>
>> One  holds enough words to write an epic poem.
>>
>> The second one stands in silent fear .
>>
>> of shadows  swaddled  around the  lunar  field.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> A vegan acquaintance walks his black dog tonight-
>>
>> when  a poet  writes illusions.on night skies
>>
>> reaching up - applies her bright neon  lipstick.
>>
>> She motions and  the years chase away sunspots
>>
>>
>>
>> **********************************
>>
>>
>>
>> Lynda Lambert
>>
>> February 20, 2012
>>
>> Copyright:  All rights reserved.
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
>> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 4:36 PM
>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Phases of the Moon
>>
>>
>>> Linda,
>>> Yes, if you are willing to chance changes in line length, I would love 
>>> to
>>> read your poem. Some are so dependent on this factor.
>>> If it is a rhymed poem I can often adjust the lines myself. Sometimes if
>>> there is a great discrepancy in the length reading line by line, I can
>>> also
>>> guess at the line break. And sometimes, regardless, it flows from
>>> beginning
>>> to end.
>>> Thank you for sharing.
>>> Jackie
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>> Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
>>> Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2012 7:18 AM
>>> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Phases of the Moon
>>>
>>> I use msword7.
>>> I can send it enclosed in the message, but not sure it it changes the
>>> format...let me know and I will be glad to email it to you if you like.
>>> And, I love your thinking process, too!
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Jacqueline Williams" <jackieleepoet at cox.net>
>>> To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 8:57 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [stylist] Phases of the Moon
>>>
>>>
>>>> Linda,
>>>> I have to download a kind of pac to be able to open your attachment. It
>>>> is
>>>> because I have an older version of Word. I don't know why this makes me
>>>> nervous, but I have an old laptop and things often get messed up.
>>>> I am sorry I cannot read your "Moon" poem at this time. Perhaps I can
>>>> send
>>>> this e-mail to my new computer with all the upgrades when I start to
>>>> learn
>>>> how to use the new operating system.
>>>> I love your thinking process.
>>>> Jackie
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>> Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
>>>> Sent: Monday, February 20, 2012 1:03 PM
>>>> To: Writer's Division Mailing List
>>>> Subject: [stylist] Phases of the Moon
>>>>
>>>> I want to share a poem I have been working on for a couple of days. I
>>>> attached it as a word document for more clarity.
>>>>
>>>> This poem?  It comsumes me - I get up late at night, turn my computer
>>>> back
>>>> on, so I can work some more. Move things around, change some words,
>>>> inject
>>>> meaning, take away what is "too much."
>>>>
>>>> Writing a poem is like a construction worker. We gather up information,
>>>> haul
>>>> it away in a turck, and take it from one construction site to the next.
>>>> We
>>>> build it; we tear it apart; we build again; and tear it down once more.
>>>> And,
>>>> on it goes. Each time we destroy or move things, it creates something
>>>> that
>>>> is new. We "construct" meaning through "deconstructing" it. It is hard
>>>> work.
>>>> I am still working on this one.
>>>>
>>>> The Irish librarians were a big surprise to me this afternoon as I
>>>> worked.
>>>> And, this poem taught me so many new things about the phases of the 
>>>> moon
>>>> and
>>>> the meaning of a new tube of lipstick.  lol
>>>>
>>>> I have absolutely NO idea when I begin, where we are going. I begin 
>>>> with
>>>> a
>>>> few words, ideas, and we go from there. It is an exciting journey. When 
>>>> I
>>>> had started this one, I had no idea who would be "showing up" to
>>>> participate
>>>> in it. One by one, they come.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Lynda
>>>>
>>>> Lynda Lambert
>>>> 104 River Road
>>>> Ellwood City, PA 16117
>>>>
>>>> 724 758 4979
>>>>
>>>> My Blog:  http://www.walkingbyinnervision.blogspot.com
>>>> My Website:  http://lyndalambert.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>
>
>
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