tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6938395400465686422023-11-15T06:17:42.233-08:00Teal RoadsAnn Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693839540046568642.post-61178179507777299722014-04-15T18:42:00.000-07:002014-04-16T05:27:02.286-07:00OULIPOST #15: serious case<b>serious case</b><br />
<br />
science errors overrun<br />
our neurons as memories<br />
worsen in a serious<br />
arms race never worn out since<br />
we are now aware our cars<br />
run on arms and our moon race<br />
increases minor murmurs<br />
<br />
<br />
I added the constraint of seven lines of seven syllables to "the prisoner's constraint," since I was feeling pretty challenged to make sense of the words themselves. You might call this "the prisoner's constraint squared."<br />
<br />
Except for "moon," the words for this poem were sourced from "Why We Keep Losing Our Keys: Everyday Memory Lapses Hit at Any Age; Training to Find Things Faster" by Sumathi Reddy in the Health and Wellness section of the WSJ, April 15, 2014, D1-2.<br />
<br />
<u><b>The Prisoner's Constraint:</b></u><br />
Imagine a prisoner whose supply of paper is restricted. To put it to
fullest use, he will maximize his space by avoiding any letter extending
above or below the line (b, d,f,g,h,j,k,l,p,q,t and y) and use only
a,c,e,m,n,o,r,s,u,v,w,x and z. Compose a poem using only words that can
be made from these letters AND which you source from your newspaper
text. (<a href="http://www.foundpoetryreview.com/blog/oulipost-15-prisoners-constraint/" target="_blank">The Found Poetry Review</a>)Ann Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693839540046568642.post-89910276099339887852014-04-09T20:42:00.001-07:002014-04-15T18:43:01.941-07:00OULIPOST POEM #9: What's in an NBA Agent's Bag?<br />
What's in an NBA Agent's Bag?<br />
<br />
Big Hedge Funds<br />
Puerto Rican Debt<br />
No-Mess Crafts<br />
Whole Foods<br />
Dice <br />
Lavender-filled Teddy Bears from Tasmania <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
OULIPOST PROMPT #9: Headlines (Variations of Jean Queval’s “Cent On”) – Compose a poem whose body is
sourced from article headlines in your newspaper. This poem was created with headlines from the April 9, 2014 <i>Wall Street Journal:</i><br />
<br />
What's in an NBA Agent's Bag?<br />
<br />
Lavender-filled Teddy Bears from Tasmania<br />
are a Big Hit in China<br />
<br />
Big Hedge Funds Roll Dice on Puerto Rica Debt<br />
<br />
Moms Pay whatever it takes for No-Mess Crafts<br />
<br />
It's Really Hard to be a Whole Foods CloneAnn Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693839540046568642.post-54732706880241390342014-04-03T16:57:00.001-07:002014-04-03T16:58:02.201-07:00OULIPOST POEM #3: Queen of the Night<div itemprop="headline">
QUEEN OF THE NIGHT</div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
Every period of darkness between one day </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
and the next--the time day
of when no light </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
from the sun can be seen and most people </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
and animals sleep--she places the part </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
of the body she sees with in a state of touching </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
with the part of the body someone else </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
sees with, in an attractive manner that flows </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
clearly from the source. She does this with a group </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
of human beings gathered around a common </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
interest and settled in close proximity--</div>
<div itemprop="headline">
separated merely by the distance </div>
<div itemprop="headline">
of an upper human limb.</div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
Directions for the "Definitional Lit" assignment:
"Select a single sentence from a newspaper article.
Replace each meaningful word in the text [verb, noun, adjective, adverb]
by its dictionary definition. Repeat this treatment on the
resulting sentence, and so on, until you’ve had enough!"</div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
Here's the sentence I chose:</div>
<div itemprop="headline">
</div>
"Every night, she makes direct, engaging eye contact with people seated just an arm's length away."<br />
<br />
<div itemprop="headline">
From "Valerie Benoit-Charbonneau on Acting, Improvising and
Eye Contact in 'Queen of the Night'," in the April 2, 2014 online
edition of the WSJ.</div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
<div itemprop="headline">
<br /></div>
Ann Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693839540046568642.post-66528879032008868722014-04-02T19:02:00.000-07:002014-04-02T19:05:46.219-07:00Oulipost Poem #2: MY BID<style>
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<br />
The LIPOGRAM assignment for today required me to omit from my poem any
words that use letters in my chosen newspaper’s title. It turns out that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wall Street Journal</i> includes all of
the vowels except “I,” and many popular vowels that combine with I:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>H, N, S, T as well as J and W. This means that
the only vowel in my chosen words is I, but I can’t use: “in,” “it,” “is,” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“hi,” “his” . . . not to mention countless
other combinations. Toughest restriction I’ve ever worked with!
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Bid</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mid</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
big fig gig</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
bid Xi dig</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
pig</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I began by searching an article in the April 2 issue of the
WSJ about China admitting French pork into its markets, but was only able to
use the first name of the Chinese President and the source of the pork product,
with a few others words that, frankly, came from a short list I compiled of possibilities
that fit the restriction. </div>
Ann Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693839540046568642.post-54901904607809432252014-04-02T06:10:00.000-07:002014-04-02T19:02:53.870-07:00Oulipost Poem #1: Cereal Killer<b><br /></b>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Cereal Killer</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After years of planting one massive crop after another, U.
S. Corn farmers are planning to pull back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“It’s a different world than we were in just a couple years
ago,” said Patrick Westfhoff.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Growing global competition is emerging as rapid growth in
corn demand at home ends. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Record-setting corn prices spurred production elsewhere.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thousands of metric tons rejected by China because they
contained a genetically modified strain unapproved in that country.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the Kansas-Oklahoma border, Kenny Mitchell is trying to
navigate price-swings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Selling the corn is almost as important as raising it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This poem, a quote cento, was written entirely with phrases from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wall Street Journal</i> for April 1,
2014. "Cereal Killer" was created from a single article, “Corn
Farmers’ Seed of Doubt” by Mark Peters and Tony C. Dreibus, p. A3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The title comes from a chart accompanying the
article. I can say that my first experiment with this form led me to read far more of the newspaper in the morning than I usually do.</div>
<br />Ann Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693839540046568642.post-29690687096001447702014-03-12T21:24:00.003-07:002014-03-12T21:27:30.735-07:00Introducing OulipostAssignment #1: Interview<br />
<br />
I'm thrilled to be a part of Oulipost this month, as I've been longing for an excuse to write more Oulipo experiments. It's exciting and a bit nerve-wracking to be part of a public group experiment, but I plan on plunging into it as I plunged into learning Spanish in my late adulthood. Oulipo (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo" target="_blank"><span lang="fr"><b>Ou</b>vroir de <b>li</b>ttérature <b>po</b>tentielle</span></a>) was founded in 1960 in Paris by Raymond Queneau and François Le Lionnais, writers who were also fans of math.<br />
<br />
I first ran into Oulipo about a decade ago, and fell in love with the N+7 chance form. In this form you choose a piece of text, identify all of the non-proper nouns, and then replace them with a word that's seven nouns ahead in the dictionary. Of course the type of dictionary you have, the similar words you discount as you're searching for the seven, etc. allow for some play in the chance factor. My favorite piece so far is based on The 23rd Psalm: "The Loris is My Sherpa." I love the sound coincidences in this form, and also the way it reveals the power of syntax once the sense is knocked a bit out of kilter.<br />
<br />
For this month I'll be using The Wall Street Journal, since I have a plentiful supply, due to a frequent flier consolation prize. The subscription runs out soon, but if needed I'll dip into the backlog.<br />
<br />
My spirit Oulipian will be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_Calvino" target="_blank">Italo Calvino</a>, the wonderful Italian storyteller born in Cuba of Italian parents who were botanists and had immigrated to Mexico before he was born. When he was two, Italo returned to Italy with his scientific parents and hid his love of stories from them until halfway through university. It's his passion for the story, especially for the fabula--the fairy tale--that I share. He was invited to join Oulipo in the 1960s. I think of myself as an honorary member, too, at least for the period of Oulipost. And, I have this crazy habit of hiding important things from myself.Ann Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693839540046568642.post-14522702231922864992014-03-09T10:35:00.001-07:002014-03-09T10:35:06.418-07:00MesosticsThe Mesostic, invented and developed by composer John Cage, combines chance and choice operations.<br />
The rules are simple and intriguing, something like an acrostic, but slightly more complicated.<br />
<br />
Choose a word, such as CHANCE. This word becomes the spine of your poem:<br />
<br />
C<br />
H<br />
A<br />
N<br />
C<br />
E<br />
<br />
Now, create a series of words that enfold these letters. You can do this either with single words or with phrases, but the single words are the most challenging and intriguing. The other simple rule is that the spine letters cannot appear in the words between them. So:<br />
<br />
choiCe <br />
tHemes<br />
<br />
is OK, but<br />
<br />
choiCe<br />
cHanges <br />
<br />
is not properly a mesostic by Cage's rules, because C occurs again between the capital C and H letters of the spine. This makes a mesostic with the word "chance" tricky, as one cannot follow the C with the H until after H is used, or follow an A with and N before the N is used.<br />
<br />
Writing a Mesostic heightens one's awareness of the operations of language restrictions as they intersect with chance. At one point there was a Mesostic generator online, but it is no longer operating. Perhaps another will arise. Meanwhile, if you want to write one, you'll need to deal with the raw material of language itself. Most Mesostics keep the parts of speech parallel (a list of nouns works especially well), but that's not Cage's rule. I'm in love with verbs, so I find a list of nouns challenging.<br />
<br />
Here's my warm-up attempt at a Mesostic sentence:<br />
<br />
choi<b><span style="color: red;">C</span></b>e<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">H</span></b>overs<br />
alw<b><span style="color: red;">A</span></b>ys<br />
<b><span style="color: red;"> N</span></b>udging<br />
<b><span style="color: red;"> C</span></b>omparison's<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">E</span></b>dge<br />
<br />
Here's my attempt at a Mesostic poem of nouns: <br />
<br />
<br />coinciden<b><span style="color: red;">C</span></b>e<br />
laug<b><span style="color: red;">H</span></b>ter<br />
<b><span style="color: red;"> A</span></b>bsurd<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">N</span></b>ew<br />
e<b><span style="color: red;">C</span></b>ho<br />
surpris<b><span style="color: red;">E</span></b><br />
<br />
You can see that the non-sentence offers the reader far more possibilities for justaposition and interpretation. That's one of my choice take-aways from this "chance" experiment, enhanced by restrictions.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://mesostic.com/" target="_blank">Here's</a> a tribute to Cage and the Mesostic by Michael Carlson, that displays his own mesostic experiments. His Mesostic mesostic is brilliant, and uses a series of nouns.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://archiewahwah.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/a-demonstration-of-mesostics/" target="_blank">Here's</a> a blog post from Archie Wah Wah with some 50% mesostics, meaning that they don't follow the rule about repeated letters between words. This may be the easiest way to start, unless you want to plunge into the advanced challenge first. These are also sentence Mesostics.<br />
<br />
Finally, a wonderful essay by Marjorie <a href="http://wings.buffalo.edu/epc/authors/perloff/cage.html" target="_blank">Perloff on Cage's Mesostics</a> that describes his process in developing the form.Ann Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-693839540046568642.post-85373601347334687752014-03-03T19:26:00.002-08:002014-03-03T19:27:25.982-08:00SpoonerismsMarianne Moore calls for poets who can create "imaginary gardens with real toads in them."<br />
<br />
I find teal roads more intriguing.<br />
<br />
With a nod to the sheriff in Homer Price who tends to get his scords wrambled, this blog is devoted to word play--offering us a twist on the familiar.<br />
<br />
Nake it mew!Ann Hostetlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15385128029975966562noreply@blogger.com0