Thursday, April 19, 2018

B.J. Lee: The Roundel


Leonie

Welcome to the Poetry Tent!

Inside, our newest TLD Contributor is patiently awaiting her introduction—

B. J. LEE

B.J. is one of the more prolific "freelance" poets I know, with nearly 100 poems published in magazines and anthologies. What's more impressive is how wide-ranging her work is, and the fact that she chooses to write much of it using traditional poetry forms. If you haven't yet puzzled your way through poetry forms with strict rules about syllable counts, rhyme, meter, and repetition, let me tell you, it's no easy undertaking! B.J.'s craftsmanship is meticulous and exquisite. At one point we shared a poetry critique group (Poets' Garage) and I learned so much from watching her work through revisions. From the outside, it's a bit like magic.

Here at Today's Little Ditty, she's been featured in Limerick Alley and has contributed wonderful poems to Ditty of the Month Club challenges, including a roundel, poems in the style of Marlowe's "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and Yeats's "The Lake Isle of Innisfree," and many others. (Read all of her featured poems on Today's Little Ditty HERE.) She also has poems in both editions of The Best of Today's Little Ditty, and her debut picture book, There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth, arrives from Pelican Publishing next spring.

Frankly, I don't know of anyone more qualified to talk about different poetry forms than B.J., so fortunately for us, that's what her TLD contributor posts will be about.

She begins today with a look at one of her favorite forms—the roundel.


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When I first started writing children’s poetry, I used simple rhyming patterns such as ABAB and either ballad meter or a more rollicking anapestic meter. But as time went on, and I encountered poems written in different forms, I was intrigued and wanted to explore them. One of the earlier forms I fell in love with was the roundel.

The roundel consists of nine lines, each having the same number of syllables, plus a repetend (refrain) after the third line and after the last line. The repetend must be identical with the beginning of the first line: it may be a half line, and should rhyme with the second line. The roundel has three stanzas and its rhyme scheme is as follows: ABAR; BAB; ABAR, where R is the repetend. It sounds more complicated than it is!

Algernon Swinburne invented the form in the Victorian era (take a look at his poem "The Roundel" at Poetry Foundation), and Christina Rossetti and others quickly adopted it.

Here is an early roundel by Amy Levy, from A London Plane-Tree and Other Verse (1989). I’ve notated the rhyme scheme. Notice the *specialness* of the repetend!



A lovely roundel with a sparkly repetend! How did Amy do it? I was determined to find out.

I began exploring roundels, reading and writing. One of the first roundels that I ever wrote was a speculative roundel which was published in the dark children’s magazine, edited by agent Bree Ogden, called Underneath the Juniper Tree.


© 2011 B. J. Lee. All rights reserved. As published in Underneath the Juniper Tree.

































The things I saw when I was lost
and followed signs for "Devil's Claw."
I took that road at such a cost—
the things I saw!

Through forest trees I peered in awe
at witches standing in the frost,
who handled things—an ear, a paw,

then quickly, in their cauldron tossed
these objects with a birdie's craw.
I turned and fled. My eyes had crossed—
the things I saw!

          – B. J. Lee

With this roundel, I was lucky to hit upon the “aw” rhymes coupled with the “ost” rhymes, which are actually very similar in sound. Notice that the repetend is “catchy,” something I think is critical to the success of a roundel, second only in importance to the theme of your poem. The repetend must be effective. The repetend must also be a phrase that bears repeating. And, it has to end on a good rhyming word, since it is part of the B rhymes.

That brings us to the rhymes! You need five A rhymes and five B rhymes (the repetend’s last word + 4 others) for a roundel. My process is to first see if the repetend I have in mind works rhyme-wise, and if not, find an alternate repetend. Your five A rhymes and B rhymes will have to work well together. I look at rhymezone online, and try to loosely see if I can get five A rhymes and five B rhymes that might work, without any forced rhymes, for my particular theme. Once I have five A rhymes and five B rhymes that I think could work, I proceed. It may take several tries with different sets of A and B rhymes.

Sometimes a roundel does not work out at all, but usually in the process, I can salvage some kind of poem out of it so the effort is not a complete loss. And if it works out, you have a poem in a cool form—a roundel to be proud of!

I personally find the roundel to be one of the easiest of the repeating forms, which include the pantoum, villanelle, triolet, rondeau, rondel, sestina and ghazal.

Remember, a good repetend is critical to the success of your roundel. It must be:
  1. Catchy
  2. Effective 
  3. Something that bears repeating.
  4. Have four solid rhymes, with no forced rhymes.

Do you want to try it?  Ready? Set! Write a roundel!


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If you'd like to share a roundel that you've written, please feel free leave it in the comments.

Read the roundel B.J. wrote for Rebecca Davis's Kindness Poem challenge HERE.


Thank you for this "sparkly" post, B.J., and for taking on this new role at Today's Little Ditty.  You make writing roundels look easy! I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to learning about other poetry forms in future.


B.J. Lee’s debut picture book, There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth, is forthcoming from Pelican Publishing (Spring, 2019). She has written poems for many anthologies, including Construction People (ed. Lee Bennett Hopkins), The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry, National Geographic’s Poetry of US (ed. J. Patrick Lewis), One Minute Till Bedtime (ed. Kenn Nesbitt), as well as popular children’s magazines. Visit B.J. at her website.





The fun is nonstop during National Poetry Month . . .
                 and so are the giveaways at Today's Little Ditty!


Random.org has determined that the winner of a copy of With My Hands: Poems About Making Things by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson is . . .

DIANNE MORITZ

Congratulations, Dianne!



Featured on Today's Little Ditty earlier this week: H is for Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z by Sydell Rosenberg, illustrated by Sawsan Chalabi (Penny Candy Books, 2018). Don't miss the special guest post by Amy Losak and giveaway HERE.




DMC dinosaur poems have been causing quite a ruckus! Featured this week were daily ditties by David McMullin, Jessica Bigi, and Kate O'Neil. Believe it or not, our wrap-up celebration is coming up next Friday, so go ahead and add your poem to the April 2018 padlet before it's too late. One lucky participant will win a copy of Don't Ask a Dinosaur (POW! Kids, April 2018) signed by Deborah Bruss and Matt Forrest Esenwine.



In celebration of TLD's fifth birthday, I'm giving away five sets of The Best of Today's Little Ditty (Vols 1 & 2) to educators—teachers, caregivers, volunteers... anyone who shares their love of poetry with students of any age. To enter, contact me via blog comment, email, Facebook, or Twitter. I'll be compiling a list and drawing names at the end of April.


Now head on over to The Opposite of Indifference where Tabatha Yeatts is also celebrating a birthday—it's a new anthology! I'm honored and excited to have three poems in Imperfect: poems about mistakes: an anthology for middle schoolers. And wouldn't you know, she's also hosting this week's Poetry Friday roundup. Score!

62 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see B.J. Lee’s, There Was an Old Gator Who Swallowed a Moth. Sounds like swampbottom fun.

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    1. Thank you Brenda! Yes it should be swamped-bottom fun! Great turn of phrase! David Opie, the illustrator, did an amazing job! It should be out in spring 2019.

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  2. Inspiring blog post thank you B.J. and Michelle! Wonderful roundel poems and directions–I like how yours fit in the mountain too. Here's one I tried:

    THE EARTH CALLS NOW

    The earth calls now for her repair
    join in, renew, rejuvenate.
    Let’s clean the water, land and air,
    the earth calls now!

    Global warming’s progressions great,
    actions are everyone’s affair–
    Heed nature’s call don’t hesitate.

    Reduce excess, become aware,
    reuse, recycle we mustn’t wait–
    Planting trees cleans air everywhere,
    the earth calls now!

    © 2018 Michelle Kogan

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    1. Nice, Michelle, and such a sparkly repetend! :)

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    2. Yes, Michelle, very nice! The Earth told me to thank you, as well. :)

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  3. You could not have found a more perfect person to do a series on poetic forms, Michelle! And I agree that BJ's poems demonstrate exquisite craft.

    BJ, I LOVE your "Things I Saw" roundel! Creepy and cool and perfectly executed. I've written a roundel or two and they are a fun challenge indeed. Time to try another!

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    1. Awww, shucks! Thank you Renee! That's very kind!

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  4. I think I remember "Things I Saw" & it is a perfect rondel according to your own explanations, B.j. It's a wonderfully creepy poem! This is a post to save, thanks for the clear 'how-to'!

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    1. Thank you Linda! I'm glad you enjoyed it! It was certainly fun to write! I like writing the occasional creepy poem! :-)

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  5. I feel like I've been to roundel school, B.J. and Michelle. This is a form I haven't tried yet.

    B.J. -- your speculative poem is chilling and clever. What a great model for your roundel lesson.

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  6. Thank you Laura! I’m glad you like my speculative poem! It’s nice to write something spooky every now and again! Definitely giveThe roundel a try!

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  7. Thank you for having me, Michelle! It’s a joy to join Today’s Little Ditty as a contributor!You did a great job formatting this post by the way! It looks very pretty! Thank you

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    1. My presentation wouldn't mean much without the content, BJ. Thank YOU!

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  8. I have been reluctant to use strict poetic forms (they are hard!), but I'm coming to appreciate them. I am saving this post to come back to to try a roundel later. I'm definitely intrigued. I love that spooky one!

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    1. Yes, they are hard! But so worth it in the end, if you can make it work. Good luck, Kay!I hope you try one!

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  9. Thank you for the clear explanation and good examples. I've never written a roundel, but now I want to try!

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    1. You’re welcome JoAnn! Thanks for stopping by! And good luck with your roundel!:-)

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  10. What a wonderfully clear explanation of a roundel. It seemed overwhelming at first, but you broke it down beautifully to make it seem almost "do-able!" Then you added the inspiration of your creepy poem to use as a mentor! I'm enjoying dabbling more and more with poetic forms and this looks like a great one to try. I really appreciate the step by step tips! I'm going to print this out and tuck it into my notebook. Thank you!

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    1. Thank you!I’m glad you found it clear, Molly! I tried hard! I hope you do try it! :-)

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  11. Roundels sound like a fun form to play with. Thank you for the inspiration, B.J. & Michelle, and for including such wonderful examples!

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    1. You’re welcome, Catherine! And thank you for stopping by!I’m glad you found the post inspiring!

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  12. Thank you for sharing your knowledge of roundels. The poems you shared are lovely. I'm looking forward to giving this form a try.

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    1. Thank you Kimberly! I hope you give it a try!

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  13. Thank you! What a wonderful form! I'll have to try it.

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    1. Thank you Ruth! Yes, it is a wonderful form. I was drawn to it the first time I saw it. I hope you’ll share your roundelWith us!

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  14. All fascinating, Michelle. My "forms to try this summer" list has grown much longer than the summer has days. Looking forward to trying out a roundel. You had me at "Christina Rossetti." A favorite since childhood. Congrats to you and BJ! A poetry critique group sounds fabulous. Any advice on how to find one?

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    1. Hi Christie! Yes, forms to try this summer! Good for you! As far as a poetry critique group, I belong to the poets garage for many years now. That’s where Michelle and I met! It’s fairly hard to get into, since it’s very competitive, we don’t have open spots that often, and poets are clamoring to get in. That being said, you can’t get in if you don’t apply. Here is the website https://poetsgarage.wordpress.com.

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  15. BJ, the way you break it down makes a roundel seem eminently do-able! Thanks you for the poetry lesson!

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    1. Thanks Mary Lee! It is eminently doable! LOL!

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  16. BJ, you are a fantastic PLUS to TLD! Thanks for this post and thanks in advance for future gifts of poetic wisdom. Michelle, I will try to reply with a well roundelled poem. Love the form.

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  17. Thank you Damon! We look forward to seeing your well roundelled poem!😀

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  18. BJ, can't sit to give this a try. Thanks for an easy introduction!

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    1. Hi Rebekah!Will you post your rounded hereIf you do give it a try? I’m glad you enjoyed the post!

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    2. Oh dear. I should be prepping for a Monday with my kindergarten class but spring and your roundel caught me. :)

      After the Ice Storm

      Sweet Spring has sprung as seasons do
      as worn-out winter souls feel stung
      by Old Man's wish to bid adieu;
      sweet Spring has sprung.

      A mix of snow and ice he hung
      on budding trees; the awful brew
      he shared with roar in anger flung

      his last and worst but she broke through
      with warming breeze. Trees now are strung
      with song and life begins anew--
      sweet Spring has sprung.

      Copyright 2018 Rebekah Hoeft

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    3. Well done Rebekah! I love your repetend! Sweet Spring has Sprung! Indeed!

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  19. Ohhhhh, I've had a busy weekend. So, I'm catching up with PF late. But, wow! B.J. Lee, what an amazing writing lesson in this post. Thank you for the mentor poems and the description. It's everything I need to go get started on a roundel. I have been loving "the skinny" lately because there is a form with repetition. So, I think I"m going to have fun with this too.

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    1. You’re welcome Linda! Thank you for stopping by!And have fun with this form!

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  20. THANK YOU, BJ! You make the roundel look so easy. Inspired by "The Things I Saw" I quickly hopped to it. So here goes- my first roundel ever- it is still a work in progress.
    ...........................
    B U N N Y

    When I was lost, I heeded woods’ call.
    Out of nowhere, my path you crossed―
    a floppy-eared, white, wakemeupcall―
    when I was lost . . .

    Abandoned to an early frost,
    I cradled you up, shivering-still-small;
    made us a home, no thought of cost.

    Our house danced as we binkied down the hall―
    delight, joy and FUN . . . pure LOVE in-exhaust-
    able; THE GIFT that made me whole again, tall―
    When I was lost . . .

    © 2018 Cory Corrado


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    1. Thank you Cory! I’m glad you jumped right on the bandwagon And hopped right to it! :-)

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    2. Yes, Michelle. October 11,1997 to be exact.
      Both of us-lost and found.
      The Godsend I'll always treasure.

      Cory

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  21. This looks like fun! I definitely want to try a roundel. Thanks, B.J. and Michelle!

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    1. Hi Tabatha! Yes, give it a whirl! Thanks for stopping by!

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  22. I wrote a small poem yesterday while fishing, (will share it in a separate FB post) and then, thinking of the form challenge BJ offered, attempted to transform it into a roundel.
    Here's my effort.

    A Snail on My Kayak

    He was deliberately slow, his slide
    along my kayak's trim unhurried, though
    my oars in haste splashed wildly on each side.
    He was deliberately slow.

    As if he spoke to me, I ceased to row.
    I answered with surrender to a glide.
    I let the stream take over with its flow.

    My mind grew still, my heart calm, deep, and wide.
    A wonder overcame me. Now I know
    that there is wisdom in a small snail's slide.
    He was deliberately slow.

    (c) Damon Dean, 2018

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    1. Very nice Damon! That’s a good repetend – he was deliberately slow- Nice! I also like your second line ending on though. Sometimes it’s effective to use a proposition as a line ending. That’s a proposition right? :-)

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    2. Here it's a conjunction, formally... Not a preposition or proposition, though the proposition in the poem is to slow down. Which lately I've had trouble doing.

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    3. Seems to me you answered with more than a surrender to a glide, Damon. Life's wonders, observed and recorded. Well done, Sir Poet!

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    4. Damon, I love the "deliberately slow" and "wisdom in a small snail's slide." Perfect poem after a busy day!

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  23. Bj--Love this post. And I've always loved the roundel. Will post one soon. Also, really enjoyed those posted here in the comments, esp. Damon's. Way to go poets!

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  24. My roundel contribution--and a nod to aging:

    WHAT WAS MISSED (A Roundel)

    It’s gone now, whatever I’d meant
    to mention that seemed important.
    I just can’t think. What a lament!
    It’s gone now.

    I’ll not despair, nor roar, nor rant.
    I’m sure it’s not the dark descent
    to mindlessness. It’s just I can’t

    remember it. I know I went
    into that room to say . . .? I shan’t
    recall it. Damn! So I’ll relent.
    It’s gone now.

    S.

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    1. Really nice Shutta!You’ve captured that moment that we all experience so well and will probably be experiencing more frequently, right? It’s gone now, indeed!

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    2. Thanks Shutta. Love your roundel which speaks to that mindless moment, all too familiar to me.

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    3. "I’m sure it’s not the dark descent
      to mindlessness." <-- I sure hope not, or I'm in trouble. Thanks for your fun contribution, Shutta!

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    4. Great capture of such a frustrating feeling - It's gone now. Love your roundel.

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  25. So what happens when you watch the NCAA National Gymnastics Competition after Today's Little Ditty challenges you to write a dinosaur poem and a Rondell? Why your brain explodes. :-) Here's the resulting attempt. (Next time, I'm using a smaller word!)

    Dinosaurs can’t do gymnastics, shouldn’t even try.
    T-rex’s vaulting failure is embarrassingly drastic;
    each attempt to jump the horse, goes wildly awry.
    Dinosaurs can’t do gymnastics.

    Velociraptor’s floor routine was definitely spastic;
    Tumbling’s impossible, with tails that don’t comply.
    Apatosaurus’ double beams were ruled illegal tactics.

    Though Pteranodon’s big acrobatic feats imply,
    a Dino with a bars routine that’s absolutely classic.
    But as he never sticks a landing, no one can deny,
    Dinosaurs can’t do gymnastics.

    ~ Maria

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    1. Whoa. That's some serious word gymnastics, Maria! The dinosaurs appreciate that you included so many of them by name. Personally,I'm on team Velociraptor... and I don't even have a tail to get in the way. ;) Thanks for the fun read!

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  26. Maria, loved your descriptive roundel of the Gymnasticene Period... no wonder extinction followed close behind!

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