I recently purchased a copy of Robert Wood Lynn's anthology, 'Mothman Apologia.'
The poems within are narrative poems of love and grief, built from a storytelling tradition. Taken together they encompass the poet's experience of growing up. As well as appreciating the narrative thread, I found myself noticing the various structures used in the presentation of these poems. The layout of these narrative poems made me keen to try out both structure and form. Robert Wood Lynn provided the reader with a range of layouts. The turning of each page invited a consciously different layout for his words and I appreciated the visual variety this afforded me as a reader.
I based my narrative poem on a personal experience during my childhood. The layout owes a debt to Robert Wood Lynn
A Summer Blaze
During
my fourteenth summer a January bushfire tried to erase our small town. It poked
its flaming head above the ridge line, consumed a pine plantation then down the
slope it raced, hot and voracious. Acrid smoke surrounded our homes, our streets, our every tiny space. Live
embers fell about our feet like death stars, threatening to open up new fire
fronts. Every road out of town breached by walls of fire.
No
escape, turn back now. Evacuation point for everyone, the local football ground
where we gathered in hope of a miracle while the fire continued its relentless
advance. Salvation arrived in the early hours of a new morning, delivering
showers, averting disaster providing relief to a scorched landscape and a fortunate town.
Summertime miracle. Smoke, cinders and dampness greeted the new day.
Alan j Wright
This is Patricia. Alan this structure was a perfect choice for your walks of fire! What a difference this makes (has you simply written it out or created multi word stanzas). I’m reading in the dark on my phone this morning and began to notice a flicker of flame that was created in the dark space between the words! Incredible!
ReplyDeleteThank you Patricia for your evocative response. You have provided me with added perspective with regard to my choices. Thank you for this input.
DeleteIt is an intriguing format, the before & then heaven's rescue, Alan., both kept in their own space. It must be a memory that won't ever leave you.
ReplyDeleteLinda, your before and after observation ia enlightening. I had not consciously wlaid out the poem with that in mind, but you are quite correct. You are right about the fire being an indelible memory. A weather miracle saved our little town that night.
DeleteIt's so fun to try new forms and formats. The blockiness of this feels so heavy and solid and inescapable. I especially like it with that first stanza...
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Laura. There is a sense of excitement surrounding new and untested poetry formats. I also like your allusion to the solidity of the layout. Thank you for your keen observations as usual.
DeleteSo vivid! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteAn enduring and vivid memory, Ruth, so if you found the reading a vivid experience, then I am well pleased.
DeleteI can feel the increasing tension in the first stanza and the final relief in the second. I think it's a combination of both words and structure that created those feelings. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rose. Your analysis of the two stanzas is most accurate. I now see it for myself.
DeleteSo powerful. And so many really compelling details!
ReplyDeleteThank you Marcie. I guess it speaks to the enduring nature of that childhood experience. It is ingrained in my memory bank- a story I have retold many times and now I have finally committed it to words.
DeleteI bet the town was never so glad to see rain! Close call, well rendered.
ReplyDeleteSusan T.
Most definitely, Susan. A town forever grateful for the miracle of rain.
DeleteOh, my goodness...this is an experience to read. A bit too close for comfort after hearing of SO many fires this summer. This had to be a scary experience to live through. You've got tension building on and I want to applaud that next day's rain. Is this part of a bigger piece? I hope so. Linda M.
ReplyDeleteThis has been previously written as part of a memoir, Linda. This current rendition feels a little like a precis. Glad you appreciated the rising tension and the relief of the unexpected rain.
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