Poetry Friday: Recreating Update
Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect is hosting today. Hop on over there for the roundup.
Haiku of the Week
slime molds
jelly to the wet long
sun lanterns
Photo Taken: January 1, 2025 at Burke Lake Park
Haiku Written: January 9, 2025
25 New-to-Me Poets in 2025
In her essay “Ten Things About Poetry,” Patricia Smith challenges the reader to “discover one new poet every week.” (in The Practicing Poet: Writing Beyond the Basics edited by Diane Lockward). I’m setting out to discover 25 New-to-Me poets in 2025. Join me as I read at least 5 poems by a new-to-me poet.
Cynthia Manick is a poet I discovered when I was browsing the “new books” section at a library near my eye doctor. Manick’s 2023 collection No Sweet Without Brine stuck out because it was in the poetry section and it had an interesting title (I’m a sucker for interesting titles for poetry collections). I flipped through it and immediately knew I was going to take it home because I could tell she used white space and the line in interesting ways.
Things that particularly struck me as interesting as I read:
- Her use of medial caesuras
- A new-to-me form: the Eintou
- Tanka suite: four tanka that also utilized space on the page in a zigzag form called “Tanka Suite on Survival.” I couldn’t find this poem online for you to see.
- “Hermit Crab” poems where she takes an existing structure and makes a poem about it like “Rx for Little Black Girls” from this collection. She utilizes the form of the warnings and instructions from a prescription.
- Emotional punch of her poems. I like here there’s an ending that makes you think or lines that you want to read over again.
RECREATE
We had four snow days last week and a 2 hour delay on Friday. I’m not complaining. My first day back post-surgery was a short one, and I’m grateful. I like a gradual coming back to a “normal” schedule.
I haven’t crafted since before my kids were born. I was a good seamstress in high school, but it frustrated me to make complicated things. I baked when my kids were little. But when we all started having issues with gluten, I tried to bake with 15 different flours and the results were only fair. Now, the flours are better.
This week I brought back 3 things: sewing, baking, sit spotting.
I bought myself a sewing machine (my original one is with my college kid). I sewed tea wallets from my vegetable printing (some of you were asking about what I was going to do with the vegetable printing). It took me time to get used to all of the steps, but sewing is like riding a bike. I remembered how to do it. The muscle memory is still there.
I have never made sourdough bread in my life. But somewhere online I saw a gluten free sourdough starter recipe, so I started my starter during the snow. I attempted to make bread over the weekend. It was denser than I would have liked. I think I know where I went wrong (I took a few shortcuts instead of doing the long proofing in the fridge). I’ll try again next weekend.
When I chose the word recreate (with the meaning of recreation in this case), I never dreamed I’d be crafting and baking. But here we are. I’m sure I’ll have to put it on hold when school gets back into the swing of things.
I started back at my sit spot this week. I changed from the woods by our creek to a spot much closer to the house–my moon garden. It’s been bone-chilling cold (with the wind chills), so I didn’t make it out as much as I had hoped. This week it is still covered in snow. I think it will be fun to see my garden in all of the seasons.
3 Comments
Cathy Stenquist
Hey Marcie,
Your post is so chock full of delicious inspiration! I have been wanting to take a sourdough course at a local kitchen. Your reminder was just what I needed. I loved the idea of discovering new poets. Cynthia’s idea of writing a poem with the format of a prescription bottle is brilliant. It makes me want to look around for other such inspirations. Have a great weekeknd and happy sewing!
Denise Krebs
Marcie, what a delightful post. I have been off reading and listening to Manick. I learned about medial caesuras, the Eintou form, hermit crab poems, and, perhaps my favorite, tea wallets! How fun! You are an inspiration.
tanita
Ooh, what a fab little wallet! I have NEVER been able to sew – I hot glued a project for Mother’s Day once, to my eternal shame – but I am here for the recreating. Go, you! I made GF brownies and three-ingredient PB cookies for a dear gluten intolerant friend, and they were AMAZING. (I ruined the lemon crinkle cookies, so …two wins. I’ll take it.)
Those blobs of slime mold are… actually kind of cool! As always, just really love your photography. Sun lanterns, indeed.
Happy New Year.