Science of the Sonnet

Yes, sonnets may seem archaic, tired, old, and so on... However, Shakespearean sonnets are pretty much what people think of when it comes to sonnets. Did you know there are other kinds of sonnets? While all of them consist of fourteen lines, there are a few variations and the sonnet, which originated in Italy, means "little song."

Your typical Shakespearean sonnet has an ending rhyme pattern of:
a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d-e-f-e-f-g-g

Petrachan (named after the poet Petrarch) has the fourteen lines divided into an octet (set of eight lines), and sestet (set of six-lines) rhymed like so:
a-b-b-a-a-b-b-a and c-d-e-c-d-e

Finally, we have the Spenserian (named after poet Edmund Spenser) who is a mix of the above:
a-b-a-b-b-c-b-c-c-d-c-d-e-e

I found this information in a book titled: The Poet's Companion by: Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Lux.

Now here is a sonnet by Shakespeare to ponder upon while you notice the format and rhyme scheme:

16.
But wherefore do not you a mightier way
Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time,
And fortify yourself in your decay
With means more blesses than my barren rhyme?
Now stand you on the top of happy hours,
And many maiden gardens yet unset
With virtuous wish would bear your living flowers,
Much liker than your painted counterfeit.
So should the lines of life that repair
Which this time's pencil or my pupil pen
Neither in inward worth nor outward fair
Can make you live yourself in eyes of men.
To give away yourself keeps yourself still;
And you must live, drawn by your own sweet
skill.

Thank you Shakespeare, and thank you all for reading. Poet Hound will not be posting on Saturday, so check back on Sunday. Have a wonderful week-end.

Small Presses

The small press is a godsend to many poets and poetry lovers. Without them we wouldn't have nearly the range of poems that we see on bookshelves or in internet stores. Small presses are basically small versions of publishing houses.
Sometimes it is run by just one person who may be stapling chapbooks together and distributing them to independent book-stores, or having chapbooks and regular books "perfect bound" and asking a distribution company to help distribute them. Some are larger and produce more than one book a year. Either way, they are heavily relied upon to spread the diversity of poets' writing throughout the world.
Some small presses are:
Marjie/IntuiT House, Wings Press, Dancing Girl Press, Beard of Bees, and Counterpath Press. The majority of this list came from a Poets & Writers magazine featuring the small press. There are hundreds more to be listed. Part of the reason I run this blog is to show people small presses to help them find poetry they may be missing in the stores, and to help small presses get their name and recognition out there. I am unable to produce the web-links for all of these at this time, I happened to get up early enough to post some of this before work started. I will, however, be able to attach Beard of Bees' press to the web links on the side of the page.
Visit the small presses and send them a wink and a smile, thanks for checking in!

Poem by Poet Hound

Kilbourn Hole

Making love to sand
sifting away in dreams,
the sweaty breath of
salt baking, left over
from oceans
long since receded.

Sweat picks up all grains
grinding against the sunburned
skin- the sun marking its territory
in the deserts of New Mexico.

Sandals slide in dust,
shoes gather grains
in the toes, the desert
spreads itself farther
into homes, houses of
musty memories.

The desert is never
as forsaken as
the romantic writers
would have you believe.

Poetry groups

For those of you brave enough to share your love of poetry whether it be reading or writing then poetry groups may be just the thing for you. You can enter those words in Google or any search engine, along with your town/city and state and see if anything crops up. You can also type in "meet-ups" and unite with other bloggers, or people in your town who share the same interest.
I joined a poetry group this past January, absolutely none of us knew each other beforehand, and it worked out very well. The only reason the group no longer exists is because every single person moved away to another state by May. I learned about new poets, how work-shops work, how long people had been trying to get published, and how to write better poems. It is one of the best chances I've ever taken. I highly recommend going if you want to share your love of poetry with other people, and especially if you enjoy writing poems.
Thanks for reading, maybe I'll see you in another meet-up.

Poetry Society Web-site

The Mother-Of-All-Resources is poetrysociety.org when it comes to listing of journals, publishers, literary organizations, and independent book-stores. They also list conferences, contests, writing programs, and children's poetry. If you can't find what you're looking for there then it may not exist.
Whether you are looking to publish, read, or discover nifty new book-stores, this is the place to go. I did notice that my favorite "indie" (independent) book-store was not listed, so I may have to talk to the people at the check-out counter about adding themselves to this web-site.
You could spend hours navigating the pages and it is well worth it.
This is one gentle giant of a resource, hope you utilize it to its maximum potential. The link is added to the web links side of the blog for you to gain easy access.
Happy Hunting, and thanks for stopping in.