In this Book
- Obsession: Sestinas in the Twenty-First Century
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: Dartmouth College Press
summary
The sestina (of medieval French origin) is a complex poetic form of 39 lines (six sestets and a three-line "envoy") in which the six end-words (teleutons) of the lines of the first sestet stanza are repeated in a specific order as teleutons in the five succeeding sestets. In the envoy, the six teleutons are again picked up, one of them being buried in, and one finishing, each line.
Because of the complexity of the form, the sestina fell out of favor with poets for several decades. However, a twenty-first century revival of the form is underway. This is the first anthology of sestinas that showcases both traditional and innovative examples of the form by modern and contemporary poets, award winners, and emerging writers alike. Organized by such themes as Americana; Art; Love and Sex; and Memory, Contemplation, Retrospection, and Death, the collection also includes sestinas with irregular teleutons and unconventional sestinas. An evocative introduction by Marilyn Krysl acquaints readers with the form. The volume concludes with useful indexes of first lines and teleutons, increasing access to the poems beyond the poets' names.
Because of the complexity of the form, the sestina fell out of favor with poets for several decades. However, a twenty-first century revival of the form is underway. This is the first anthology of sestinas that showcases both traditional and innovative examples of the form by modern and contemporary poets, award winners, and emerging writers alike. Organized by such themes as Americana; Art; Love and Sex; and Memory, Contemplation, Retrospection, and Death, the collection also includes sestinas with irregular teleutons and unconventional sestinas. An evocative introduction by Marilyn Krysl acquaints readers with the form. The volume concludes with useful indexes of first lines and teleutons, increasing access to the poems beyond the poets' names.
Table of Contents
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- Title Page, Copyright Page
- pp. i-vi
- Preface: I Put a Spell on You
- pp. xi-xii
- Introduction
- pp. xiii-xvi
- Americana
- All-American Sestina
- p. 11
- Brooklyn, 1941
- p. 15
- Marilyn Monroe
- p. 21
- Art
- Nature Morte
- p. 26
- The Stone Carver
- p. 28
- RVR: Work and Love
- p. 30
- Love and Sex
- No Swimming
- p. 36
- Boy Wearing a Dress
- p. 38
- Tantalizing Sestina
- p. 39
- Sestina in Red
- p. 40
- The Sleeping Beauty
- p. 41
- Chicken-Hearted
- p. 44
- The Lovers’ Sestina
- p. 48
- Quickening
- p. 49
- First Time: 1950
- p. 50
- Playing With Dolls
- p. 53
- Book of Ruth
- p. 56
- Memory, Contemplation, Retrospection, and Death
- Bilingual Sestina
- p. 59
- The Relative of Fear
- p. 60
- Sad Sestina
- p. 61
- Six-Fingered Sestina
- p. 64
- Decoration Day
- p. 66
- Towards Autumn
- p. 67
- Glowing Doors
- p. 69
- The Organ Builder
- p. 71
- It Comes in Waves
- p. 74
- A Tragedy of Flowers
- p. 75
- Ethel’s Sestina
- pp. 83-84
- The Obsession
- p. 86
- The Natural World
- Australia Dreaming
- p. 94
- Diamonds from Mud
- p. 95
- The Feast in the Barn
- pp. 96-97
- Provençal Laundry
- p. 98
- The Sounds
- p. 102
- Desert Sestina
- p. 103
- Southern Man
- p. 104
- The Front Room
- pp. 105-106
- Sestinas About Sestinas: Metasestinas
- My Confessional Sestina
- p. 109
- How to Write a Sestina
- p. 112
- Sestinas with Irregular Teleutons
- Unconventional Sestinas
- For Black Girls
- pp. 125-126
- The Photographer
- p. 127
- Prayer for the Abandoned
- pp. 128-131
- Clare’s Song
- p. 132
- Contributors
- pp. 135-142
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 143-146
- Index of First Lines
- pp. 147-148
- Index of Teleutons
- pp. 151-152
Additional Information
ISBN
9781611685305
Related ISBN(s)
9781611686371
MARC Record
OCLC
870892761
Pages
200
Launched on MUSE
2014-04-30
Language
English
Open Access
No