Skip to main content

A Second Pym Poem

I've been thinking it would be cool to write a little sequence of poems using text from Barbara Pym's novels if for no other reason than to encourage people to read her work. Usually I don't write found poems from other published creative works--I use postcards or advertisements or other work that wasn't crafted to stick around. But I just like her work so much that I'm enjoying sharing little pieces of it in poem form.

Anyway! Here's a second little poem inspired by Jane and Prudence, this one from chapter 17.

After a Small Dinner Party

Nothing seems real, Prudence thought.
Tea under the walnut tree tomorrow

and then what? "Have you got
something nice to read?" Jane asked.

"Yes, thank you. A novel."

"And you have a book of poems
if your novelist should fail to charm or soothe."

I am drained of all emotion, Prudence thought.
"I think I'm quite ready for bed."

Labels:

Comments

Rebeka said…
I never heard of Pym's work before. I love the little poem and I like how you write from inspiration like this to "spread the word" so to speak. Your passion for reading and writing is a beautiful thing. Thanks for sharing. I will have to check her out.
December 29, 2012 at 7:10 AM
Amanda Laughtland said…
Thanks again for your comments. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on Teeny Tiny. :)
January 2, 2013 at 11:32 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medium.com as a Place to Self-Publish (Kinda)

I started writing on Medium.com in late September of 2021, so I've been writing on the platform for eight full months now. Before I started on the site as a writer, I'd seen Medium articles come up in Google searches now and then, or my students had sometimes referred to articles in their papers. And I'd seen a couple YouTube videos about how Medium pays writers for their writing. Finally I decided to give it a try when I discovered that a lot of people read and share poetry on Medium. I thought it might be a fun way to find a new audience for my work and to meet other writers who are interested in different modes of self-publishing. It's not easy to get paid for your written work as a poet, so I thought it would be interesting to explore the possibilities on Medium. Medium is sort of a hybrid situation in terms of self-publishing. When you post work there, you still own the copyright. But instead of hosting the work on your own website or sharing it in a book or zine
Post a Comment
Read more

New Zine and a Fundraiser for Kids in Foster Care

I'm excited to announce a new zine project from Teeny Tiny Press called Thank You . Using the classic Teeny Tiny format of an eight-page, single-sheet zine, Thank You collects a series of thank you notes in the form of poems and very short prose. Issue one includes work (in alphabetical order!) from Maura Alia Badji, X.P. Callahan, Del Ray Cross, Laura-Marie River Victor Nopales, BT Shaw, Eileen Tabios, and Mandy Zeller. To launch this zine, I'm doing a month-long fundraising drive (Aug 9-Sept 10) for Treehouse, a Seattle-based organization that helps kids and young adults in foster care. This is part of a larger back to school fundraising drive from Treehouse. They help kids with clothes, school supplies, books, toys, and much more. If you want a copy of the zine, donate an amount of your choice to Treehouse via https://engage.treehouseforkids.org/teenytinypress , and send me an email or instagram message with your mailing address. Then I'll send you the zine! Thank
Post a Comment
Read more

A New Issue of My Tiny Zine

Yesterday, I did the cutting-and-pasting process of laying out issue 14 of Teeny Tiny . I'd had the written content ready for a while, but I hadn't managed to finish the zine! Well, it takes a little concentration, as I like to find a nice combo of images to go along with the writing I'm publishing, and this issue contains work from seven different writers. I used a selection of bits and pieces from two vintage issues of Hit Parader magazine from the 1950s. Have you ever seen old issues of this magazine? Basically they printed the lyrics to popular songs and then also included some profiles of pop stars and maybe some articles with tips on beauty and so on. The magazines have some fun little advertisements, especially toward the back, with illustrations that are just the right size for my zine. I also used a couple of pictures cut from a book on the solar system I bought at the thrift store some time ago to use for the greeting cards I make with images of the moon
5 comments
Read more