Poetry: September 20, 2023 Issue [#12181]
<< September 13, 2023Poetry Archives | More From This Day | Print This IssueSeptember 27, 2023 >>




 This week: Poetry Gatherings
  Edited by: Red Writing Hood <3 Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter



"A poem is a communication from one soul to another that makes one or both hearts sing."

Walter Mayes



"Everywhere I go I find that a poet has been there before me."

Sigmund Freud




Word from our sponsor

ASIN: B07YJZZGW4
Product Type:
Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available.


Letter from the editor




Poetry Gatherings



The troubadour pauses before taking a deep breath. He then slowly teases out a mournful tune. As he strums, he hypnotizes the crowd with his poetic gift. When he sighs, they sigh. When he cries, they cry until the last word tumbles out of his mouth and lands at their feet.


Connections are so important, especially in doing something you love. Today I want to talk about how you can connect and commune with others with poetry.


The wonderful thing is this gathering can take place anywhere:

1) In-person

2) Online or

3) Remotely


With any number of people and can take any form:

1) Poetry readings

2) Poetry slams

3) Poetry campfires

4) Relaxed individual poetry creation


The main thing is to create a fellowship of poetry—to share the love of poetry with others.


Today I share a form I shared over a decade ago, but it is fitting for this subject.



Renshi/renga/renku


When I refer to renshi I am incorporating all forms of short, linked verse that is completed with more than one poet as author. Generally, renga is the more formal form of court poetry. This poetry was created at parties as a type of game. Renku is the more common form written in the tone of average folk.



SAY WHAT?


They are pronounced either wren-she (renshi), wren-gah (renga), or wren-coo (renku).



BRIEF HISTORY


Renga have been around for about a millennium, and is a form of linked tanka written by several different authors. The aristocracy would write these as a party game. They were about court and aristocratic life and made many Asian literary references. Renku is a variation of renga that is usually shorter, makes more “real life” references and is in the tone of the average citizen. It was created by Basho, a famous haiku poet, and they tend to inject more humor. Renga gave birth to the haiku and senryu.



MUST HAVES

- Must not be written or read as a story. It’s a play with no plot and each stanza, or scene, has the barest thread of a connection to the one before and the one after. The beginning and ending strings of renga stanzas tend to have stronger connections than the middle section of stanzas.

- First verse must set the scene with an image of a time/season and place. This first verse is called hokku and is the mother of haiku.

- Do not repeat material or repeated images from stanza to stanza. The object of the game is to make clever twists from one stanza to the next without repeats.

- More than one author* (see “could haves” for more about this).

- Each stanza is an image that must stand on its own. Imagery is a key element in renshi, collaborative linking poetry.

- Alternating three-line and two-line stanzas. The three-liners have a 5-7-5 syllable count and the two-liners have a 7-7 syllable count.



COULD HAVES or WHAT IS THE POET’S CHOICE IN ALL THIS?


- How many poets participate is totally up to you. Generally speaking you will have 2 or more, and in this internet age it could be infinite! *Can you be the only poet? Sure, many poets do them alone, but the spirit of the game is to have a collaboration of minds. So, while you could do one by yourself – why? Draft family, friends or fellow internet poets!

- Choose to be formal (strict with your rules, the pace, and how you choose to link** [see below in the notes for more on linking] – you could even have someone be the “director” to keep everyone on track. I’ve seen renku with very strict rules, like the type of image that should be done in a particular stanza) or informal (relaxed with the rules, pacing and linking).

- How many stanzas you choose to have is totally up to you and your group of poets. Renku tend to be shorter and thirty-six is a standard length, because it was Basho’s favorite. This type of linking poetry has a lot of leeway in this area, and can even go past a thousand stanzas.



OF NOTE:


There are a couple things you want to take into consideration when you are taking your turn or when contemplating the rules for pacing your poem chain.



Pacing


I love the way The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms Edited by Ron Padgett explains pacing in a thirty-six stanza renga:

”The first six or eight stanzas of a renga are like the beginning of a party, when people introduce one another, a bit formally. In the middle twenty to twenty-four stanzas the party warms up, with stanzas that include humor and the whole range of human emotions. A renga ends with six or eight stanzas that move quickly through closely related images, with simple straightforward linking, like the end of a party, when everyone gets ready to go home.”


Linking


There are several ways to link one stanza to another, and it all depends on the rules for the particular renga you are working on, and how witty we can be. Let’s say we have freedom to pick any way we want to link, and that the stanza that came before the one we need to create was an image of a dark cave with dripping water. How can we be clever with our link? We could bring on an image of surf hitting the beach, or the dripping of a faucet. We might want to contrast and bring out an image of the blinding, parched desert. How about we use similar smells and use the musty smell that can be in dank caves and bring an image of a musty attic? We might decide to stick with the cave and bring out an image of an ancient Indian creating cave art. Let’s say the previous stanza used the words “drip, drip, drip” for effect – we could use an image of an ice cream store and the cashier handing us a triple dip, dip, dip cone. The possibilities can wind down many paths, but that’s the fun part!



SOURCE NOTES:


Padgett, Ron. The Teachers & Writers Handbook of Poetic Forms. 2nd. NY: T & W Books, 2000.

Turco, Lewis. The Book of Forms. 3rd. Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2000.



88888888888A new sig888888888888



Editor's Picks



Theme: Renga, poetry campfires

 A Night Like Any Other.... Open in new Window. [E]
Two nervous teens arrive at her house after a date, wary of spying eyes. (Renga)
by LeeReay Author Icon

April Flower Poetry/Paragraph Campfire Open in new Window. [13+]
A Campfire With Megan to Celebrate Poetry Month & To Celebrate Our 10 Year Anniversary
by ♥noVember tHiNg♥ Author Icon

One hokku and eleven rengas Open in new Window. [13+]
I wrote two lines 7/7 in response to other peoples hokku for a June 2020 contest.
by Kåre เลียม Enga Author Icon

 Renshi / Renga / Renku - A Poetry Game Open in new Window. [13+]
Linked poetry game w/ clever twists between stanzas (turns). Are you up to the challenge?
by Red Writing Hood <3 Author Icon

 ???? Open in new Window. [ASR]
This is a poem/story. When it's your turn, you add two rhyming lines.
by ♥~HermyKitteh~♥ Author Icon




 
Submit an item for consideration in this newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form

Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
         https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form

Don't forget to support our sponsor!

ASIN: B004PICKDS
Amazon's Price: Price N/A


Ask & Answer




Have a question, answer, problem, solution, tip, trick, cheer, jeer, or extra million lying around?

If so, send it through the feedback section at the bottom of this newsletter OR click the little envelope next to my name Red Writing Hood <3 Author IconMail Icon and send it through email.


Comments on last month's newsletter:



From: Monty Author Icon
Comment: Another idea, Red.



*Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet* Don't Be Shy! Write Into This Newsletter! *Bullet* *Bullet* *Bullet*

This form allows you to submit an item on Writing.Com and feedback, comments or questions to the Writing.Com Newsletter Editors. In some cases, due to the volume of submissions we receive, please understand that all feedback and submissions may not be responded to or listed in a newsletter. Thank you, in advance, for any feedback you can provide!
Writing.Com Item ID To Highlight (Optional):

Send a comment or question to the editor!
Limited to 2,500 characters.
Word from our sponsor

Removal Instructions

To stop receiving this newsletter, click here for your newsletter subscription list. Simply uncheck the box next to any newsletter(s) you wish to cancel and then click to "Submit Changes". You can edit your subscriptions at any time.


<< September 13, 2023Poetry Archives | More From This Day | Print This IssueSeptember 27, 2023 >>

This printed copy is for your personal use only. Reproduction of this work in any other form is not allowed and does violate its copyright.