Deborah J. Shore

*whirl

Many, though not all, of the instances where early greats appeared to transgress this rule seem to be nudges toward a spondaic delivery—something that isn’t even an option in the way many contemporary lines are written (e.g., the dissenting foot on offer is a trochaic noun).

Annie Finch describes the problem of inserting trochaic feet into iambic poems in the absence of a linebreak or caesura.

Annie Finch describes the popularity and effects of trochaic feet in the first foot of a line.

My ear would be so pleased if more contemporary poets heeded Annie Finch’s observation in A Poet’s Craft when giving iambics a whir. #poetry

I know a fae trap when I see one

#poetry

Lisel Mueller #poetry

#poetry

Lisel Mueller in The New Yorker

@anniefinch.com

A V-Day Gift: Scanning the Rhythms of Passion and Peace in Sarojini Naidu's "Indian Love Song" Anapests and bacchics, ghost cups and half wands, ...and a note on reading aloud!

“Indian Love Song,” Sarojini Naidu. A perfect way to orient the ear toward anapests—& this close could double as a hymn!

“For Love shall cancel the ancient wrong and conquer the ancient rage,

Redeem with his tears the memoried sorrow that sullied a bygone age.”

open.substack.com/pub/anniefin...

Mary Oliver: "Messages" A poem by Mary Oliver: "Rain is easy. So is death—"

yalereview.org/article/mess... #poetry

The notes in her collected indicate that she felt the same about that poem (which I really like!) She thought it dethroned her other efforts up to that point.

I had trouble getting into her collected at first. I didn't feel her voice typically suited her formal exercises. But it proves worthwhile!

Consonantal rhyme might be considered especially sophisticated. But surely something tunes our minds to fixate on X versus Y. A desire to be sophisticated would be a disappointing answer.

Also, she employed more form than I was aware of, though often preferring syllabics to meter.

One thing I wouldn’t have realized about Plath w/o picking up her collected: She was obsessed with slant consonantal end-rhymes. Might this correlate to her first love being visual art? Versus, say, singing (assonantal rhyme being so woven to the ear)?

#poetry #AnnaKrugovoySilver

Daughter Daughter, I say, and I mean a list of what-ifs, a cacophony of sorrows.

Today’s Featured Poem:

“Daughter” by ‪@danushalameris.bsky.social, from Blade by Blade, published by @coppercanyonpress.bsky.social.

Read here:
poems.com/poem/daughter/

I decided to explore #AnyaKrugovoySilver via the bookends—her first and her posthumous last volumes. From the first:

“Death Said” by Emily Hoffman New perspectives, enduring writing. Join a conversation 200 years in the making.

soundcloud.com/the-yale-rev...
#poetry #EmilyHoffman

Hafiz

Often in the free verse, I will start out with accentual lines. As the lengths start to alter more, often the natural phrasing within the sentences across the lines either maintains or chronically reverts to the previously set beat count—one subtle way that free is rarely free.

Brava!

This poem will be available in an accessible online format at Poetry Magazine's website shortly. You'll also be able to listen to me read it.

Cover of Poetry Magazine's June 2025 issue: half-carton of eggs, with the letters P O E T R Y painted on them.

Feeling grateful (also floored) to turn to a page in Poetry Magazine & find this poem I wrote, with all admiration, after Mary Oliver's "When Death Comes."

Thank you, Adrian, Lindsay, Holly, et al.

My unread #poetry stash was already substantial and is growing embarrassingly fast (with Merwin, Kooser, more James Richardson, Anya Krugovoy Silver, Li-Young Lee, and some translations en route 😳) while I slowly rotate through a few thick tomes… and relish the elegance of #RichardWilbur again.

I’m increasingly convinced that she will become a favorite poet once I do a deeper dive. 💕 I’m trying to decide what end of the oeuvre to start on. I’d delayed before in part because I just didn’t know if I could handle it emotionally while dealing w severe life-defining illness myself.

Ep. 105: “Among the Losses”: Remembering the Poet Anya Krugovoy Silver, with Andrew Silver, Mercer University Podcast Episode · Faith and Imagination: A BYU Humanities Center Podcast · 05/13/2025 · 1h 12m

Matthew Wickman’s interview w the husband of the late Anya Krugovoy Silver is astounding. I must sheepishly admit that every time I read one of her poems I think, “I really need to buy one of her books,” and yet, I haven’t. That will change this year! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

#RichardWilbur has many fine translations.

(I'm always looking for free-but-competitive markets!)

One of these years maybe I'll cave in. My "system' in Word is clumsy as all get out and definitely not designed for mass simsubs, but it would undoubtedly be extra clumsy to make that initial switch. Currently, I try to spend less on subs per year than the duotrope subscription itself costs!

Jim Harrison, "Another Country"

Saaaame! But it's humbling to see what you can nonetheless miss.

There’s a renowned eco-poet who has a celebrated poem about an area I'd spent some time in before I fell ill. Right when the poem hits its high notes, there's a falsehood and a few exaggerations. She’s talked about how much fact-checking she does. I believe her-and wince! Hoping to dodge that!