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Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poetry. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Writing in Iowa

Writing — really engrossing writing — springs from a rich and cluttered life, fully lived. It is the bounty of experience that loads the canon of inspiration with sufficient shot to do memorable damage. But, can one glean adequate life experience from abiding among the ordered fields of Iowa? 


Many an old Iowa farmer may be found breathing contentedly from the rocker on his back porch as he ponders the meaning of life, the vicissitudes of our mortal coil, the might of Jove and the recalcitrant whims of His weather. On the other hand, many an old Iowa farmer has been found moldering in the rocker on his back porch as the crows make sport with his remains.

But, back to the point. A connoisseur will cleanse his pallet before undertaking to sample a new wine. He will savor it, let it rest in the bounty of his experience, form an interpretation, and commit his judgment to the enlightenment of others. One could not expect an impoverished lush to undertake such an intimate exposition. Likewise, critically acclaimed writers draw from the deep waters of their autobiographical wells. A dry well does not refresh. In Iowa, a shallow well, supplied by a groundwater aquifer, is likely to poison the family as they consume phosphates, organohalides, and fecal coliforms from the neighbor’s hog operation.

But, back to the point.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Poem: The Art of Seeing

Information and comments on the story:

The Art of Seeing

Life Will Get You in the End:
Short Stories by David Satterlee

from the book: Life Will Get You in the End:
Short stories by David Satterlee

Find out more, including where to buy books and ebooks

Read or download this story as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKRWIyQXBmZXZ5UlE/edit?usp=sharing

A young poet reflects of the fact that poetry doesn't always come right out and say what the poet is saying. News flash: You gotta read between the lines.



The Art of Seeing

(compare 1 Corinthians 7:7)
Poetry, as you may know,
Is strange and hard to write.
Making words fit as they should
Is often no delight.

And not just words, but rhythm too
Must be made to harmonize.
“It comes with practice, soon enough”
Is truthful, though it lies.

An equal art in verse is found
In those who read and see
That what is written is not all
The author meant to be.

For as they see beyond the words,
They make the verse complete,
And feed, then, not on words, but thoughts
And rest back. Full. Replete.
                                      October 23, 1969
 

Poem: A Small Collection of Cinquains

Information and comments on the story:

A Small Collection of Cinquains

Life Will Get You in the End:
Short Stories by David Satterlee

from the book: Life Will Get You in the End:
Short stories by David Satterlee

Find out more, including where to buy books and ebooks

Read or download this story as a PDF file at: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4eNv8KtePyKZEJ0WnVaR3dHRTA/edit?usp=sharing

My wife, Dianna, was teaching a unit on poetry to fifth-graders and thought that I should come and give them a talk on cinquains and limericks. I knew that I could do some real damage with limericks; but, cinquains? So, I started by looking up the word "cinquain." Boy, what a pro!



A cinquain is written with 5 lines having 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables respectively. The first and last lines are complementary. The 2nd line may have two words in contrast.
  
A cinquain is kind of like a Haiku, only different. OK. Got it? 



A Small Collection of Cinquains

My wife, Dianna is a talented and creative teacher. For several years, with her encouragement, I served as a part-time substitute teacher. From time to time, she invited me to talk to her classes about writing. 

It helps students to have an initial model of any new idea or form. This collection was prepared for Dianna Satterlee’s 5th Grade Language Arts Class at Smokey Mountain Elementary School, just south of Cherokee, North Carolina.

A Cinquain is written with 5 lines having 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables respectively. The first and last lines are complementary. The 2nd line may have two words in contrast.

About the beauty of North Carolina

Misty,
Rocky, cascades
Dancing waters falling;
Gleaming in the early morning
Sun light.

About Mrs. Satterlee

Teacher.
Happy leader.
Guiding her new children;
Making learning fun because she
Wants to.

About Myself

Learner.
Constant reader.
Always gaining knowledge;
Seeking wisdom and to be a
Teacher.