Mythic Delirium 20: Poem by Poem
Judging by the response of my Rhysling reviews and my Goblin Fruit reviews, I thought I'd take a shot a reviewing Mythic Delirium 20, poem by poem. As always, I invite polite discussion and debate; I'd love to hear what other readers think.
Conjunctions by Neil Gaiman
The imagery is really ripe and fresh here, from the simile in the first line, "Jupiter and Venus hung like grapes in the evening sky," all the way through. The religious allusions also add a layer to this piece. Another particular aspect of this poem that works for me is the use of repetition, and the way that Gaiman reinvents certain lines based on juxtaposition and context within the poem. This one is just working strongly on all levels, and it's a great way for MD20 to kick off.
Zeitgeber by Sonya Taaffe
This poem begins in film geek heaven. Any poem that mentions Rene Clair's "Entr'acte", Robert Forley's "The Love of Zero" and the ever popular "Un Chien Andalou" is already getting big points from me. All we need now is a nod to Stan Brakhage (where's "Mothlight"???) or Jean Vigo, and we're set. The images of this poem are interesting, and in usual Taaffe tradition, dense and layered. The rhythm of the piece is tight, too, so there's a lot working in this piece. I'm caught trying to figure out the speculative nature of this poem. Part of me wonders if it's simply the title, the way the light (from the projector?) and darkness of the theater are controlling the rhythms of our narrator's life, in other words, using a scientific concept in a non-scientific way. The other part of me certainly gets a haunting tone from this piece, from the use of light and shadow, so if this isn't "horror," per se, it might be considered a cross of "thriller" or "suspense" and "noir". However, I can't judge the poem itself on how it fits into the magazine. The poem here is killer, and MD20 keeps rolling right along in style.
The Glass Girl by Amy Mackiewicz
This is an interesting piece, and I'm wondering if I would almost want to put this in the "magical realism" category instead of the fantasy category, which I realize is splitting hairs. However, I like that Mackiewicz doesn't explain the magical or fantastic in this poem, and the opening lines simply put us into a world where the fantastic happens, and isn't questioned: "Drawing my finger over the looking glass; Ripples play along the surface flowing outwards towards the framing". There is a lot of longing in this poem, and a lot that is strongly working to produce that tone.
Journeying by Adrienne J. Odasso
I am slightly biased towards this piece because of the socio-political theme. However, ignoring that (I'm not sure it's fair to critique poems based on whether or not you agree with their politics), I like the narrative of this piece, and the way the lines break in ways to create added meaning to the poem. Lines like "ruins and conquered fields. The dark one/casts sad eyes upon this land" or "which they are eating now by firelight, and her words/were strange even to the fair one, though he recognized" break in ways to create dual meanings, adding layers of depth to the poem. The imagery in this piece was also rich, and carried the narrative forward. Yet another solid piece for MD20.
Soldier's Daughter by Kacey Grannis
I like minimal pieces like this because they force the reader to delve deeper. The words in this piece carry a lot of weight, and reveal a lot more about the story than meets the eye. For example, a line like "amniotic, but not mine" let's the reader know that this is a mother watching her growing daughter in a tube, which adds a layer of maternal instinct to this poem that is further explored in the next stanza. There is a lot in this poem that isn't said, and the reader is left to make their own connections by what hints Grannis gives us. Fortunately, the images are tight, and provide enough information to paint a whole scene and story for us, and carry a heavy tone with them.
Beauty Sleep by Erin Hoffman
I like the twist of the tale that Hoffman presents, combining aspects of the princess and the evil fairy into one deep persona. The voice in this piece is deservedly bitter, but works will carrying that bitterness or anger all the way through. Also, Hoffman takes the tale back to it's Italian origins, which is nice to see. Some of the line breaks seem off to me--"A king, it happens; and when I" or "his queen is cold and empty as"--which creates a choppy rhythm to the piece for me. There is still a lot that is working in this piece, certainly enough to make it successful.
Hoyle's Baking Instructions by F. J. Bergmann
I want to like this piece--I really, really do. There is a lot of clever word play, allusion and imagery happening in this poem. Bergmann has pulled images from gaming (a la Edmond Hoyle) and cooking and baking creating what seems to be a sensual or erotic piece. Or at least it tries to be. However, reading through this a few times, I am left with a certain distaste in my mouth. This feels too clever, almost gimicky, for me. Some of the lines are a bit too tongue in cheek for me to fully participate in this poem, and some of the line breaks are too weak for me to read this as truly successful. It's a cute piece, but possibly too much so for it's own good.
The Birthplace of Homer (circe 200 B. C.) by Darrell Schweitzer
This is an interesting idea, exploring cultural myth and tourism, as well as the purpose of myth to modern society. A lot of this reads not so much as image heavy poetry (though there are a few key images) but more philosophical theorism. On one hand, this bothers me, because my personal tastes lean towards imagery over abstraction; on the other hand, the lack of images doesn't hurt the poem, and the lines themselves are not abstract to the point of pointlessness. Also, considering the topic of the poem (an ancient Greek poet), a more philosophical tone is actually appropriate and furthers the theme of the piece. So, while this may not be the best piece in the magazine, it certainly has an appeal to it.
Okie-dokie. That's the first third or so of Mythic Delirium 20. I'm hoping to get another half dozen poems done later today, but it's looking to be a super busy weekend, so this may have to wait until next week, if not longer. Still, I wanted to get started on this project because time_shark put together such a solid issue, and I think people need to discuss it.
Conjunctions by Neil Gaiman
The imagery is really ripe and fresh here, from the simile in the first line, "Jupiter and Venus hung like grapes in the evening sky," all the way through. The religious allusions also add a layer to this piece. Another particular aspect of this poem that works for me is the use of repetition, and the way that Gaiman reinvents certain lines based on juxtaposition and context within the poem. This one is just working strongly on all levels, and it's a great way for MD20 to kick off.
Zeitgeber by Sonya Taaffe
This poem begins in film geek heaven. Any poem that mentions Rene Clair's "Entr'acte", Robert Forley's "The Love of Zero" and the ever popular "Un Chien Andalou" is already getting big points from me. All we need now is a nod to Stan Brakhage (where's "Mothlight"???) or Jean Vigo, and we're set. The images of this poem are interesting, and in usual Taaffe tradition, dense and layered. The rhythm of the piece is tight, too, so there's a lot working in this piece. I'm caught trying to figure out the speculative nature of this poem. Part of me wonders if it's simply the title, the way the light (from the projector?) and darkness of the theater are controlling the rhythms of our narrator's life, in other words, using a scientific concept in a non-scientific way. The other part of me certainly gets a haunting tone from this piece, from the use of light and shadow, so if this isn't "horror," per se, it might be considered a cross of "thriller" or "suspense" and "noir". However, I can't judge the poem itself on how it fits into the magazine. The poem here is killer, and MD20 keeps rolling right along in style.
The Glass Girl by Amy Mackiewicz
This is an interesting piece, and I'm wondering if I would almost want to put this in the "magical realism" category instead of the fantasy category, which I realize is splitting hairs. However, I like that Mackiewicz doesn't explain the magical or fantastic in this poem, and the opening lines simply put us into a world where the fantastic happens, and isn't questioned: "Drawing my finger over the looking glass; Ripples play along the surface flowing outwards towards the framing". There is a lot of longing in this poem, and a lot that is strongly working to produce that tone.
Journeying by Adrienne J. Odasso
I am slightly biased towards this piece because of the socio-political theme. However, ignoring that (I'm not sure it's fair to critique poems based on whether or not you agree with their politics), I like the narrative of this piece, and the way the lines break in ways to create added meaning to the poem. Lines like "ruins and conquered fields. The dark one/casts sad eyes upon this land" or "which they are eating now by firelight, and her words/were strange even to the fair one, though he recognized" break in ways to create dual meanings, adding layers of depth to the poem. The imagery in this piece was also rich, and carried the narrative forward. Yet another solid piece for MD20.
Soldier's Daughter by Kacey Grannis
I like minimal pieces like this because they force the reader to delve deeper. The words in this piece carry a lot of weight, and reveal a lot more about the story than meets the eye. For example, a line like "amniotic, but not mine" let's the reader know that this is a mother watching her growing daughter in a tube, which adds a layer of maternal instinct to this poem that is further explored in the next stanza. There is a lot in this poem that isn't said, and the reader is left to make their own connections by what hints Grannis gives us. Fortunately, the images are tight, and provide enough information to paint a whole scene and story for us, and carry a heavy tone with them.
Beauty Sleep by Erin Hoffman
I like the twist of the tale that Hoffman presents, combining aspects of the princess and the evil fairy into one deep persona. The voice in this piece is deservedly bitter, but works will carrying that bitterness or anger all the way through. Also, Hoffman takes the tale back to it's Italian origins, which is nice to see. Some of the line breaks seem off to me--"A king, it happens; and when I" or "his queen is cold and empty as"--which creates a choppy rhythm to the piece for me. There is still a lot that is working in this piece, certainly enough to make it successful.
Hoyle's Baking Instructions by F. J. Bergmann
I want to like this piece--I really, really do. There is a lot of clever word play, allusion and imagery happening in this poem. Bergmann has pulled images from gaming (a la Edmond Hoyle) and cooking and baking creating what seems to be a sensual or erotic piece. Or at least it tries to be. However, reading through this a few times, I am left with a certain distaste in my mouth. This feels too clever, almost gimicky, for me. Some of the lines are a bit too tongue in cheek for me to fully participate in this poem, and some of the line breaks are too weak for me to read this as truly successful. It's a cute piece, but possibly too much so for it's own good.
The Birthplace of Homer (circe 200 B. C.) by Darrell Schweitzer
This is an interesting idea, exploring cultural myth and tourism, as well as the purpose of myth to modern society. A lot of this reads not so much as image heavy poetry (though there are a few key images) but more philosophical theorism. On one hand, this bothers me, because my personal tastes lean towards imagery over abstraction; on the other hand, the lack of images doesn't hurt the poem, and the lines themselves are not abstract to the point of pointlessness. Also, considering the topic of the poem (an ancient Greek poet), a more philosophical tone is actually appropriate and furthers the theme of the piece. So, while this may not be the best piece in the magazine, it certainly has an appeal to it.
Okie-dokie. That's the first third or so of Mythic Delirium 20. I'm hoping to get another half dozen poems done later today, but it's looking to be a super busy weekend, so this may have to wait until next week, if not longer. Still, I wanted to get started on this project because time_shark put together such a solid issue, and I think people need to discuss it.