Every day this April, nearly 80 poets will write one poem per day by applying constrained writing techniques
sourced from the Oulipo (Ouvroir de littérature potentielle — or
“workshop of potential literature”) group to text sourced from their
daily local newspaper. This is the sixteenth of thirty prompts in the
Oulipost project.
The found poem below is in response to this prompt:
The chimera of Homeric legend – lion’s head, goat’s body, treacherous
serpent’s tail – has a less forbidding Oulipian counterpart. It is
engendered as follows. Having chosen a newspaper article or other text
for treatment, remove its nouns, verbs and adjectives. Replace the nouns
with those taken in order from a different work, the verbs with those
from a second work, the adjectives with those from a third.
How many names take you?
Confront, discover,
a pocket sized language.
You probably feel not, since
confronting these society hands
is still largely considered
a mother's scene.
REFERENCES
Gicobi, Maryanne. "Mother who quit bakery job now hauls big trucks." The Daily Nation. 16 Apr. 2014. pg 3.
"How many women have you spotted driving a 22-wheel trailer? You probably have not, since driving these road monsters is still largely considered a man's job."
NOUNS FROM:
Friday, Nancy. (1977) "My Mother, My Self" Dell Publishing Company. Chapter 1: "Mother Love"
How many names have you spotted driving a 22-wheel language? You probably have not, since driving these society hands is still largely considered a mother's scene
VERBS FROM:
Pearson, Carol S. (1986) "The Hero Within" Harper and Row Publishers.. Chapter 1: "The Hero's Journey"
How many names take you confront discover a 22-wheel language? You probably feel not, since confronting these society hands is still largely considered a mother's scene.
ADJECTIVE FROM:
Dylan, Bob (2004). "Chronicles".Simon and Schuster UK Ltd. Chapter 1: "Markin' up the score".
How many names take you confront discover a pocket sized language? You probably feel not, since confronting these society hands is still largely considered a mother's scene.
Dedication
DEDICATION
To RKS
you were my first
you could have been my last
you are my lost
And to YHWH
You are my first
You are my last
I'm no longer lost
Isaiah 61:1-3
"...beauty for ashes..."
- Mildred Achoch, 4th September, 2011
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A big thank you to David Citino and his amazing, inspirational book "Paperwork", for reminding me that poems - and poets - are worth something.
Many thanks to my namesake "Mimi" Mik for taking the time to read my crazy poems, and for giving me her invaluable feedback. You rock!
Asante sana to Murfy's Flaw for being one of the coolest and 'down-to-earthest' Kenyan rock bands! And for allowing their awesome song "In Silence" to be part of the soundtrack of this book of poems.
I salute the prolific poet Phatalvision for reading ALL my poems! By the way sir, "old school" is "gold 'n' cool" :-)
I am very thankful to my mum, dad and sister, for putting up with me all these years. I love you!
To RKS
you were my first
you could have been my last
you are my lost
And to YHWH
You are my first
You are my last
I'm no longer lost
Isaiah 61:1-3
"...beauty for ashes..."
- Mildred Achoch, 4th September, 2011
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A big thank you to David Citino and his amazing, inspirational book "Paperwork", for reminding me that poems - and poets - are worth something.
Many thanks to my namesake "Mimi" Mik for taking the time to read my crazy poems, and for giving me her invaluable feedback. You rock!
Asante sana to Murfy's Flaw for being one of the coolest and 'down-to-earthest' Kenyan rock bands! And for allowing their awesome song "In Silence" to be part of the soundtrack of this book of poems.
I salute the prolific poet Phatalvision for reading ALL my poems! By the way sir, "old school" is "gold 'n' cool" :-)
I am very thankful to my mum, dad and sister, for putting up with me all these years. I love you!
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
OULIPOST#16: A mother's scene
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Interesting how many of these make sense -- possibly only in a writer's view!
ReplyDeleteI found this prompt to be particularly interesting but alas, I had a really busy day and only had time to do one paragraph. Maybe in the future, I will do a whole book of Chimaera poems :-)
DeleteI really like this poem. That first line resonates with me for some reason.
ReplyDelete