New Poetry Recommendations

Tuesday, February 5

There are 15 new poems posted today. They're all over the map, from a prose piece that is too short to be classified as a story (and becomes a "poem" by default) to the pieces that are too prosy and informative to really be poetic to some poems that have a few great images and a lot of telling. I only found three I like enough to recommend, but with this much variety you really should read them all and decide for yourself what moves you.

swallowedscream is a newer poet here (she just introduced herself on our Roll Call thread) who you really need to read. She has two poems up today and both show her to be facile with words and able to grab a reader with strong images. I Dance is the more ambitious of her two poems, and it plays with life's dualities: the good and bad in everything that show, variously, depending on one's perspective. There are some excellent images (helium corners, sunlit jewels, candied waves), but also some extraneous language that could go imo, and no overall cohesiveness to really punch up the writing. Still there are lines that are really wonderful and show what this poet is capable of creating. Still I Sip is shorter, somewhat quixotic and maybe a little too abstract to really grab the reader, but again good and a teaser for this poet's ability. Read both poems and see what you think.

SunrockSin has been posting poems at Lit for a few years, and I'm rather surprised at myself for not noticing his writing until fairly recently: he is very, very good. Define a Line is an erotic poem with tightly controlled phrasing and line breaks and geometric precision. It is one of the best examples I've seen in a while of how to write erotic poetry that is very, very alluring without a single graphic word. There are only two oblique references in the entire poem to suggest that the subject is human beings and yet it all works extremely well. This is good writing folks: it's not easy to accomplish what this writer and his poem do here. Read it!

If you have other poems you want to recommend, please do it here. And even if you don't, read, vote where appropriate and please leave comments.

Wednesday's Review

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A nice quiet day with nine New Poem postings to peruse, so let's see what's out there cooking today.


Up first is a posting from a poet that seems to have eluded most everyone's attention in the year+ she's been posting; she's slipped in under the radar with her poems that mostly feature a submissive theme. darkitude continues in this vein with today's posting of To The Bone. While it could be tweaked a bit {what poem can't?}, such as dropping the last two words in the first line, it does cover the process of being a submissive in her usual cerebral way; never does she speak directly of a Master or submission, but of how the act of submission feels to the soul of the submissive. Give it a read and check out her other offerings; even her stories are more stylized than the usual fare seen here at Lit.


SunrockSin offers up an ironically named Afterglow to which my response to the image it paints is, "Yuck." I mean, if you engage in spontaneous sex {the traditional man/woman kind}, there may be a mess to clean up afterward {we men can be a bit messy, can't we?}. But who wants to speak of it; we want the pretty picture of post-coital bliss. Check it out anyway.


Finally, Jamison has a fine pair of poems posted today for your reading pleasure. Choke seems to be a dark metaphorical write of an ivy's choke hold on a hibernating tree, bringing to mind an image of Southern trees drowning under a sea of kudzu. Crush speaks volumes on the weight of everyday life, while it starts off innocently enough:

Out of the window, a cloud looks
like a fist ready to hammer down
on proud evergreens, flattening them
all in one heavy blow.

Click to expand...

That's more than enough to engage your mind today. Don't let my selections limit your wanderings. There is only nine out there today. Go ahead and 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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Thursday February 7th

Getting your morning started with 47 with a bullet by WomanPariah.

Here's a taste:
I won’t scratch you from photos like some
Bee Fucking Atch;
your provocative procrastinations enticed me
to let you fuck me one way from Sunday,
I won’t torch those thirsty fuckless memories —

Mmmm... good stuff with my morning coffee. Her poetry is a kick in the teeth.


There are more poems!
I just haven't read them.
Not yet!
But I will.
Here I go to read...

After you finish with today's E poem, check out hmmnmm's Sentiment
gingered bourbon rims
phantasms convene

I love those first two lines! Only a 7 line poem, so take a minute to read and comment.

theory of island biogeography by ElmerGlew is my favorite for today!

the girl's got bangs
and even when you lift her hair
to stare into the murk

Give the poem a read. The last two lines are great.

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New Poem Reviews 2/10/08

Box cars today. Five of the 12 New poems today are by kittyblack.
I have to confess to not understanding them all, but they did draw me in by their interesting word usage, phrasing and approaches. They are all fairly short, and I'd recommend giving them a try to see what you think.

Three of the dozen are by a new poet here Oryxx. I enjoyed all three, although I found them all similar in theme. I guess I enjoyed the theme. I did find the line breaks too many, and not used to best effect...sometimes just the opposite, causing impact to be lost. I would like to see them revisited by the author and reworked. Not meaning to discourage you Oryxx. It's nice to have you here...(and feel free to ignore me and my comments)..

My fave today is way way down by hmmnmm. Short, moody and succinct with a nice rhythm.

Sorry for the lateness of my review. Please read, comment, and if so moved...vote, and enjoy what's left of the weekend.

Be well.

Tuesday, February 12

There are 21 new poems posted today. But before I get to them, there were some excellent new poems posted yesterday. Don't miss any of the five illustrated poems by SunrockSin. They're all really good, but if you must limit your reads, don't miss Her Cubist Fantasy. It's a little slice of erotic perfection. Jamison is writing some wonderful poetry of late: Both his Orient-Express Poem and his After Yule, It's Me are image-perfect, very sensual like little erotic whispers. You won't be sorry if you make the time to read them. And the same is true of yesterday's offerings from sweet GA peaches. She posted two poems yesterday, and I like them both but don't miss Wild Flowers, which is filled with such gently insistent imagery, you'll feel like you just took a walk on a spring day--a mighty comforting read on this cold February morning.

Bottom line: We need a Monday reviewer! Look what you're missing if no one mentions these poems! Someone step up and volunteer, please?

Today's "Don't Miss Them" poems include two by Hmmnmm: party poopers, which is a masterful study in dialect that earned a well-deserved E, and Runoff,which is a wonderful close-up view of raindrops' path. Both of his poems are great. Then there are five Haiku by harry069 that are well worth your time. I never feel like I understand what constitutes a "real" haiku, but each of these poems is a perfectly wrought and contained little image: I especially like Spring Time.

Bill Dada writes true to his name in a curiously tight-reined piece of writing: Synchronized Swimming. I'm not sure what it all means, but it's great fun to follow its loopy twists and turns. And our own sweet poet UnderYourSpell wants to teach you How to 'eat' a banana. Can you say "metaphor"?

Between yesterday's and today's offerings, I may have missed a few goodies. If I had more time, for example, I'd reread the offerings from LrdRaptor who has some interesting, prosey D/s poetry that may be to your liking.

There's a lot of good poetry these days folks, so please take some time to read, vote and most important comment. Your efforts will be much appreciated.

And somebody please consider picking up the Monday reviews. I really don't have the time to do two days every week, and you can see from yesterday's new poems what goes unmentioned when we don't have someone reviewing each day.

Think about it.

Be poetic.

Wednesday's Review

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I am not looking forward to heading out to shovel that mix of snow and ice, especially that mess on the car. Oh well, on to more pleasant matters. There are an even dozen postings to consider today. Let's see what's out there on this day before Valentine's Day.


foehn2 brings us somber imagery in Old Man at a Funeral. The question is, is it the live one paying his respects or the one laying in state? Give it a read and see what you think.


UnderYourSpell brings us a little oddity in Changeling child. It's a piece about someone that may not be all there with comments from observers about her condition as they perceive it. Read it and see with whom you most identify.


hmmnmm has a fun piece for us today in trench coats. It's an easy read. It set off in my mind an image of the flasher's intended targets breaking out in uproarious laughter.


Finally, though she's left her PCs disabled on this one, WomanPariah has another one of her unique pieces in Grasshopper gets a boner. It's not your usual poetic fare but what I find pleasing about her work is the way she pushes the envelope and tries new things.


Well, that's it for today. I've a mission awaiting me that can't be put off. Enjoy today's readings. There are eight others I've not mentioned so go read the others out there. As I've said so many times, 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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Missed one on the 12th!

Dirge by SunrockSin must have posted after I did my reviews yesterday. It's poetry with audio and is really wonderfully executed, both in writing and in its presentation. Glad I caught it today, so I could recommend it. It's really worth your time.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Let's start with erotic tongue-in-cheek humor:
Pardon My Prawn by hmmnmm

These schedules, eh?
Make you wait and wait.
Hope my prawn doesn’t disturb you.

At first I didn't realize it was erotic. I had the image of a real prawn in my head and found the poem odd and terribly funny. Then I realized it was listed as erotic and I thought, "Oh, I get it!" It's still amusing. The poet handles this piece of erotica with as much style as a man with a prawn possibly can.


Red Menace by WomanPariah is magnificent. I don't even feel qualified to comment on it. I simply know a quality poem when I read one. So please read and comment.

Blue would not fly, if alien wings were to pulver-flap,
dust were to blind, up yonder:
blue would not bluster a panic,
but find nurture-method to heal.


what i hate about a city by normal jean
What does she hate about the city?

delivery boys, Chinese food
on every corner, lack of trees
disappearance of bees
and me
inevitably
standing in the middle

Very nice poem that seems to be written with great ease. No part of it is forced. I actually felt relaxed while reading it.


The End by Koba
I tend to be a bit hesitant about reading erotic poems by poets I'm not familiar with. (It's going to suck. It's going to suck.) I read The End and I immediately smiled.

The poet offers some wonderful lines, like:
"We went for a shopping spree on Michigan Avenue
For Aztec chocolate and Turkish tobacco,"

When I read "The words fell uselessly/Like raindrops on our shoes" I knew the poet understood good writing. By just adding "on our shoes" it took a potentially cliche line and made it interesting. At least in my opinion.

So go read the poem!


Well, I'm having a great morning reading poetry. Just when I thought I wouldn't find another good poem, I come across this one:
The Birthday Letters by Victoria_Lucas

dates in February fill an Indian Ocean
with salty regret. What I hope today
expired on the sixth, and what hope
tomorrow? Dairy cannot last
and neither can a birthdate. Too late

is penicillin, rot, decay, earthworms, Ash
Wednesday,
movie of the week, disco retro, cliché.

Very good writing! One of the best I've read in a long time.

Saturday, Feb 16

No new poems were posted yesterday but today brings 14 of them to the lists. I'm writing this to augment MET's review today not to replace it.

A couple of the poems seemed to have a spark of originality, unfortunately, they fell short at the end. There's nothing wrong with writing what everyone else writes and trying to couch it inside the brevity of haiku or whatever the syllable count passes for in Literotican minds but I see no point in reviewing those that are prosaic and ofttimes misspelled. As well, there's a promising poem about a mermaid and a jellyfish that left me dangling (pun intended) and feeling that the poet ran out of imagination by the last stanza.

A word to the epic and ballad poetry writers out there, just because you run out of time to write on one occassion doesn't mean you need to rush to finish the work and post it. Homer (I'm pretty certain) didn't write The Illiad in a day so why not take the time to truly develop your verse and edit it the same as a (artful) prose writer would do?

The comments in this post reflect my tastes and ideas and by no means are they meant to impose my thoughts on anyone's artistic endeavours. If, in your reading of today's new poems you should feel there is a poem or poet you'd like to mention or review please don't hesitate to share your opinion on this thread.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

New Poem Reviews

Sally and the Wicked Jellyfish by FeatherEdge I do enjoy poetic tales (~_~)

Space and Time by beadnhead13 ....a comet of poetic words... a shooting star of poetry? You decide!

Five Alarm Night by AvanteGarde.... a sonnet feel with rhyming that flows smooth a still water (~_~)



be sure to read Saturdays offerings and have a quality week (~_~)

champagne1982 said:

No new poems were posted yesterday but today brings 14 of them to the lists. I'm writing this to augment MET's review today not to replace it.

Click to expand...

might not be a bad idea...
Five Alarm Night is a four stanzas of quatrains with a rhyme scheme of ABAB that kind of falls apart in the last stanza

the first two lines show a hint of promise, and the rest of it is not a bad idea, but the last stanza looks like a rush to finish.

New Poems Review 2/17/08

Seventeen New Poems today, of which 6 are by WomanPariah, and 1 of those, Mess of Shame garnered the coveted green e.
Now I have to admit to not getting a lot of what WomanPariah is talking about. Her poems require more than just a cursory glance, and depending on my mood, sometimes I'm not up to the challenge. I do find her work original and never boring....more than I can say for a lot of poems. I aslo like her "in your face" approach.

hmmnmm serve's up "One Cock's Happy Meal", and I don't think he's talking about the kid's meal at McDonald's. It is quick and satisfying however...pull around please-

portabella steam
mussels buttered and japanned
calico bib dab

Lastly, one of my favorite poets normal jean, takes us on a voyage with elements of being,placement. She knows where she's going, all we need to do is sit back and enjoy.

Have a lovely week all ! Remember to read, comment and vote if you are so inclined. Thank you poets for all your hard work and wonderful words.

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February 19, 2008

There are 17 new poems posted today. Here's what I like:

My buddy (and yours!) bogusbrig is on a New Wave in this paean to film. It's both narrative and image-laden and has a very clever "could go a few ways" sort of ending. The pacing of this poem is great: he unrolls the story like frames in a reel of film. This is a very successful, well-integrated piece of writing. Good to see Bogus back on his game.

ElmerGlew tackles the weird world of alien abductions in Project Blue Book. The poem is structured really well--it's divided into three separate narratives, where each one is a differernt person telling their respective abduction tales. It has very much a cinema verite feel and is written with this poet's usual sensitivity to sensual imagery (e.g., i was on a table under very bright light/they surrounded me, murmuring/their voices leaves in a breeze). Just a great piece of writing, and though each part could stand on its own, the three together make for a fascinating thematic statement.

UnderYourSpell gives us a strangely merry bit of gothica in Cuckoo. It has the feel of a limerick and the seeming whimsey of A Child's Garden of Verse, but this little story albeit true is nothing near sweet. The marriage of the bubbly tone and rhyme and the rather horrible message makes for wonderful poetry. My pick of the day.

dubs81csu is a new poet to Lit, and has three submissions today. My favorite of them, The Street, is sort of overrun with poetic devices (rhyme, alliteration, assonance), but still manages to convey a very real dark slice of urban life. Dubs states in his bio that he's new to poetry, and it's clear that there's a real poet here who just needs to hone his skills. He's looking for feedback, so please: help this new poet out by reading and commenting!

Hmmnmm also has three poems posted today; all are good and well worth your reading time. Learning the Ropes is a very funny, fly-on-the-wall view of a couple learning their D/s roles. I won't ruin it by saying more, but it really made me laugh and reminded me of my few failed experiments with this lifestyle. Critic of Prose, I bow to thee is an equally funny look at the struggle to write for critical approval. Again, made me laugh and I swear that the following lines (which cracked me up): nasal tantalizations/exude like none other. were born from our "snotty" conversations yesterday in the keep the review thread clean thread. Great stuff! (The poem, not the snot.) My favorite of his today though is Zero, a questing little poem that makes something out of nothing.

bluerains has a lovely little poem in Sojourners. It's chock full of gorgeous imagery (and one typo, but that's an easy fix). I'd restructure it to really show it off, but maybe that's just me. Read it and see what you think.

The intrepid WomanPariah is having some Nurture moments. This is an easy to read, narrative piece that is 180 degrees from her usual edgy, twisty style. WP paints a detailed picture of someone who gives to everyone and takes from herself. It has a sad, quirky ending. You really need to read it at least twice to get what a moving poem it is. I'd say there's a typo if I didn't know how carefully WP edits before submitting. And no, LeBroz, I'm not wild about the ellipsis points . Also, there are some line breaks I might shift around, but really these are nitpicks about a very well-written poem.

I noticed there's sort of a theme today in film-related poems. That is true of Tokuqin's marvelous Mozzerella Death. The title is an allusion (mentioned at the end of the poem) to Federico Fellini's death. It's a great title and an interesting ramble of a poem about a lifelong focus on sex. There are some off notes in this poem, due I believe to English not being the poet's native language, but it's well written with excellent images, a great title and, yes, a great ending. Read it!

Phew! There are other poems I didn't mention. If you want to recommend any of them--or second any of my recommendations--please do so here. And please read, vote, and comment. Your comments, no matter how long or short, general or detailed, are always appreciated. Always!


Ange

Wednesday's Review

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There may be a problem with today's New Poems. So far only six are showing, but it appears that the process stopped mid-hiccup. WomanPariah's turned off voting & comments but comment totals haven't changed yet. And some bios weren't showing today's new listings. A rather odd day so far — it'll probably sort itself out late this evening {and post another dozen new poems in the process — or maybe save them for WickedEve tomorrow}.

You can check all that's been posted (6) but don't miss WomanPariah's usual flair for originality in her two postings today, Noisy cats are we and the Prettiest Boy. This latter's my favorite of the two because, well, just because. I've a feeling that I'll just enjoy rereading this and peeling away the thoughts buried in the quirky language. One thing's for sure, she's never boring.

Again, there aren't that many posted so far today so go on and 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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LeBroz said:

A rather odd day so far — it'll probably sort itself out late this evening {and post another dozen new poems in the process — or maybe save them for WickedEve tomorrow}

Click to expand...

Dear Leon,
Only 19 new poems for me. Not too bad, but I bet I did end up with a few of yours from yesterday.

A complete review may take some time today. It's a busy morning in the Wicked household. I just got one sick kid back in school and now the other one is sick. Our heat went out last night (again) and I'm waiting for the repairman. He has a new, expensive truck that he's paying for. I think that's why he keeps showing up to "fix" my furnace. And I have strep throat and pink eye, so I'm bit slow today. But damn it, I'm drinking my coffee and reading poems anyway! And now I want to start off with the poem at the top of the new poems list: Eddy's End by hmmnmm

I'm rather fascinated with Eddy's End I think it's the words he chose to combine in this one, brief poem, like chocolate, sugary, icy sores. It's really a lovely poem to read.

I will return with more.

I'm still working my way down Thursday's new poems list. I feel and urgent need to get this review done, because now my schnoodle dog is sick -- all over the kitchen floor. Anyway... go have yourself a nice Twilight Walk courtesy of KOLKORE.


There's another poem today by hmmnmm. It's a haiku titled blink The last line really makes the poem for me.


KatKitty_F (new poet to literotica) gives us aunty janice

The poem begins and ends with:
lighting full, hard fluorescence
bitch for the skin
bite at the image

And everything in the middle is interesting and worth a read. I'll be watching for more from this poet.

There are still a few more to mention and I will return. Sorry for the delays.

Thursday reviews continued.

Two interesting reads:
Something Borrowed
by dubs81csu
My turn now, to wind it up, and watch the precision in action.
My turn to feel the synchronization.
My turn to have the plan, and a place to be when the sun goes down

and don't miss

If You Have To Go Overboard - Do It
by dcpoet44
so, if I took a small fishing boat
out on lake erie
and threw over my heart,
it would still be in a body

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Daily diet
by tungtied2u
yet tomorrow you are to be evicted
convicted of nothing more than being poor
in a country drowning in wealth...
for a few at least, I don't know

Good poem about a predicament many are in, though it kind of read like it was meant for one person and not to be shared with a general audience.

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The bogeyman
by UnderYourSpell
This poet's work has improved much and it really shows with one of her newer poems: Cuckoo
The bogeyman is another good one. Reading it, I could hear the voice of a child, which made it a bit more haunting.

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Karst Topography by dubs81csu is a good read. Check out the lines below:
An Ice cold stream
Thirty-two degrees
Alive with silk riffles and oceanic ambition
Cuts for miles through deep chasms

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My favorite today is The Grim Reaper Don't Knock by Baba8

Little brown machine, ride the night.

Shutter awake, bamboo burnt knees
My dark mate, red coal glow.

Damn, time for "Wah" to go
Floats in dark shroud, no legs slow.
"A" framed, bone face.

Love the words, the images, the whole feel of the poem.

There are only 4 new poems this Friday, February 22nd. If the spirit so imbues you, go read them all. If not, don't miss darkerdreamer's offering Concrete Moon. It's overflowing with alliterative rhythm that brings us in off the street and up to the stage as we watch his poem --
-- is just a taste. Go read the rest.

If you read a poem on the new list today that you'd like to tell everyone about, please don't hesitate to mention it on this thread. I'll check back a little later today to make certain the Literotica machinery doesn't slip some more poetry in past my vigilant Friday watch. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Saturday, Feb 23

In the early hours of Sunday,
with Saturday all spent,
I count 21 poems
from the day that's done.
Of those I was not indifferent to,
these personal reactions:

Impalement on a beach by hmmnmm is a well managed humorous piece that is excellent for a recreational read. Teacher is an absolute joy with a surprising little twist.

Delusions of conscience by WomanPariah is certainly worth studying, but I found it difficult to transcend the opening lines:

You are responsible

for the sins of your childhood:
wanting nurture
desiring understanding
craving absolution
greedy for fun
asking for help
not asking for help —
"me, me, me"

The first two lines are clearly absurd and I searched about vainly wondering if there was some irony intended that I was missing. Eventually it occurred to me that perhaps the writer's voice is raging against some frustrating limitation or injustice imposed by reality rather than complaining about the first stage of the human lifespan.

A string of images, perhaps best exemplified by "an at with no domain," are addressed accusingly at the infant leaving a sense of bitterness that I found distasteful. The dismissive scorn in the final line compounds the bitterness that has gone before, but what really disturbs is the fact that this writer's accomplished poetic skills are undimmed in this poem.

Ostenibly a poem about a baby, it becomes a laying bare of a troubled mind. The actual message or sense of this poem is hidden by what is visible. One cannot read the poem and remain indifferent.

Essence-escence by WomanPariah is an extremely powerful statement on the meaninglessness of life that works in every way.

Rise by Paris_Garters is a poem that is rich in vivid and appropriate imagery producing a combination of sensuous and romantic encounters in an Eden-like environment while simply describing a fuck. Good form and rich language combine with the actual content to make this a thoroughly delicious poem.

Those were the ones that grabbed me, but there are lots more to read in today's crop. For example there is the inimitable Ramona Thompson with two extensive rewrites of the song "Money."

Take a look

Sunday's Review

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Eleven New Poems up today. I'll offer up a quickie run through of those worthy of note.


woz8822 offers up some thought-provoking imagery in Perhaps By Then We Had Been Lovers

There is a photograph I keep coming back to,
you in a purple cap and gown
Covering your luminous nylon carapace,
Stopped colors on white paper,
The image on an east-facing wall
So it would always be the last thing
Dawn would dip to light.

Click to expand...

Victoria_Lucas offers up some stunningly graphic imagery in Downtown.

This, the road, my palette
of striped and printed ladies
and men in spit-shined shoes,
this yellow taxi, my plough,
this tunnel, my burrow.

Click to expand...

WomanPariah is again my pick of the day. Despite leaving her PC's turned off {sure hope you weren't getting nastygrams from some of Lits twits}, she can still see what we think here in the PF&D. Take a look at You’re my dirge for some more of her creatively original thinking:

I hum along with the hymn of the battle:
you v. your cock — who will come first?

Click to expand...

That's it for today. Once again we need volunteers to do reviews, immediately for Sundays and next month to take over on Mondays for Jamison. In the meantime, check out the other poems posted today. They run the gamut from depressing to thoroughly lame cliché humor. Go on, you know you want 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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I'm not sure if there are any new poems today. The first poem worth mentioning has already had a mention on New Poems.