Armand Schwerner did a series of seven marvelous pantoums, included in his
Selected Shorter Poems, published by yours truly and still, needless to
say, available at US$12 (retail $16). Here's the first and strangest of them.
the brotherhood and the sensations of happiness
with materials from Milarepa and from second and
third-order
American and Italian computer-generated
Shakespearean monkeys
to dea now nat to be will and them be does doesorns
when I think of this my heart is filled with grief
I open the words True, House, Hill, Porcelain
or soon will fade or vanish.
when I think of this my heart is filled with grief
the gluepot of mind orders the rose
or soon will fade and vanish
as toise mosen to all yours you hom to to
the gluepot of mind orders the rose
self-control will still be hard. Though now you feel
as toise mosen to all yours you hom to to
I can't touch you
self-control will still be hard. Though now you feel
like my teacher, crystal skull increasingly transparent,
I can't touch you
eselices hall it bled speal you...
like my teacher, crystal skull increasingly transparent,
the stoned rhetor in me divagates
eselices hall it bled speal you...
unattached to any home
the stoned rhetor in me divagates:
I envision my sons Adam and Ari falling through the street
unattached to any home
entre trintio e e desultto isenore si itolanon
I envision my sons Adam and Ari falling through the street
how I love the sensations of happiness
entre trintio e e desultto isenore si itolanon
quanta
At 04:38 PM 2/11/2005, you wrote:
>Absolutely true, Joanna. The first time I encountered a pantoum it was I
>think the Malay four line form, which has some very tricky, not to say
>impossible internal rhymes. Of course I tried to write one, always up for
>the challenge, and it defeated me, though I have had a go at the westernised
>repetition version. (which was also difficult). I guess, like practically
>every other language, there are lots of rhymes in Malay!
>
>Best
>
>A
>
>On 11/2/05 10:11 PM, "Joanna Boulter" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > I'm not in any way practised in the ghazal form, but I wouldn't want to
> > argue with Douglas's point here about the whole form being 'translated' by
> > writers in English. The same thing has happened with that vey popular form
> > the pantoum, which as it has arrived in European/American literature
> > substitutes other rules and traditions for the Malay ones of the original
> > pantun form.
> >
> > best joanna
>
>
>
>Alison Croggon
>
>Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
>Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
>Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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