[stylist] A new conversation about the sestina

[Jacqueline Williams]

Lynda,
This sestina about William Carlos Williams has lines, I believe from 8 or 9
syllables all the way to 16. Does this fit the guideline that it must be
consistent? Nit-picking, perhaps, but I seem to need the guidelines firmly
followed before I can commit to branch into my own off-shoot format. Perhaps
we are talking about new formalists. Are you one?
Whatever it is, it is a wonderful poem. My teacher tells us to write what
you want, but never label it as a particular form unless you are following
the traditional form.
Would love a discussion about this.
Jackie

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Lynda Lambert
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 10:44 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: [stylist] revising, form, and copyright

Have spent most of the day working on two poems that were published in 2000.

A poem is never really fininshed, really. 
Since we were talking about Sestina's I went back to two of them today,
after a 12 year absence from them. 

One is a true sestina, the other is a sestina-influenced poem.  I will
attach the sestina here. 

William Carlos Williams has been my hero since undergraduate school and I
did major work on him in grad school. He is the inspiration behind this
sestina, and I think it is very humorous that I would write a Sestina as the
venicle of the poem as he would not at all have embraced that thought. Not
for a moment! 

another tip:  when you revise the poem that was published previously, be
sure to note that in your copyright line. In this case, 2000 and 2012 for
this poem.


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