It’s January and I have blog-itis. Post election, post holiday blog-itis. I’m sure some of you have experienced this dreaded malaise, in which the fingers on the keyboard don’t know where to begin. My own particular life is very mundane, not dramatic, at least not on the outside. Should I write about what kind of salad I prepared last night, or how I cried after I took down the Christmas tree? Or how all I want to do these days is play Scrabble on my computer, read, and write driveling, whining rants in my journal, stuff I hope will one day be recycled and turned into a cardboard box?
I have been reading some great poetry lately. Next to my computer rests my first copy of 32 Poems, Volume 6, No. 2, published and edited by Deborah Ager, and I’ve got to say, it’s the best $14.00 I’ve spent on poetry in over a month. I’m not familiar with the names of all the poets included in this volume, but of course I recognized Billy Collins, whose tiny poem The Pencil is almost what I’d call a cameo, as it turns the very words of the poem into a metaphor in the quintessential style Collins is known for.
The name David Bottoms is also well-known to me, since he comes from my neck of the woods in Georgia. His poem, Walking the Floor Over You, has that Southern twang to it, with references to honky tonks, cotton mills, cowboys, and beer, a poem I can relate to, about a woman swinging her bony hips (although mine are curvy) who needs to hear the same song over and over. It’s a poem with empathy.
There is a wide variety of poems included in this round number of 32. There are sonnets, a villanelle, a prose poem, free verse, a poem about lymph nodes (gooey and very good), one about bats, diminutive, and another about pineapples.
The Toads and Thumbelina, Hans Christian Andersen, Fairy Tales
The second and third poems, starring Thumbelina’s mother, captured my imagination the most. They are both modern sonnets, with slant rhyme, except at the final couplet. I love poems that mess with the rules. But even more, I love how the author, Bernadette Geyer, entered into a secret world and made it come alive for me. She went inside Thumbelina’s realm and painted the myth, as if on a miniature Flemish canvas in egg tempera, with all it’s dark, psychic power.
Yes, I think I’ll renew my subscription to 32 poems, in case anyone is wondering. What an exciting life. Feeling much better now.
Balanced On the Edge 
How often do they publish this poetry magazine, Christine? My knowledge of Thumbelina is limited to hearing Danny Kaye sing it.
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32 Poems is good for what ails you. I need to renew my subscription as well.
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Happy New Year, Christine! I’m feeling the same way, had to stretch my fingers a little bit because they were so stiff and stuffed from all the holiday craziness. Not that my holidays were crazy, but I certainly didn’t do anything creative in those two weeks. I just received a copy of Lorca’s Collected Poems (Revised Bilingual Ed) and its been helping me get back to the swing of things.
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Bernadette Geyer’s poems sound intriguing …
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Hello. I’ve also got blogitis. My first free day to write today in weeks and I have produced oooooh seven lines. I did do some reading though. What do you think the cure is? While we’re mulling it over, let’s have another game of scrabble *grin*. I love your review of the Geyer poems.
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Beryl, I think they publish twice a year. You reminded me of that song! I started singing it to myself after I read your comment – “Thumbelina, Thumbelina, tiny little thing,…”
Collin, which poems of yours were in 32 poems? I should buy some back issues.
Odessa, I have that book, a gift from my sister. Even though I read Spanish fluently, Lorca’s vocabulary is so dense that it’s nice to read the gorgeous translations, which are excellent, IMHO.
Michelle, don’t you love poems that bring literature to life again? I love your poem, Bertha Mason Speaks, pure genius.
Jo, I tried to start a new game, but the link didn’t work. I’ll try again. Maybe we need to start a poetry gong like carolee and Jill did to get our creative engines revving.
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Is the pineapple one by Conrad Hilberry? I like his stuff! I have been “slow” in the writing realm and reading realm lately…I thought it was just me. I’m always like that…thinking I’m the only one with shit going on…how selfish of me! 🙂
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Ah Christine, I sufferred from blogitis during the holidays, and it didn’t break until this week. Glad to hear that poetry opened it up for you. Is 32 Poems a literary publication? I’d never heard of it.
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I emphasise with what you say about playing scrabble, which does at least involve the use of words. When I play Hearts and Freecell on my computer, I tell myself that my unconscious mind is working on my poems.
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Well, gosh. Thanks!
We publish 32 Poems twice per year. It’s only $14 per year for 64 poems. All poetry all the time.
Also, you can subscribe through the blog and get a free issue at this link: http://blog.32poems.com/about/
We love a good testimonial. I’ll add part of the post above to my blog and give you a link back.
Warm wishes,
Deborah from 32 Poems
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