Teeny Tiny Press by Amanda Laughtland

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."

When I read Barbara Pym's novels, I feel sad that she isn't alive to write more of them and that I'll one day run out of new-to-me Barbara Pym novels to read. There's something about her writing that captures the feelings and thoughts of someone who feels just a little outside of the mainstream, someone who can't help but notice the odd bits and pieces of life. (The above image is from the Barbara Pym Society home page.) Right now I'm reading her novel about two friends, Jane and Prudence , and enjoying it very much. Here's a tiny found poem I put together from just a handful of sentences from the first page of chapter one of that book. Reminiscences In excited little bursts-- "Ah, these delphiniums," sighed Jane. "And to think that we didn't appreciate wine," said Prudence. They walked on without speaking, their silence a brief tribute to their lost youth.