New Poetry Recommendations

Monday, October 6th

Nine new poems have posted today.

Female by hmmnmm is an interesting read. The poem has some intriguing phrases, but it feels a little fragmented. Maybe it's the exaggerated disconnection fostered by the frequent line breaks, but perhaps some solid images and concrete relations among the phrases would be beneficial.

The poem, Within My Dreams, by mark_j has some technical problems, but I enjoyed the spirit of the poem. There's a word usage error and some neglected punctuation that detracts from this poem. However, the vision and message make this poem well worth editing. I encourage mark_j to polish this gem.

WickedEve gives us a creative poem. Death in a Jar is an intriguing poem, but it left me a bit perplexed. Perhaps Eve will choose to comment on the poem's ambiguous elements.

Birder's Lament by bronyaur67 is an excellent example of how brevity and completeness can coexist. The message is only reinforced by the lack of wordy distractions.

I hope you take some time to enjoy some poetry today.

October 7, 2008

G'day poetry lovers. It's October 7, just two days from what would have been John Lennon's 68th (eek) birthday. And on almost the eve of that august occasion, I give you this. What do you think? Would it make John laugh or cry? Feel proud or ridiculous? Maybe a bit of all that.

But anyway. There are nine new poems posted today, a few of which you really shouldn't miss.

My favorite today is DocktorWu's Thoughts On Meeting An Old Lover. It's a slice of life kinda poem musing on that moment when one unexpectedly (I'm assuming he means unexpectedly) runs into an ex lover. Wu constructs a thoughtful argument for fading out of the incident before your ex can remember any of the ugly reasons that might have attributed to the affair's demise (which he says much more economically and poetically than I just did). And if the poem doesn't convey that absolutely squirmy "get me outta here" feeling people often experience in this sort of situation, it does explore--pretty much thought by thought--what goes on behind the bland "nice to see you again" mask. My only nitpick is that maybe "Que" should be "Cue," but it's a tiny thing preceding an accurately descriptive ending. And while you're at it, read through some of DocktorWu's other offerings, which are all quite good. I especially like his Refrigerator in Hell, but there's lots to explore.

The other three poems I'm recommending seem to me to have brevity and metaphor in common. Each of them says much more than the few words they use to say it and leave much open to interpretation. There's Baba8's Safe In A Barnstorm, LaciviousSanity's One Tiny Tear, and hmmnmm's mercurial pillaging, which airily shifts meaning depending on whether you read words as nouns or verbs. It's interesting to digest these three poems in succession and consider how each poet has allowed metaphor to leave meaning very much up to the reader.

These are just my opinions, of course, and if you have other recommendations or comments to make, please do so here. And yknow read, vote and comment blah blah and don't forget that The Poets are accepting entries for Lit's Halloween Poetry Contest until October 20.

I just came across click for Saturday. Give it a read. Good poem.

Wednesday's Review

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Sneaking back into the Lit scene again for another Wednesday look at what poetry has to offer. There're 14 New Poems I've looked at today; only three really caught my eye. It was really odd the way it happened. I looked at these three first, in no particular order, and liked them. When I then went straight down the list, nothing else really grabbed me.


sensuall gives us a taste of erotica in Sparked Up. I'm not sure what it is with this poem, perhaps it's the unusual syntax that got me involved. Or maybe it's the unusual descriptive nature. Give it a try — just look at these two lines:

Restraining my pulses sizzled her guttered mouth
Slammed the haired trollop to my hilt and bashed still more

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Nigel Debonnaire tells us a story in Doreen. It's rather long and has an authentic, folksy feel, without the overkill that usually diminishes other attempts at being 'real'. I usually find I'm quickly bored by poetry that tries to tell a story, but for some reason, this one works. Give it a try.


Finally, WickedEve gives us Wrecking Ball. This one too has a real feel to it, rather folksy and a tad quirky {lavender mice?}; a tale of mice and ... Mortimer? Don't miss this one; I've never known the wicked one to disappoint and she does a grand job here.


I rather enjoyed today's reviewing; three rather pleasing pieces. Give them a try. Perhaps you'll find something else in today's postings more to your liking. Whatever you do, remember to read, vote, comment ~ it's the least you can do. Above all, comment ~ a fair exchange for the pleasure of reading free poetry.

And now, having hit the noon hour, the week's all downhill from here, till what promises to be a glorious Indian Summer weekend.

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Angeline said:

Goodbye September. Hello October and autumn, and hello to thirteen new poems. Kind of a slow last day of the month, imo. There aren't any new poems that really grab my attention or shake up my muse. There are, however, a few I feel are clearly the best of the bunch.

I like JakobMariaMierscheid's Forbear the Silvered Grass for, in spite of its brevity, it offers a fascinating image that morphs to a comparison that might creep you out, depending on how you interpret it. I think it could be stronger if it went a bit further with the idea it seems to establish, but that's just my opinion. And whether you agree or not, do take some time to read this poem and the other works by Jakob. He's newish and quite qood.

flownogard is a new poet, and resurrective frenzy his first offering at Lit. It's an ambitious freewheeling, freeform poem that ties a sexual act with an ever-widening pool of images that suggest two souls together again and again and again. Like I said, ambitious. Maybe too ambitious because I can see immediately that some judicious pruning could help the poem convey its message more powerfully. But maybe that's just me. You'll need to read it yourself to see if you agree. Either way, there's a lot of interesting phrasing that flies by in a warp speed kinda read.

The other poems did not excite me sufficiently to recommend any of them. However you may not share that opinion, so please read, vote and comment, and if you find poems you wish to recommend, do so here. Merci and happy poeming.

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Both of these pieces have just knocked my socks off. The first because of its brevity, its quality of a traditional ballad. The second because, for all the wildness of the imagery on the way through, for all the fruit-salad variety of the images, some of which are fabulous and some merely good and kinda sexy, the last few lines, with their repetition, just fucking blew me away. I hate that flownogard didn't have comments turned on, but oh well.

I catch up on reviews once a month, so this afternoon has been quite the feast so far. Those two pieces have stopped me in my tracks.

bj

I see a lot of familiar poets in the new poems list. I bet there is going to be some good reading. I will be out for quite awhile today. Two doctor's appointments. It will be later today before I can give enough attention to the reviews. If anyone feels the urge to jump in, please do.

Only a couple of poems from the 16 posted today caught my eye.

Cal Y. Pygia is giving us some spookish themes today on the new poems' list. The poems are fun and irreverent. Enjoy them.

Thoughts of You by Taylor_Rae is very lyrical and has some excellent phrases. Look! -
As always, if you find a poem on the new poems' list that you believe needs a review please add your thoughts to this thread. Have an excellent long weekend, both North and South of the border.

I'm sending out my thoughts of thanks for the jewels I've found hiding in this little section of the internet. You are all treasures.

It is Saturday once again, and hence there are new poems for me to review. There are twenty one new poems today by my count, many of which are quite interesting, but two of which stand out to me in particular. They are, I must admit, amongst my favourite things I've read at Lit. I would share lines from each which especially struck me, but I would not wish to spoil them by taking them out of their natural place.

First, there is Hope by Maria2394. There is a sadness to the poem with its inevitability, but it has a certain softness and captures the bittersweet emotions that accompany the passing of time and era. I wholeheartedly recommend that you read it.

And second only in number, crow bait by normal jean. It is a short, sorrowful, but quirky little poem with a story—reminiscent almost of the character of a fable, yet without its didacticism. I think that you should read it—and read it aloud to yourself to hear the sounds of it.


And of course, as always, please do read the poems for yourself and do comment and add your own review if anything cries out for your voice.

Thursday -- really late review

I hate to be late but I just haven't been able to get online long enough to do the Thursday review. Now it's Sunday but, darn it, I'm doing it anyway.

There was one illustrated poem for Thursday. Recurrent Trauma by LadynStFreknBed. It's a nice combination of words and image.

Thursday was also a poetry day for Cal Y. Pygia. Five new poems including, Scavenger.

sharable by bluerains is interesting. blue most always offers us lovely poetry.

Sulphur Is Love and Pandora Glitters As The World Ends by DocktorWu
Make sure you read Doctor's Pandora poem.

Orgasm aka Death by UnderYourSpell is good. I would have left the first two lines out. They're not needed. But give it a read and comment.

Switching to Glide by darkmaas isn't just a good poem, it's one that's enjoyable the way its words glide together.

And one more you'll want to read: Tidal Death Dance by Baba8

Sunday, 7 poems up, so an easy job for me. Nothing that floored me, but two you should check out anyway.

Morning Heart by jomar shows that worldplay doesn't have to be playful, but can be somber and still do the trick.

and

Wood Canoeing by Baba8. Short and quirky. I like short and quirky.

October 14, 2008

There are eight new poems today, but only one I can recommend without reservation. Of course that would be Wicked Eve's Into the Mountains. This hazy backwoods tale of Pru and the Devil is filled with weird, vaguely horrific yet strongly erotic imagery. In short it has come to epitomize for me (cause I've seen it many times before) everything I love about the way Eve writes. And she dedicated it to me lol because she knows I love it and because she has a wicked sense of humor. If you haven't read it before (and even if you have because it's that good), read it now before it disappears.

In other developments we have a freakin good title winner today for the best title on a day when the best poem is by Eve. That would be Just Thirty Minutes Of Wickedness by jagryder99. What a coinky-dinky.

Read. Vote. Comment. Write.

To Champagne1982; I am new here, the paths are many and I am not sure which one to take. I thank you for your comments on my poetry. I try to put thought into what ever I write. I am glad that you found this one worthy. I will continue to post, please feel free to check back. I welcome all constructive criticism and guidence. Thank you. Taylor

Monday, October 13th

Sorry this is late. I want to make sure the poems that posted yesterday are not overlooked.

Starrkers' gives us an amusing lyric called Hidden Talent. Take a minute for a little fun and read this one.

WickedEve gave us two wonderful poems yesterday. A Hot Sex Scene is longer that her usual pieces, but seems to me that not one word is wasted to build this tantilizing image. When I read a room, at first I couldn't help but snicker, not at the poem itself for it's an incredible poem. The image of sitting naked at a window reminded me that Benjamin Franklin used to sunbathe that way and was labeled as peculiar. After I got over that distraction, I finished the poem and thought that these two poems exemplified whisper eroticism.

Nirvana by mark_j is a philosophical view of the path of life. Though I feel like the metaphor of life as a journey is a bit overdone, this poem has some nice variations on the cliche. I like that nirvana is seen as something people seek during the journey instead of as a destination. I would like to see "irregardless" replaced with "regardless," but that double negative is a pet peeve of mine.

So, please take some time to read and enjoy the new poems that posted yesterday.

Thanks, Lady, but a limerick hardly qualifies as a poem, let alone one worthy of mention.

starrkers said:

Thanks, Lady, but a limerick hardly qualifies as a poem, let alone one worthy of mention.

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I beg to differ. It made me smile... no small feat in the midst of pancreatitis and a depressive episode.

Wednesday's Review

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Another Wednesday {already?!} and there are eleven New Poems up for your enjoyment. I'm a little 'off' today — may have something to do with that JD I had last night. Today's offerings seem rather weak, but there are a couple you may want to check out.


softeribbons, a new member of Lit's community, has two new pieces up today. fridge and bluer, bluer seem like a pair of simple, direct, relationship poems. No attempts at being cute. Just seems like quick glimpses, shared, in the poet's life.

That's it for today. There aren't too many up today, so you can easily give the rest at least a quick scan. And as always, my parting advice to you is to read, vote, comment ~ it's the least you can do. Above all, comment ~ a fair exchange for the pleasure of reading free poetry.

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Some new poems have just appeared and more may be added.
Give them a read and see if you like anything. I'll check back later.

I'm covering this Friday until a new reviewer for the day steps forward.


For the RhymeFairy fans check out You, My Addiction. The poem does have some good lines.

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Two new poems by hmmnmm:
county trespass alien defense plan
delivered directly from the factory

The first poem was my favorite with lines like these:
briars ripped
his pants
burst a sack
granola flew four
directions.
Racket sore disturbed
a porcupine snoring
in the hollow of an oak.

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bestseller
by softeribbons

So far, this poet has given us very good stuff. Please give this newest poem a read.

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Sorry for the quick review but time is limited. If you'd like to add to it, please do.

champagne1982 said:

Won't someone please direct
their own attention to these poor
poems which, to my regret,
don't thrill me any more.​

Seriously, I need someone with a bright and shiny perspective to gobble up this review day. I'm becoming sour with the need to review poems when I can't summon my own muse from the corner into my fingertips. I figure I'm not giving good poems the attention they're due and that really upsets me, my responsibility is not just to the readers who pop in to check out my recommendation, it is also to those poets who submit and have poems posted my review day.

I can't read you all the way through, poets and that is a serious disservice to your talent. I'm sorry.

If you feel you can fill in the Friday slot for reviews, I'd really appreciate anyone stepping forward to take my place.

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I moved this from my Misplaced - Enthusiasm thread. That's all I've got.

hbodenhagen said:

laelia is very good

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Sorry to chat up this thread, but I just want to point out that "hbodenhagen" is obviously a spambot and you guys don't need to be fixing its links but, rather, wiping its presence.

Wipe this message, too, which is not about poems but merely informational.



Don't you guys have something where you can block a username that is obviously spam?

Tzara said:

Sorry to chat up this thread, but I just want to point out that "hbodenhagen" is obviously a spambot and you guys don't need to be fixing its links but, rather, wiping its presence.

Wipe this message, too, which is not about poems but merely informational.



Don't you guys have something where you can block a username that is obviously spam?

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How in the hell do you know it's a spambot? Share your info so we'll know in the future.
No. We guys do not have something to block a username. That would be Laurel/Manu.
And I guess we guys don't need to be fixing its links if it's a spambot, which I still don't know how in the hell I'm suppose to know.

WickedEve said:

How in the hell do you know it's a spambot? Share your info so we'll know in the future.
No. We guys do not have something to block a username. That would be Laurel/Manu.
And I guess we guys don't need to be fixing its links if it's a spambot, which I still don't know how in the hell I'm suppose to know.

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'Cuz it was propagating all over Lit well within one minute intervals, serially tracking along forums.

Like I said, this one was pretty clever, as the actual messages looked vaguely relevant, though vapid. Like most of my posts.

I don't think it's anything you could tell, unless you happened to notice how widespread it was.

Tzara said:

'Cuz it was propagating all over Lit well within one minute intervals, serially tracking along forums.

Like I said, this one was pretty clever, as the actual messages looked vaguely relevant, though vapid. Like most of my posts.

I don't think it's anything you could tell, unless you happened to notice how widespread it was.

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I just PMed one poet about doing Friday reviews. And... well, here you are on the thread, posting. Hmm... Oh, I don't know. I guess you wouldn't love covering Friday for a little while, if the other poet won't do it. Think about it.

WickedEve said:

I just PMed one poet about doing Friday reviews. And... well, here you are on the thread, posting. Hmm... Oh, I don't know. I guess you wouldn't love covering Friday for a little while, if the other poet won't do it. Think about it.

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I travel a lot, so am unreliable. Plus, having read what our typical day's poetry looks like recently, my review might be, um, rather terse.

But if you can't find anyone else to do it, I would be happy to fill in for a while.

Tzara said:

I travel a lot, so am unreliable. Plus, having read what our typical day's poetry looks like recently, my review might be, um, rather terse.

But if you can't find anyone else to do it, I would be happy to fill in for a while.

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Thank you! But our hmmnmm, whimpering and cowering, has volunteered to give it a try.