Day Two, Tupelo Press 30/30 Project, August 2016

Posted on by

banjo

My poem “While Listening to Fleck, Hussain and Meyer, I Consider Children’s Book Titles, Hops and the Ongoing Search for Meaning” has been posted among today’s offerings of the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project (8 poets have agreed to write 30 poems apiece in 30 days, to raise funds for Tupelo Press, a non-profit literary publisher). Many thanks to the wildly talented Stephanie L. Harper, who sponsored this piece and coerced me to use the words “monstrous glisson glop” in the body of the poem. I admit that she did not force me to use the form, but somehow it seemed necessary…

While Listening to Fleck, Hussain and Meyer,
I Consider Children’s Book Titles,
Hops and the Ongoing Search for Meaning

If we unravel the threads, removing
context, by what means do we regain it?
You say monstrous glisson glop, behooving
me to counter with a Williamette…

Click here to see the rest of the poem.

Tomorrow’s poem, “Doing the Dishes in High Heels,” was sponsored by Pleasant Street. I may have taken this one in a slightly different direction. Maybe not.

While title sponsorships are steadily dwindling, plenty of 3-word sponsorships remain. And remember, you can combine sponsorships to force me to use not only your title (can anyone challenge last year’s co-winners of Worst Title in the History of the 30/30 Project, Ron, Plain Jane and Mek?)* but also three words that I’d likely not use on my own.

The  sponsored poems are a blast to write, and the titles lead me to poems I’d not otherwise conceive. If you’re inclined to sponsor a poem, Donate to Tupelo, and please let me know as soon as possible what your title is or which three words you’ve foisted upon me..

For information on sponsorships (and my other incentives), click here.

Thank you for your support! Only 28 poems to go!

* The titles are, respectively, “Calvin Coolidge: Live or Memorex,” “Your Armpits Smell Like Heaven,” and “Reduce Heat and Simmer Gently Without Cloud Cover, Till Sundown. Serves 2 – 7 Billion.” “Nose-Picking Reese’s Hider” is definitely a strong contender for this honor.

14 thoughts on “Day Two, Tupelo Press 30/30 Project, August 2016”

  1. I enjoyed this, great fun-
    As for tomorrow’s, I have 2 ideas of where it could go. Which means, if I know you a little, you will take the third
    ^_^

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  2. You have some fine company, this project, in your fellow poets.

    re:your poem (the title of which would take many precious seconds to enter here 😉 )…
    Details, as questioned at the end, are critical to a poet – whether spelled out or implied.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

  3. Sir Robert, I am as honored by your creative process — your full-on attempt to grapple for insight in the best ways you know how (which gives this poem your unique signature!) — as I am by the product, and a sonnet no less!
    Anyway, I wouldn’t have guessed that you did this from the fly (only figured it out from your comment that you hadn’t yet received the book!), because at its depths, the story IS about (spiritual/existential) enlightenment (light and darkness are the overarching metaphors) and securing meaning for oneself — which is something I know you strive to do both in how you write and how you live…which is not in the least prosaic, ordinary, or formulaic (love the irony in your choice to employ form, btw) — certainly no more so than the ways in which I fit those billings! — and is why I appreciate you so much!
    Congratulations on this triumph! I knew you’d do my idea justice, and more! ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.