|
|
Introduction
Opening Salvo A new "publishing" has taken hold and it's no longer just connected to a city (i.e., Paris, London, New York, San Francisco). It takes place daily on the world wide web. The good part of the internet is that it is all of human knowledge at your fingertips. The bad part of the internet is that it is all of human knowledge at your fingertips. There are large numbers of folks who are using this medium to meet its potential. Three discussed here are: Abigail Mouat, Shirley Allard, and Jo Janoski. A Song for Poets
Abigail Mouat
in this small town, this brick city Ms. Mouat's theme's are a discussion of poverty and want. She also writes about a sense of loss and missed opportunities. There is also a strong sense of disappointment in how people deal with one another and with events. Your news was In one poem, "To The Editor who Rejected My Submission," Ms. Mouat tells the tale of a poet frustrated by what the editor states as a lack of experience. The poet is seen yelling at the wall of disappointed citing all of the real world experiences that they have lived. This is a very confessional cry to be heard in a world were only those "known" get to be known. My brother killed himself when I was twelve. These are the experiences that count. This poem strikes at the heart of why more and more poets are controlling their own destiny by moving to and living in the blog community. Ms. Mouat begs the question as to who better to describe the human condition than people living in the real world. Not the academics who are the ones with big publishing contracts, but those who cover the world of the experience - no matter how harsh. Ms. Mouat's poetry is filled with images of life lived with daily choices of existence. She is far removed from the ivory tower and her eyes see the searing effect of poverty, hunger, and a hand-to-mouth life. This is not to say that her poetry is void of love and compassion. let me write one good book "My evolution as a writer has always been to study, read, and mimic - then discard all. Influences, such as William Carlos Williams, e.e.cummings, Anne Sexton, etc., were all handled the same way. The bulk of their influence fell away and left something that stayed with me - a brick that I used to build the writer that I am. And hopefully, these structures are sound. Time will show I've been a good architect and student of poetry." Even though Ms. Mouat's dark images seem to call for despair at the plight of human existence, she yells for action. The human spirit can rise above any disappointment or ill-turned fate. This is done by reacting to your situation and acting to counterbalance all of the bad that effects us. Ms. Mouat has had works appear in the Santa Fe Review, published by Ebullince Press, and maintains a blog at: http://www.wordpress.com/xysea www.wordpress.com/xysea. www.inkandblood.net/pubnews.html West Memphis Witch Hunt (All proceeds to support the West Memphis 3) "Woman", "Murder Me" Copyright 2007 Abigail E Mouat Falling Star magazine - Winter 2007 Edition "Slut" Copyright 2007, Abigail E Mouat Shirley Allard
Ms. Allard's poetry is filled with images of hope and redemption. She draws on her surroundings of rural New Hampshire to create picture poems based in nature. I sit mesmerized Ms. Allard states that she has enjoyed writing poetry for as long as she can remember. Her poetry is a way for her to explore and relate to her feelings as well as to connect with her thoughts. She has mastered the short form which, as Ezra Pound once said, is the only way to be poetic. If each word is not germane to the poem, it should be struck from the page. There's a voice in the silence She is almost exclusively an internet poet. She has stated that her largest influence on her writing style is a poet that she discovered on the internet, Robert Cameron Hazelton (http://averagepoet.blogspot.com/). As with other poets she did not find an easy path to print publication. However, when she started reading Mr. Hazelton's poetry, she immediately identified with his writings, images, and style. Ms. Allard "fell in love" with his words, cadence, and brevity. Which way to go to find the end Ms. Allard besides being an accomplished graphic artist is also a photographer. She combines her poetic naturalistic compositions with her photographic art. She uses her poetry to produce and sell framed prints. Her print works have been sold at local gift shops and can be seen exhibited in New England art fairs. When stock images, either photographically or in words, don't fit Ms. Allard creates her own. And when there is a need for an outlet, creatively, Ms. Allard acts to create one. Her optimism and insight leads us to a better understanding of our place in nature and our world. Her writing is multidimensional matching a photographer's vision with a wordsmith's exceptional use of our language. Shirley Allard's blog site is: http://whispersinthewind.wordpress.com/ Jo Janoski
She turns that same trained eye to her verse.
Ms. Janoski's command of the language is matched by her use of form and function. "Forest Hymns" is an example of a septet. She consistently writes to specified form. Modern poetry has turned away from using specified forms, however Ms. Janoski has the ability to write within forms that only confuse other writers.
She did not pick up writing until the turn of this century. She started writing after discovering other writers on the internet. She joined some other writers in a workshop to learn different forms. She states that she thought by following solid syllabication and rhyme formats she would be able to reach an understanding of poetry's capabilities. Her command of the language and her brevity using the precise word patterns leads her photographer's trained eye on the world of words.
To Ms. Janoski poetry is both an endeavor and compulsion. "I'm trying to whip my words out and fling them at people, making them wake up to the world around them." The endeavor of fitting them to a specific form leads to her brevity and careful selection of exacting words. Her principle influence besides the beauty and power of nature would be Robert Frost's love of nature. It is this spirit that she attempts to and most successfully captures.
As with most internet poets, Ms. Janoski enjoys the freedom that online communities provide while not taking it all seriously. She is the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Pennsylvania. As she states, "Let's face it, politicians feed on money and brood over where it's coming from next. They don't have a Poet Laureate because they folded up the office that had contained it, no doubt for budgetary reasons. So if there's no money changing hands, they won't be interested." Even though the following states Texans, it can be seen as politicians in the voice of Ms. Janoski. It is a kyoka, a poem like a limerick that makes fun of politicians or events. It has a syllabic scheme of: 5, 7, 5, 7, 7, rhyming is not necessary.
Ms. Janoski has three published books that are all Pittsburgh based. Not just because she is a Pittsburgh enthusiast, but she has a companion book of photography. Her poetry can be found online at:
You may have noticed by now that all three of the featured artists are women. My previous columns were about great American male poets. I felt it time to sing the praises of women. And not just historical women, but those alive and doing well in this updated medium of the electronic age. There are many other's worthy of your time and some of them are even male. But I invite you to spend time exploring. The following are other poets using the current technology to it fullest and who offer insight into our world (just read some of the poets offered here at WordCatalyst). Elizabeth Anne Easter http://darksoulpoetry.stolze.us/ Tiel Aisha Ansari http://knockingfrominside.blogspot.com/2006/04/sadness-wine.html Now, please don't mistake this column as an academic paper on all of the qualities of these poets. I could now start quoting experts who believe such and so, but I ask you to participate. Go and explore. Don't let me tell you all that I know, which is only but a twinkling of their stars. I hope that I've opened a door. Now, it is up to you to enter. Thanks. |
Cheshire Cat
Nothin' Better
Life In The
Greetings.
This month I would like to praise those who use this new medium
to the heights that we all wish technology can bring us. This
shift is occurring from a groundswell caused when artists use
a medium to reach the largest number of people in the most direct
way. Poetry was once on the lips of traveling minstrels. When
printing became widespread and available (we all remember from
school a guy named Guttenburg) songs moved to print. Walt Whitman
was known to sell his Leaves of Grass door-to-door. There was
even the small press revolution of the 1920's led by such noted
American writers as T.S. Elliot and Marianne Moore and publishing
houses such as Scribners. This small press to the faithful was
even evident in the second part of the 20th Century as exemplified
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti's City Lights Books.
Ms. Mouat
is a Florida native and grew up in what she describes as a bohemian
lifestyle. She started writing as a teen and her father was a
major influence in her poetic education. Because of his encouragement,
she began writing. As a young women she was offered a fellowship
to Cambridge University to study writing. But poverty stayed
her course. She is a single mother working hard to fight poverty
and bring up her daughter. Her poetry is full of images that
decry the face of want.
Jo Janoski is
proudly from Pittsburgh, PA. Her husband, a professional photographer,
taught Ms. Janoski how to use a camera and frame a shot that
would capture her beloved city. She has successfully exhibited
her works in the Juried Exhibition and the Artists' Market of
the Three Rivers Arts Festival for over 20 years. Jo and her
husband sell pictures of Pittsburgh to the world (see their photo
site at
