Peace ya'll.

So this is how this is going to work.

I will post up a new form with it's definition in response to this thread (thread 0).

Under each new form, you guys respond with an example of that particular form.

Not sure if I'll post a new form daily or weekly.

Good luck.

Actually, let me clarify.

Comments or suggestions regarding the CHALLENGE OF THE MONTH go here.

Comments or suggestions to people's responses go under their individual post.

Capish?

i've been waitin for this for a few months now.

(lik holds out a apple for del)

thanks, teach.

(lik winks)

vying for the teacher's pet position was something on your list of things to do Lik?

lol.. kiss-ass!!! *rob runs outta the room*

..besides, i always start trouble.

(lik winks)

figure i get one good side outta it

taken from www.deuxlangue.com

The Deux Langue

deux langue, which is French for “two tongue”, refers to the style in which this type of poetry is written. It is an experimental style created by the author. Fundamentally, what makes a poem a deux langue is the ability to read the piece, word for word, forwards and backwards while maintaining a level of intent, flow, and intelligibility. Though the reversal, or shadow, of a given deux langue piece must use the same words in the exact order as the original piece (but in reverse), the way in which lines and stanzas are organized may vary. Here is an example:

Excerpt from "love inverting / inverting love" by David Williamson

original:

affection and desire
suffocate reason and ego dies
love budding

shadow:

budding love dies
ego and reason suffocate desire and affection

Note the exactness of the reversal. No word is altered or displaced. Not even tense changes are permitted. Another characteristic of deux langue poetry is the exclusion of capitalization, punctuation, and contractions. The use of hyphenated words is permitted and encouraged. Within the context of deux langue, no one word is any more important than any other. This is the reason capitalization is not permitted; not even with proper nouns, or words beginning sentences or lines. Those who are inclined to experiment with this style of poetry will find that one word, regardless of its “stature”, can ruin the flow and intelligibility of an entire piece.

There is more to the definition, but you can find that on the site itself.

life is dream
reality exists never
there is clarity
but clarity is illusion

illusion is clarity
but clarity is
there never exists reality
dream is life

sun shining
the lights dancing
across fields boundless


boundless fields
across dancing lights
the shining sun

Nice

death displaces first star for shadows
dodging moonbeams
pale glow amplified by stilled mist
cold and moist on skin and lips
like betrayed kiss
love is true and vibrant
and red as hate
for friend is also foe
and heavy hand
forced over elusive light

light elusive over forced hand
heavy and
foe also is friend
for hate as red and vibrant
and true is love
kiss betrayed
like lips and skin on moist and cold mist
stilled by amplified glow
pale moonbeams dodging shadows
for star first displaces death

kids looking fresh-to-death causing envy
others feeling inferior
bare
can't they know expensive, too?
lives of price-conscious getting cheaper
it's name-brand for blood

blood for brand-name
it's cheaper getting conscious
price of lives too expensive
know they can't bare inferior feeling
other's envy causing death to fresh-looking kids

april fools
pick your poison
stick with it
poke it hard
disk-save or lose
wanna gain a pardon
but can't
please help
lend support where needed
i'm still awaiting growth
come now gardens


gardens now come
growth awaiting still
i'm needed where
support
lend help please
can't but pardon a gain
wanna lose or save-disk hard it
poke it with stick
poison your pick fools
april

symbols juxtaposed
are mirrors,
inverted reflections
upon stares--she
had--love
of status
and heartbreaking
conversations...

words by distraction
upon bridges,
stars-crossed,
ideas of fear,
birthing desire,
wanting more.

unrealized potential,
silence in merit.

walking backwards,
falling, watching ourselves
melting through potential.

loosely swinging
is leaping while looking--

darkness of detours.

...


detours of darkness.

looking while leaping
is swinging loosely.

potential through melting
ourselves watching,
falling,
backwards walking.

merit in silence,
potential unrealized.

more wanting,
desire birthing,
fear of ideas,
crossed-stars,
bridges upon
distraction by words...

conversations
heartbreaking
and
status
of love--had
she--stares
upon reflections
inverted,
mirrors are
juxtaposed symbols




*********************************

exist in limbo.

"when my love comes to see me it’s
just a little like music,a
little more like curving colour(say
orange)
against silence,or darkness…" -e.e. cummings


"we are accidents waiting to happen" -radiohead

"Poetry is a kind of distilled insinuation. It’s a way of expanding and talking around an idea or a question. Sometimes, more actually gets said through such a technique than a full frontal assault." -Yusef Komunyakaa

"The Black Artist's role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it. His role is to report and reflect so precisely the nature of the society, and of himself in that society, that other men will be moved by the exactness of his rendering and, if they are black men, grow strong through this moving, having seen their own strength, and weakness; and if they are white men, tremble, curse, and go mad, because they will be drenched with the filth of their evil."

-Amiri Baraka, from "State/meant" in the essay, "Home"

"My love is my soul's imagination. How do I love thee?...Imagine." -Saul Williams

Put YOUR POST UNDER THE CORRESPONDING LESSON THREAD, NOT THE ORIGINAL ONE. YOU TOO, Phrenologist68144.

Either way, loving the pieces and willingness to experiment.

*The Skinny is a new form of poetry, created by Truth Thomas (Author of "One Fat Little Skinny", coming in 2004).

The Skinny is an eleven line poem where the 1st and 11th lines are identical, the 2nd, 6th & 10th lines are identical and all lines except for the 1st and 11th consist of only one word.

Example (excerpt from his book)

The Passion of History by Truth Thomas

History

loathes

falsehood

while

Gibson

loathes

color

as

Hollywood

loathes

History

©2004, Truth Thomas, all rights reserved.

To find out more about Truth Thomas, you can visit his website www.prayerwarriorz.com.

Untitled

She is stronger than she knows

heartbreaking

mystical

mamma

holding

heartbreaking

life

pains

her

heartbreaking

she is stronger than she knows

© 2004, Delrica Andrews, all rights reserved.

Everybody

running.

What's

the

destination?

Running.

Towards

individual

inevitability.

Running.

Everybody.

he writes

poetry

but

teaching

children

poetry

is

the

best

poetry

he writes.

*info passed on to me from Fred Joiner, poet & webmaster for www.divinecipher.com

The Bop According to Afaa M. Weaver (developed at Cave Canem)
*parts of this were cut out for the sake of giving history and definition*

Bop

The "Bop" is a form of at least twenty-three lines, which may vary according to the number of lines in the refrain. The structure is:

opening sextet locate anger
refrain line from song lyric
octet process anger "work"
refrain repeated song lyric
sextet resolution
refrain repeated song lyric

The purpose of the form is to investigate a complaint or source of anger which you have. This does not have to be rage. It can be an annoyance. It can be a social/political issue or a broken heart. Stanzas are marked here to show the process and function of each stanza.

The rhythm (stress) in the lines is to follow the emotional flow of your subject as it feels against the music from which you pick your refrain. For example, if you pick a piece from The Modern Jazz Quartet, the feeling of vibraphones (Milt Jackson) should be there in your word choice and the flow of the line, and the MJQ piece you pick should help you locate the source of your anger/complaint.

Refrains may vary in length.

Rambling
in Lewisburg Prison

In general population, census
is consensus--ain't nowhere to run
to in these walls, walls like a mind--
we visitors stand in a yellow circle
so the tower can frisk us with light,
finger the barrels on thirsty rifles.

I got rambling, got rambling on my mind.

In general population, madness runs
swift through the river changing, changing
in hearts, men tacked in their chairs,
resigned to hope we weave into air,
talking this and talking that and one brutha
asks "Tell us how to get these things
they got, these houses, these cars.
We want the real revolution." Things...

I got rambling, got rambling on my mind.

In the yellow circle the night stops
like a boy shot running from a Ruger 9mm
carrying .44 magnum shells, a sista
crying in the glass booth to love's law,
to violence of backs bent over to the raw
libido of men, cracking, cracking, crack...

I got rambling, got rambling on my mind.

Afaa M. Weaver
Lyric quotes from
Robert Johnson
"Rambling Blues"

Original version
June 17, 1997
Group "C"

We did this one a long time ago, but it's so nice had to bring it back twice!

The Eintou

The Eintou is an African American septet syllabic/word count form consisting of 2 words/syllables the first line, 4 the second, 6 the third, 8 the fourth, 6 the fifth, 4 the sixth, and 2 the seventh. The Eintou developed as a means of placing African American poetic forms in the forefront of American poetry. Many African American poetic scholars and critics often attempt to mimic Euro-american forms as a means of demonstrating poetic expertise, or defensively, staunchly stand by "free-verse" as an African American form. Very rarely have I found serious examination of African American poetic forms; in fact most critics erroneously regard African American poetry as "formless" or "mimicking."

The Eintou encompasses much African American culture and philosophy, and it offers the African American poet who wishes to write in structured meter an avenue within which to do so without having to employ European structures.
The term Eintou is West African for "pearl" as in pearls of wisdom, and often the Eintou imparts these pearls in heightened language.

The 2-4-6-8-6-4-2 structure of the Eintou is crucial in terms of African and African American philosophy. That is, in our culture, life is a cycle. Everything returns to that from which it originates. The concept of a pearl, which is a sphere, and the cyclic nature of the Eintou's structure captures this I think very poignantly. The life of the Eintou begins with two syllables or words, expands as though growing and then returns to two syllables or words. In this the Eintou, as we, never escapes its beginnings or history. We flow from, through, and ultimately return to that from which we come.

An example:
Death so
often speaks to
us Blacks nowadays that
no one cares to listen, to hear
if he has anything
important to
impart

2 words/syllables the first line, 4 the second, 6 the third, 8 the fourth, 6 the fifth, 4 the sixth, and 2 the seventh

I am
not lite, not dark,
or a mixture
of the two. I am me.
In a most humble form, I stand--
in my own skin,
alone.




=========================
You made a fool of , tell me .
©MeShell N'Degeocello

are one individual. ©sunshine

strong.

*********************************

exist in limbo.

"when my love comes to see me it’s
just a little like music,a
little more like curving colour(say
orange)
against silence,or darkness…" -e.e. cummings


"we are accidents waiting to happen" -radiohead

"Poetry is a kind of distilled insinuation. It’s a way of expanding and talking around an idea or a question. Sometimes, more actually gets said through such a technique than a full frontal assault." -Yusef Komunyakaa

"The Black Artist's role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it. His role is to report and reflect so precisely the nature of the society, and of himself in that society, that other men will be moved by the exactness of his rendering and, if they are black men, grow strong through this moving, having seen their own strength, and weakness; and if they are white men, tremble, curse, and go mad, because they will be drenched with the filth of their evil."

-Amiri Baraka, from "State/meant" in the essay, "Home"

"My love is my soul's imagination. How do I love thee?...Imagine." -Saul Williams

you play
nefertiti
with the ease of the wind
through air; the sound reminiscent
of angels' song willing
God's blessing of
sunrise



*********************************

exist in limbo.

"when my love comes to see me it’s
just a little like music,a
little more like curving colour(say
orange)
against silence,or darkness…" -e.e. cummings


"we are accidents waiting to happen" -radiohead

"Poetry is a kind of distilled insinuation. It’s a way of expanding and talking around an idea or a question. Sometimes, more actually gets said through such a technique than a full frontal assault." -Yusef Komunyakaa

"The Black Artist's role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it. His role is to report and reflect so precisely the nature of the society, and of himself in that society, that other men will be moved by the exactness of his rendering and, if they are black men, grow strong through this moving, having seen their own strength, and weakness; and if they are white men, tremble, curse, and go mad, because they will be drenched with the filth of their evil."

-Amiri Baraka, from "State/meant" in the essay, "Home"

"My love is my soul's imagination. How do I love thee?...Imagine." -Saul Williams

u should post on its own. i think it should be read by others... just your wording and how the eintou forces one to cram so much into such a short form; it was interesting to see this, and read it.




=========================
You made a fool of , tell me .
©MeShell N'Degeocello

are one individual. ©sunshine

this right here is nice.
mindful is right, you SHOULD post it on it's own thread.
___________________________
-Phyllis-


...that is all...

Enticed
by parodies
that explains how my life
is a joke and empty without
the diligence of your
disappointment
valued

I wrote an eintou collection on the same subject as the following:

How he
Believed in those
Tambourine men, who lend
Chemical palms, acid sunshine
I scream psalms to drained lungs
And baptize his
Cold lips


___________________________
-Phyllis-


...that is all...

*********************************

exist in limbo.

"when my love comes to see me it’s
just a little like music,a
little more like curving colour(say
orange)
against silence,or darkness…" -e.e. cummings


"we are accidents waiting to happen" -radiohead

"Poetry is a kind of distilled insinuation. It’s a way of expanding and talking around an idea or a question. Sometimes, more actually gets said through such a technique than a full frontal assault." -Yusef Komunyakaa

"The Black Artist's role in America is to aid in the destruction of America as he knows it. His role is to report and reflect so precisely the nature of the society, and of himself in that society, that other men will be moved by the exactness of his rendering and, if they are black men, grow strong through this moving, having seen their own strength, and weakness; and if they are white men, tremble, curse, and go mad, because they will be drenched with the filth of their evil."

-Amiri Baraka, from "State/meant" in the essay, "Home"

"My love is my soul's imagination. How do I love thee?...Imagine." -Saul Williams

TETRACTYS

Tetractys should express a complete thought, profound or comic, witty or wise using 20 syllables. They can be written with more than one verse but each subsequent verse must invert the syllable count. There is no limit to the number of verses. The structure is:

line 1 - 1 syllable
line 2 - 2 syllables
line 3 - 3 syllables
line 4 - 4 syllables
line 5 - 10 syllables

I'll have a few later.

line 1 - 1 syllable
line 2 - 2 syllables
line 3 - 3 syllables
line 4 - 4 syllables
line 5 - 10 syllables

deprivation

don't
deny
the things I
need in order
to survive and be of pure existence.

I
am here
because life
has chosen me
for something bigger and of grand purpose.




=========================
You made a fool of , tell me .
©MeShell N'Degeocello

are one individual. ©sunshine

since i've already done these

(lik smiles)

i'll revisit them

Nights
Alone
Teases the
Affinity,
Love Induced Expediently a tear

*created by Baltimore writer, Chris August.

The push through is a 100 syllable, 10 line poem (which equates to 10 lines of 10 syllables each line).

The first syllable of the first line (syllable, NOT word), has to be used at least ONCE per line all the way through to the end (thusly pushing it through the piece).

I would have an example, but he hasn't provided one yet as he's still trying to write his first push through (ironic, right?).

The theory behind it is cool, and most definitely challenging, so I'd love at least one of us to get this form tried (and done well too).

An added challenge (and it's still being discussed w/ the creator): use the syllable chronologically. In other words, the first syllable becomes the second syllable of the next line; third syllable of the third line, and so on (I think that's where he was going with this, but forgot to tell me).

Good luck. I'll be working on mine tonight.