After a long publishing hiatus, my poem “La Belle” was
published a few days ago as part of the third volume of The Avenue, a special themed
issue titled “Woman”. Here is a link to the Amazon page for it. There are a lot
of great stories and poems here, and at 12 dollars, it’s definitely as much fun
as 4 cups of coffee.
I just wanted to share a little bit about my poem and about
what I think are the benefits of my current project of taking classes and
getting geared up the take an MFA.
This poem was written as part of a poetry workshop class,
run by the inimitable Karyna McGlynn, a year and a half ago. It was 15 or so
really cool undergrads and me, sharing our work, helping each other get better,
and learning a lot about poetry. Karyna is a successful poet and had a lot of
great insights about the craft, but also the industry (if that’s the right word
for such a non-industrial enterprise).
This poem is a good example. It’s an ekphrastic poem, which
is something I wouldn’t have even thought of doing before this seminar and was originally
written as an assignment for the class.
Of course, the first draft was pretty raggedy and that’s the
other cool thing about workshop classes. Getting input from 16 thoughtful
people (or even six thoughtful people and ten people who are obliged to pretend
to be thoughtful) can only make it better. I am dramatically happier with the
end result than I was with the first version. Thinking back, even the less
pleasant or thoughtful of the classmates (and there weren’t many) still taught
me SOMETHING over the course of the semester.
The poem itself has just been published, so go check it out.
The song that it is responding to is “Lady Marmalade”, by LaBelle (sound
familiar?), which was Patti LaBelle’s vanity group from the 70s. It’s vaguely
based on some actual experiences, from my time in Montreal in grad school, when
I had a good friend who sung in clubs and did a very great cover of this song.
I hope I’ve captured something of what the scene was like in Montreal for this
kind of music, in this context. I also like to think it says something about
the male gaze, which brings me back to themed issue. Finally, and perhaps most of all, it’s about
what lasts and what doesn’t last and how some experiences just exist outside of
time.
In any case, check it out. The poem itself is
unlikely to be such an experience for you, but you never know.
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