Penny J. Johnson's Blog, page 5

Poetic Form: Free Verse

Free verse is a literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm, and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such poems are without rhythm and rhyme schemes, do not follow regular rhyme scheme rules, yet still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his own shape […]

Jaunt

Poem of the Week: Marianne Moore’s “Poetry”

Omissions are not accidents. Marianne Moore One of the most controversial discussions about Marianne Moore is her Complete Poems and specifically her poem titled “Poetry.” Published in 1967, this collection seemed anything but complete to those who had admired her work since it was first published in 1921. (It could […]

Poet of the Week: Marianne Moore

One of American literature’s foremost poets, Marianne Moore’s poetry is characterized by linguistic precision, keen and probing descriptions, and acute observations of people, places, animals, and art. From Marianne Moore’s biography by Poetry Foundation When considering Marianne Moore as a person and a poet we need to focus on the […]

Practicing Poetry Themes: Gone Fishing

Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry included fish more than once in “The Fish” and “At the Fishhouses.” My poetry also reflects my experience with fish and fishing as seen in the below example.

Poetic Form: Sestina

I was going to focus on Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” as an example of a villanelle. But, since I have been working on a sestina, I decided to read Bishop’s “Sestina” for some encouragement. A sestina is a challenging, yet worthwhile form. I have written and published one that is, […]

Inky

Join me each Wednesday for this virtual reading experience as I read a selection from Redefined: A Year of Poetry. By the end of the year, I will have read 52 of the 366 poems contained in this collection. I encourage you to subscribe to this blog in order to […]

Poem of the Week: Elizabeth Bishop’s “At the Fishhouses”

I feel a particular kinship with Elizabeth Bishop’s “At the Fishhouses.” The fishing in Nova Scotia and Massachusetts are different from fishing in Minnesota, but some images are similar. There are other lines within this poem that resonate with me and give me more understanding of Bishop as a poet […]

Poet of the Week: Elizabeth Bishop

Some poets feel like kindred spirits as soon as we read their work. Some take longer to get to know. We need to get to know them beyond their written word because they reveal more about the world around them than about themselves. At times, we may need to go […]

New and Occasional Additions

Throughout the month of April, I shared insights about poets, poems, quotations, poetic forms, and my own poetry practice based on these themes. I decided that I enjoy what I am learning about the poets I am studying. Learning new things–even about topics I already know in depth–excites me and […]