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YesNo - see paragraph 4 of my previous post...

prendrelemick -

I'm with you in being against Amazon, as are my literary friends, for whom the view that Amazon is a malign and pernicious influence is as obvious as the sun. Not only are the...

Hi, Ji.

A recent example you might like to look at is Time's Fool by the British poet Glyn Maxwell (US: Houghton Mifflin, 2000; UK: Picador, 2001). (And just to be clear, the book is subtitled 'A...

kev – you seem to have beaten me to the punch with the list of reasons for studying English Literature in high schools. Here are some of the benefits to students in the UK, some of which I see you...

Well done, Dieter, and I look forward to the next round.

tailor - that's an, um, interesting reading of my entry. I've given it a title now, so perhaps it will make more sense to you.

TRENCH

deathdread - fearbled - prayersaid

whistle

wiretread - gunshred - bloodshed

white

Yeah, this is beautifully achieved, Lykren.

It brings to mind Yeats's 'He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven' and Michael Donaghy's 'Machines', although the latter doesn't share much with your poem...

That's ok, Lykren; I'm always glad to comment on your work.

And I agree with you that the first of the two pieces is the stronger; it might be worth bearing in mind that poems are 'made things'...

Two relative scraps from you, Lykren, but still a lot of substance here.

The first is nicely achieved: three, three-stress lines, with the pathetic fallacy of the third line working particularly...

This is a nicely humorous piece, Dieter, and one I think we can all empathise with, particularly us sensitive poet types! :)

I'm reminded of Billy Collins's 'Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun...

I was intrigued by the subject of the poem, Carousel, but feel there's more to say here.

For me, the second stanza is the strongest - if I'm honest, I would suggest cutting the first stanza and...

Thanks for the entries, everyone.

I'm afraid I'll have to be brief, so the winner is...

Dark Muse for her take on Keats's 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci'.

Well done, and thanks again, b|v.

Hi Dieter. This is an enjoyably playful and imaginative poem.

I love the mention of the ‘Oscar de la Renta dresses’ – in fact, I think the imagery relating to fashion is the main strength of the...

Welcome to Lit-Net, EE.

Your ode is an accomplished poem, there's some craft behind the cross-rhymed stanzas of iambic pentameter and utilisation of the ode form. However, your use of archaic...

Thanks, Lykren.

That's honest of you to admit your recent writing habits, but it's good you reflect on them. Perhaps you just need to be tougher on yourself; if you're not happy with an image, or...

Appearances, of course, can be deceptive. So perhaps it’s only fitting that a poem on the subject is itself elusive. Even the word ‘appearance’ is deceptive as it can mean an impression, or a sudden...

Thanks for the reply, Lykren, and for the link to 'Spring'. I've not heard of Andrew Wyeth before, but his artwork seems well worth investigating. That explains the fascinating imagery in the first...

And as soon as I've finished one critique, another poem appears!

On first reading/s, I find this one stronger and more coherent - yet more imaginative as well - than 'The Binding'. The title and...

This puts me in mind of 'The Clocks of the Dead' by Charles Simic. I'm sure you'd enjoy his work, Dark Muse, if you haven't read his poetry.

Hi Lykren.

As the title suggests, ‘The Binding’ is about being bound to different things, something that usually has negative connotations – being restricted, indebted, or even imprisoned. But...

Thanks Jaked, and congratulations to everyone who entered. :) And thanks for the Einstein quote - it puts me in mind of Wallace Stevens's famous introduction to his poem 'Man Carrying Thing': 'The...

Wonder

No wonder
I don’t believe:
there is
no wonder.

I don’t believe
there is.
No wonder?

Am I the only one to read this poem as being about sex - first with her partner, then with herself - or does that just say more about me as a reader? :)

Hi Maximilianus,

Glyn Maxwell is one of my favourite contemporary poets, and it’s great you’re studying his work. (But I’d also say you should remove the majority of the poem from your post as...

Yes, well done, Mystyry.

Lots of good entries; I found Jaked's piece the most enjoyable. As for my own, the first is a bit of a literary in-joke: Oscar Wilde, when discussing how art transforms...