poetry friday roundup is here

~ jama
Please help yourself to tea, pumpkin whoopee pies and a shortbread scottie.

Welcome to Poetry Friday at Alphabet Soup!

Some of you may remember when I shared, “What Not to Write on the Back Jacket of Your Debut Collection,” from Scottish poet Helena Nelson’s delightful book, Down with Poetry! (HappenStance, 2016). Well, here are two more ‘unsuitable,’ rabble-rousing, anti-poetry rib ticklers designed to keep any literary snobs in check. Yes, poetry is SERIOUS BUSINESS. But that also makes it the perfect subject for serious satire, and Nelson is so good at it.

See if these don’t give you a good lift. 😀

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“Gray Bra” by Nathalia Chipilova (2013).
MRS N ENTERS THE LITERARY WORLD

I know it's hard to believe me when I say
(watch my lips)
I once found it hard to get my poems published.
I used to get--Rejection Slips.

In those days the little magazines
--sole recipients of my writing--
clearly needed waking-up--
their editors were uninviting.

As time went by I grew more bold--
no doubt I was inspired by The Muse.
I won elevation by a device
which happily transformed their views.

The purchase of a Wonderbra
which I wore to a poetry slam in Fife
at the cost of £19.99
was the single thrust that changed my life.

I took two poems, short and sweet
and pinned one neatly to each cup
and then I raised my cleavage up,
dangling the poems in mid-air,
suspended like Parnassus where
my readers (those abreast) could stare.

And thus it was a genre started,
my coup de bra, my magnum opus
shared by my sisters (try and stop us.)
The world of Arts Review and Crit
refers to us--we're not part of it--
with quiet reverence as--Lit Tit.

~ Copyright © 2016 Helena Nelson. All rights reserved.

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Rotraut Suzanne Berner (Book Seasons, 2013).
POETRY FORUM

What is poetry for? (Maitreyabhandu)

It’s for weddings
and funerals
and reading on the train
and for taking a person out of herself
and bringing her back more sane.

It’s for children
and lunatics
and chimney-sweeps and punks
It’s for teachers
and preachers
and politicians and drunks.

It’s for dinner
and afternoon tea
and marvellous midnight snacks.
It’s for cravings
and ravings
and low-poetry attacks.

It’s for four o’clock
for four of us
and for five o’clock
for five.
It’s for fortitude
and forums
for formalists to survive.

It’s for all we know intelligent
and rarely less than clever.
You can get some
for nothing
and remember it
forever.

~ Copyright © 2016 Helena Nelson. All rights reserved.

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Now that you have been suitably elevated, please leave your links with the dashing Mr. Linky. He welcomes reviews, original poems, poems by others, and all manner of poetic musings. Rumor has it that he also appreciates a fancy tassel or two now and again. 😀

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Enjoy all the offerings. Thanks so much for joining us this week!

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🎉 BOOK GIVEAWAY WINNER! 🎈

We are pleased to announce that the lucky winner of a brand new copy of HOW THE SEA CAME TO BE: And All the Creatures In It by Jennifer Berne and Amanda Hall is:

🎺🎺 *trumpet fanfare* 🎺 🎺

🥁 🥁 🥁*drumroll please** 🥁 🥁 🥁

🌹 ROBYN HOOD BLACK!! 🌺

Congratulations, Robyn!!

👏👏 👏 👏 👏

Thanks to everyone who entered. Enjoyed all your great comments! xo

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“You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas. I am strong, when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up, to more than I can be.” ~ Brendan Graham.

*Copyright © 2023 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

37 thoughts on “poetry friday roundup is here”

  1. Ah thanks for all these smiles Jama! 🥰 🥳 Helena Nelson is definitely part of Lit, I’ll have to look for her book(s). And wow what a spread… pumpkin whoopee pies and tea, yum! I love the bra art at the top–this reminded me of an art piece I made many moons ago of a soft-sculpture tea set made out of bras, I hope you are smiling. I wish I had a pic of it but alas I was a wee undergrad and didn’t always document all back then…

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Ha! I never thought of pinning poems to a bra–how smart…and funny! Thanks so much for hosting Poetry Friday this week. I’m in with some double dactyls after being inspired by Tracy KJ.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Thanks for the intro to Helena Nelson and her light-hearted fun! I especially like these lines about the purpose of poetry: “and for taking a person out of herself/and bringing her back more sane.” Thanks for hosting this week!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Jama, your post is quite humorous (and a little racier than I expected from Paddington Bear)! I laughed several times. Thank you for hosting and for the chuckles.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Ha! I must have missed your post about Helena Nelson before, so I’m delighted to indulge in these offerings here. And, Scotland! Fife! I’m doubly-hooked, like a bra, maybe… Also, I’m with Anastasia and Molly about that “and for taking a person out of herself/and bringing her back more sane” line.
    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the fantastic news about HOW THE SEA CAME TO BE – can’t wait to have my own copy!
    (Also, thanks for the, um, observation? warning? about Mr. Linky….) ;0)

    Liked by 1 person

  7. I love the irreverent, tongue in cheek position Helena Nelson adopts in her first poem. It has a sassy quality to it. The second poem poses a perenial question regarding poetry and provides an all encompassing response. Two well chosen poems, Jama. I enjoyed them very much Thank you for hosting and posting.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Oh, Jama, after a long work day, you’ve brought joy from Helena’s words. They’re especially uplifting (bad joke, I know, but. . .) I love all the things poetry is for and that dear reading couple. Thanks, Jama, for hosting. I do hope Mr. Linky will forgive me since I’m all out of tassels! : )

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. Jama, thanks for hosting today. I appreciate meeting Helena Nelson here today. I love the “What is Poetry For?” poem. “You can get some / for nothing / and remember it / forever.” Amen! What a gift.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Amusing AND uplifting, Jama! Who could ask for more? Haha. I love it! Thanks for hosting today, and enjoy those pumpkin goodies! Yum.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. I needed a dose of this irreverent but spot on humorous poetry. I echo the praise of Nelson’s lines, “and for taking a person out of herself
    and bringing her back more sane.” – that’s what both these poems did!
    Thank you for the smile and for hosting, Jama! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I laughed out loud! Thank you, Jama, for such delights. Now I have a weekend plan: purchase Helena Nelson’s book and make pumpkin whoopie pies. Both will happen. Thank you for hosting and for starting my day with this joy and sweetness. xo

    Liked by 1 person

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  23. Jama, many thanks for hosting with such a beautiful arrangement of fall treats, both edible and poetic. I loved the opening image that made me imagine what is its purpose. As I read the poem, a huge smile formed. The gift of satire is welcomed in this laugh-out-loud post. I am working on my post now. It should be arriving soon.

    Liked by 1 person

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