Behind the Lines

Visual Poetry by Individualist

This type of poem is referred to as a Ballade, in particular this is a Ballade Supreme. The Ballade is a form of poetry first used in France in the 14th and 15th century. It was brought to the English language by poets in the 16th century. The most famous English language poems to be written as Ballades were the “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer. These poems are written in iambic form and I have switched lines from Iambic tetrameter to pentameter to suit the meter.


The standard Ballade is a group of three eight line stanzas where the last line is repeated. These have a rhyming scheme of ababbcbc. This is followed by a short four line stanza that also ends with the chosen tag line with a rhyme scheme of bcbc. My poem is a Ballade Supreme with ten line stanzas in the form of ababbccdcd followed by a five line closing stanza ccdcd. The themes of this poem evolved as I wrote it and it all tied nicely to suggest a story or at least the set up of a story.

The visual elements of the poem matched the timber of the lines by introducing more colorful realistic oil elements in the same watercolor drawing. It worked out nicely I thnk, Enjoy!

For references to Ballades please refer to the following articles.  Ballade


Read more...

Kaveh and the Serpent King

Visual Poetry by Individualist

I wrote this poem after the Greens were protesting in Iran when the government showed its true tyrannical colors when they denied Mousavi the office to which it is clear he was legitimately elected. As our media at the time found other distractions away from this story we heard less from our President on the matter and I was saddened. I really felt that Obama should have recognized Mousavi as the elected President of Iran despite the President's rhetoric that America was doing the best for the movement by ignoring the issue. The emotions in me were strong to address the issue. I channeled the feelings I had from watching the death of Neda Soltan on You Tube into writing this poem. Given Ahmadinejad’s new speech where he reveals that he is a 911 Truther I felt I would put this poem on this blog to once again remind people that this man is not the elected President of Iran but rather the puppet put in power by the mullahs that control the country in a dictatorial oligarchy. I also think that it is fitting that a totalitarian like him would denounce free market capitalism.

The story of Kaveh the Blacksmith is maybe the most popular Iranian tale and the allusions in the poetry, such as they are refer to it. This link gives a version of the story.

KAVEH the Blacksmith

I regret to there is little I can do to help the  people of Iran that this effort insufficient as it is appears to be one the few things I am capable of helping with the cause.  The Story of Kaveh the Blacksmith who defeats Zohak the Serpent King summarized from The Epic of Shahnameh Ferdowsi.  Somehow I find similarities between Ahmadinejad who rules as a puppet for the Iranian Theocracy and Zohak who is a puppet of Ahriman the Evil One.  In real life however Kaveh the Blacksmith is in the hearts of the young people of Iran.  God help them to stay the course.

Read more...

THE CONSTITUTION

Visual Poetry by Individualist

For the last two month I have been so busy with work and taking two classes in school that I have had little time to compose any new art pieces. Now that I am traveling again I cannot take classes and so I have time on the weekends for my Visual Poetry.


I’d thought I start back with a Patriotic poem for the fourth of July. I decided to use the US Constitution as my inspiration since in reality the ideals given to us in that document can be credited with driving our nation’s greatest successes. Hat Tip to the Tea Party movement for making it relevant and hip again. I read some of the article in the US Today paper last week and noted that the same barbed question was asked once more “What does the TEA Party stand for?” This is so tiresome but in thinking about the subject of my poem I have a simple answer for them.

“IT’S THE CONSTITUTION STUPID”

Anything you want to know about what the people in the TEA Party want can be found in that document, the Federalist Papers, the writings of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers who created this country.

Having gotten that off my chest I wish to explain that the pictures of the Liberty Bell come from a photo album commemorating the trip the Liberty Bell took in 1915 from Philadelphia to California. More of that trip can be found at the link below:

Liberty Bell Trip by Train in 1915

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!

Read more...

THE LONG WALK

Visual Poetry by Individualist

Note this poem contains a mature theme. There is no gratuitous sexual references or violence or bad lnaguage. However the subject matter is best not discussed with any one under the age of 18.

I have found a new website that gives examples of many more poetic forms at Sol Magazine.org.   I came across this poetic form for inspiration called the Dorsimbra which I thought I would try out as it gives me a chance to branch into free verse. The Dorsimbra is comprised of three stanzas of four lines and each has a very different meter. The first stanza is four lines of rhymed Iambic Pentameter. The second stanza is four lines of short free verse and the last stanza are four lines of Iambic Pentameter Blank Verse. The poem appears choppy and disharmonious like a song written in a minor key. This guided me to the choice of subject matter which I will discuss in below.

I decided that like the Triolet poem Jazz Man which I wrote that I would write three sets of Dorsimbras tied together in a theme with a silent spacer picture to set mood. I also thought that in this way I could write seven different poems. I purposely chose the wording so that the first, second and third verses of each poem if read together sounded out a separate set of verse. Thus there are seven poems altogether if you include the three Dorsimbras as one poem. The second free verse poem includes a Count Up. This is where the first line starts with one syllable and each successive line adds one syllable until you reach 10 syllables in the last line.

As to the subject matter as I stated above the Dorsimbra suggested to me an off key meter and so as I began to think of the theme I came back to an event that happened with someone I knew. They committed suicide and it is an event that disturbed me.

Once a theme takes hold and I begin thinking about the stanzas and lines it kind of stays in my head until I finish it. It’s as if the poem takes over. I can’t explain this any better than that.

The first versions of this poem had too many personal details while no one else would know still seemed inappropriate. The next version I tried to tell the story from the actor’s perspective and it was very dark and it felt wrong. I realized this was not about him my dealing with it. In the last version I attempted to break the verses into different perspectives. The first verse is a more personal stance from the perspective of someone who knows the individual. The second is more objective and observational and the last speaks to the subject’s thoughts. I felt this was more respectful as it generalizes the subject and speaks to the emotions. I felt this I could publish.

With regard to the theme I will say only this. Anyone who finds that they are in a position where they can understand why someone would do such a thing should find someone they trust and discuss it. I am not suggesting that you obsess or worry or even that there is something wrong. Just that discussing it cannot hurt. Had this individual had such a conversation someone might have helped them.

Read more...

The Wickedest Speaker of the House

Visual Poetry by Individualist

This is my attempt at a Limerick. While many of us think of these little five line stanzas as a grouping of dirty jokes we heard as a kid the poetic form evidently has been around for three centuries. It is rumored that the name is derived from Limerick, Ireland where it was invented but there is no proof to this myth. For my example of this poetic style I inspired by a photograph I got from my friends at Commentarama in one of their infamous caption contests. I felt a good subject matter for a Limerick would be political satire as you can see.

Any rate a Limerick makes use of a type of foot I have yet to use exclusively, the Anapest foot. This is a rhythm of three beats, two unstressed beats followed by a stressed beat. In this poetic form lines One, Two and Five rhyme. These lines have three anapestic feet in succession (Nine syllables). Lines Three and Four also rhyme and have two anapestic beats in succession (six syllables). The cadence of this poem lends itself to joke telling and satire very well.

I debated whether to include this here as it is in my opinion different than the other work that I have showcased. If we played the Sesame Street game one of these things does not belong this would be the post that would have to be picked and that is because it is not Art but propaganda. Let me shy you away from the negative connotation of that word. Propaganda can be accurate, it can be insightful and it can have meaning. In this case it is an example of political satire and it strongly reflects my Libertarian Republican viewpoints. Propaganda, if it is any good, will employ the same tools as artwork. It will use the right frame of poetry (the right words in the right order – I am not sure who said this but I have read it I cannot remember where, I apologize to the author) or it uses the same drawing techniques of perspective, color, placement and so on. The work can be as time consuming and require as much deep insight whether it is art or propaganda. So then, what is the difference?

Mary Kinzie states that good poetry will develop questions in the readers mind. She advises the readers of poetry to read as if they were the poem’s author. When a particular line of verse is read she asks the reader to consider the alternatives that the poet did not choose. For her, the essence of poetry is the questions that are produced by the poem. I feel that this idea transcends the nature of poetry itself and can be applied to all works of art. The idea is to challenge the viewer of the picture and the reader of the poem to explore the meanings in the work and to even find meaning that is personal to them. Propaganda on the other hand as defined by me is to make a statement. It is to use the same insight and tools of the artist but the point being to deliver the message and not provoke a question. There are similarities and certainly propaganda can develop questions and art can make statements. However the purpose of Art is to engage the curiosity of the reader while the purpose of propaganda is to instruct the reader. This is a fine but important distinction to me.
 
In the poem Myrmidons I allude to politics in the fourth stanza. I show the praise of Obama associated with Afghanistan (a war he attempted to claim as his war in the campaign) and Bush in Iraq. I state the line “Deeds not words that make our leaders Regal”. This statement may send an inference to the reader but depending on one’s politics there could be arguments for or against both President’s or both, one could even bypass partisanship altogether and reflect on the nature of wars and politics. No clear meaning is sent and this is intentional. Here with this poem I am doing quite the opposite. It is both partisan and a very directive statement.
 
The reason for my debate to include this is that I intended to showcase artwork here and not deliver a message. I have included this because I felt that the Limerick itself with its jokey feel, its rolling cadence, the short nature and the simple but somewhat overbearing rhyming scheme best suited satire and propaganda. This does not always have to be the case it is just that I felt this was the best choice for a Limerick.

Read more...

The World's Most Famous Beach

Visual Poetry by Individualist

Author’s Notes:


The next poetic form that I wish to try is probably the most well known standard of poetry dating back to the beginning of English History. It is one that continues to this day in verse and is well known in song. This is the Ballad. The rules for a Ballad are simple enough. The form makes use of Iambic foots in alternating lines of eight syllables (four feet) and six syllables (three feet). The traditional form is broken into a quartet of four lines of verse with the second and last lines of the quartet rhyming. Alternatively there are poets who have authored ballads that make use of six lines as opposed to four. In an omage to the idea of the Ballad as a song I have chosen to have the poem’s verses be two traditional quartets followed by a six line chorus where the third and last lines rhyme. As I read the poem I can see why this form has been so successful over the ages. There seems to be something in repeating the verse that sounds right. For a much better discussion on ballads I will refer you to this link by Conrad Geller:

Poetic Forms

In this poem there was one structure that I wanted to play with that is prevalent in many poetry written today and that is the half meaning. This is where the sentence breaks across the lines of the poem and is called enjambment. However the break is in such a fashion that, the lines taken by themselves, have a different meaning than the sentence as a whole. This is supposed to enhance the questions that a good poem is supposed to bring to the reader. This comes from a very good book on poetry that I am beginning to read called “A Poet’s Guide to Poetry” by Mary Kinzie ISBN 0-226-43739-6. I tried to make use of enjambment in the chorus sections of the poem in order to further differentiate them.


Because the written word elements of the Ballad are themselves simple and straight forward I thought this would be a good piece to work with and discuss the visual elements of the poem. I thought that first I would discuss where I got the inspiration for the idea of visual poetry. It came from the book “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud ISBN 1-58389-759-8. In this book Mr. McCloud defines Comics as follows:

“Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in a deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.”


His website is ScottMcCloud.com

Mr. McCloud argues that Comics as an art form should not be limited to super heroes and fuzzy animals and in fact can be an art form that expresses many styles and genres including high art and literature. He explains that the use of Sequential Art to tell a story provides the artist with not just the elements of words and pictures but combined form something completely knew. Thus he argues in this book why can’t art and literature be expressed using this form. There is nothing inherently wrong with that.


It was this concept that gave me the idea for Visual Poetry. For me it is not just a poem with pictures. What I am trying to do is to convey a meaning beyond the ability that the picture and the written word could do by themselves. Whether I am successful or not is a matter of subjective judgment but I feel that Visual Poetry is something related to but different from poetry by itself.


Mr. McCloud emphasizes that the use of frames in comics provide the space between them that allows the reader’s imagination to fill in the rest of the narrative of the story. Thus, in comics, space is used to represent time. It would seem then that this is a difference between Visual Poetry and Comics that would need to be resolved for in the poem the transition from line to line and stanza to stanza do not always reflect a traditional story developing as it does a progression of meaning. However in his book McCloud describes six types of transitions between panels from changes in action to scene and subject. He also explains the sixth as non-sequitur where the frames seem to have no relation to one another. However he suggests that even in pictures that display the most jarring differences there is a kind of alchemy where the mind will attempt to make relations from one to another, meaning that even if it still makes no sense it is somehow different combined than the original frames would be alone. It is in this context that poetry also resides as each line and stanza offer questions for the reader to spur the imagination so too does the gutter between the frames provide questions that spur the imagination. Thus the “time” in a Visual Poem is a progression of meaning. Non Sequitur is used extremely rarely in most comic genres as they are attempting to tell a story as in a movie. It is I find to some extent more prevalent in the visual poems I have written. The meaning of the poem providing the tie in that connects dissimilar pictures.

This poem “The World’s Most Famous Beach” is an omage to my home town. I call it my home town because while as an air force brat I was raised all over the states, it is where my family finally settled and I went to High School. If my parents had known that the high school was in walking distance of the spring break college expo they may have chosen where to settle from the service differently. Luckily for me by the time they figured it out it was too late to move. Here I have tried to set rules for the framing of the visual poem to match the rules for the words of poetry. The two stanzas that make each verse thus have two comic style blocks embedded on one frame. The pictures are dedicated to the individuals depicted in the story except for the last group of stanzas. The choruses are one picture and these are pictures of the city. The words in the verses are shown off the frame while the words of the chorus are embedded within the frame. There are similar colors and other unique elements to highlight the main characters of the poem especially as it relates to the level of detail.

I liked the concept of this poem and the pictures required a lot more work than usual. I hope you enjoy them.
Indi -


Read more...

Valenstina

Visual Poetry by Individualist

Author’s Notes:


Okay today is Valentine Day and I am authoring a website dedicated to original poetry. So I must by some unwritten law prepare and put a poem on my site in honor of Love on the feast of St. Valentine. My poem “Valenstina” is this poem. If there is one type of subject that is most noted with poetry it must be love. Some might say that this is because the emotion lends itself easily to the writing of poetry however they are not necessarily easy to write. I think it is because Love may be the strongest emotion that we experience and therefore it is very memorable and so provides inspiration. Certainly Hate can be an equally strong emotion but it is not one we like to experience. We do not dwell on hatred and for those that do the rest of us are usually either disinterested or, in the case of an obsessed individual, we are concerned with dissolving that state. Thus love wins out over hate in the circles of poetry.

This poem is a Sestina which is another French form that relies this time not on repeating lines but repeating words. It is an acrostic poetic form in which there are six stanzas of six lines and a usually a finishing tercet of three lines. Rarely the poem may end in a couplet or a haiku. This is a total of 39 or 38 lines. I have chosen to end ”Valenstina” in a haiku. The poem repeats the last word of each line in the first stanza in the remaining lines of the poem. The order of repetition follows a mathematical scheme based on the last stanza. The word in the last line is used in the end of the first line of the next stanza. Then the first line word is placed in the second line of the next stanza. The fifth line becomes the third and the second line becomes the fourth, the fourth line becomes the fifth and the third line becomes the last. Thus if we number the lines from one to six the first stanza will end (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and the next stanza will be (6,1,5,2,4,3). You will note that this means the last line word is used as the first line word of the next stanza and the six stanzas of the main poem begin and end on the same word. The six words are then repeated in the tercet in the middle and end of the lines. There are different methods in the placement of the order here. I chose a Haiku incorporating the word’s in the order of the first stanza. Here are links to websites that detail how to make a sestina:

Baymoon Press
Craft of Poetry

In honor of Valentine’s Day I chose to make every line 14 syllables long. I used a complex metrical structure in the poem. I alternate the line from eight iambic tetrameter followed by a Dactyl foot (Dum duh duh) and then an anapest foot (duh duh Dum) for a six syllable structure with stressed beats at the beginning and end. The anapest is the opposite form of the Dactyl with the stressed beats coming at the end. The poem “Twas the Night before Christmas” is a good example of this. To give the poem more variation I started with the eight iambic syllables and ended with the six bell tolling syllables in the first line and then alternated the next line with the bell tolling six syllables fist and ending with the drumbeat of the eight syllables of the iambic tetrameter. This gave a nice playful ring to the poem and allowed me to stress certain poetic connotations with the mood of the rhythm of the voice of the poem. In honor of the acrostic nature of the poem there is a hidden message.

With regard to the frames I chose to use a standardized form to the pictures to make them look somewhat like Hallmark cards with captions. To this end the picture is framed within the card and the picture itself is made to have fewer abstract elements. This seemed in line with the theme of the poem.


As with most love poems I write this one makes allusions to mythology. Here are some notes for those not familiar with the Roman mythology from which the poem references.

Bacchus (Greek Dionysus) is the God of wine and the inspirer of madness and ecstasy. To the Romans he was the patron god of agriculture, mystery cults and the theater and was responsible for freeing the mind from the normal self through madness and excess. Bacchus was also associated with the Roman god of freedom Liber. The aulos was the instrument associated with this madness and was used in these rights. The aulos was an ancient instrument like an oboe or clarinet (sometimes it was blown as a flute) and usually consisted of two pipes played at angles. The instrument was associated with madness.

Hera (Roman Juno) is the goddess of marriage and the Hearth. The apples of Hera are representations of marriage and fertility.

Faunus (Greek Pan) is the Roman god of the fields and plains and is associated with making cattle fertile. He is tied to the original god Di Indigetes who was said to be King of the Latins. He was also the god of prophecy through his shade Fatuus.

Note in the third stanza’s last line I meant to use the word widest and not wildest. Since even the word processing program tried to correct me I felt the need to point this out.

Enjoy and happy Valentine’s Day every one!


Read more...