December challenge - Endings/New Beginnings

[HoneyAdored]

......

 

[AlwaysHungry]

 

[GuiltyPleasure]

Ummmm, damn....GP, then, for An Emotional Weather Report??

Nope, sorry.

 

[Tzara]

Ummmm, damn....GP, then, for An Emotional Weather Report??

Oh, hell. I'm going to guess Angie wrote this, only 'cuz Tom Waits riffs are right up her street. You know, Jazz Avenue.

But it doesn't really seem like her.

Or does it? Gravelly voice, jazzy vocalisms, that kind of hip, NYC vibe?

Not confident about it, but I guess Ms. A.

 

[Angeline]

Oh, hell. I'm going to guess Angie wrote this, only 'cuz Tom Waits riffs are right up her street. You know, Jazz Avenue.

But it doesn't really seem like her.

Or does it? Gravelly voice, jazzy vocalisms, that kind of hip, NYC vibe?

Not confident about it, but I guess Ms. A.

Je ne l'écris pas. *Gallic shrug*

 

[Tzara]

Je ne l'écris pas. *Gallic shrug*

Well, I didn't really think so. A stretch guess, at best. But, "I do not write"?

Au contraire, vous écrivez très bien.

 

[Angeline]

Well, I didn't really think so. A stretch guess, at best. But, "I do not write"?

Au contraire, vous écrivez très bien.

(It's supposed to be "I did not write it." Two years of high school French....)

And thank you.

 

[champagne1982]

Je me n'avais pas ca ecriter.

 

[Angeline]

Je me n'avais pas ca ecriter.

Je ne sais pas qui l'a écrit.

Bonsoir mon ami.

 

[HoneyAdored]

......

 

[butters]

Contributor's List:

AlwaysHungry
Angeline
Butters
Champagne
GreenMountaineer
GuiltyPleasures
HoneyAdored
Legerdemer
Piscator
Remec
Todski
Trix
Tzara



k, without reading through everyone else's guesses, here are some of my own. when i'm done, i'll read this thread properly, likely see how wrong i've got it!

pairing one:
A - sounds like mer or a.h to me
B - oh oh, still sounds like mer or a.h
more content over voice, perhaps....

pairing two:
A - greenmountaineer - though when does he ever do 'centred'?
B - piscator, or maybe champagne playing a clever game of rewrite

pairing three:

A - AH or remec? ugh, my head aches already
B - sounds like me, isn't me... feels too feminine to be tods... doesn't feel like angie or tess ... could it be honey?


pairing four:

A - Tess? maybe champers?
B - with that level of alliteration, it's my guess i'm reading tods


pairing five:

A - with this level of technical ability, i'm thinking angie or tzara
B - no idea!


pairing six:

A - there's a dryness here that reminds me of trix but it lacks her usual passion
B - tods? unless this is trix. and i'd venture this was the 'starter' piece, A being its response.
hmmmn... or is it remec?
*sneezes all over thread* oopsie


pairing seven:

A - i was sure this was gm when i first read it, but now i'm looking in the direction of mz champagne. in other words, i'm suspicious but don't have much to go on other than gut instinct.
B - me


pairing eight:

A - trix? or honey. or champagne again.... it feels like a female writer but maybe that's sneaky content overriding perception. ok, i'll guess trix.
B - feels like teen spirit [i joke/i joke!] i'm thinking tzara, something about it.


pairing nine:

A - a strong female voice... tess (gp) or champers... maybe trix. first of the 2 pieces anyway.
B - remec?


pairing 10:

A - trix
B - another female (guesses, guesses) - mer? or honey


pairing eleven:

A - had this marked as gm - but it also tastes like champagne. my favourite poem of the whole bunch.
B - me


pairing twelve:

A - gm? hmmn, maybe tzara, or piscator? the ending still sounds gm. and the first of the two.
B - female doing a 'guy' write? mer? honey? dunno (obvious being obvious)


pairing thirteen (last one, just as well)

A - love love love this piece's opening line. it hooked me right in as a reader. who wrote it? not-a-clue.
B - it's precise, but has delicious qualities... the precision ranks with tzara's, but i'm not used to seeing this more sumptuous language in his often drier pieces. angie? mer? hmmn tess?


k, gonna post n check, see if anyone's 'fessed up and if any of my guesses match.

 

[Trixareforkids]

Butters, it was fun to watch you build your list. I came on when you were just getting started to post the list but didn't want to ruin your fun.

I was curious to see Tod's guesses and breakdowns as well but I guess he's in the weeds again.

Not sure if anyone noticed but the cheat sheet I posted had the pieces in order of original and response.

I have to say again that this was a fun challenge to be behind the scenes on. There was so much good writing done in both the original and response pieces and all of crossover of styles and voices made for difficult guessing.

Ok, so now for the reveal...


#1 Remember, Champagne
Evolution, Trix

#2 The Big Question for Those of Little Faith, Piscator
Sphere, GP

#3 When Once a scribbler, Legerdemer
Oxymoronic, GM

#4 Seasons Change, HoneyAdored
An Emotional Weather Report, Piscator

#5 Unchanging Terzanelle, Angeline
Evanescent Haikus, AH

#6 Hindsight, Trix
Visions, Champagne

#7 Untitled, Tzara
Rememories of Love..., Butters

#8 Beginnings and an Ending, GP
Polaroids, Tzara

#9 Phoenix, Remec
Phoenix Rising, Honey

#10 Untitled, Todski
On a Winter's Night, Legerdemer

#11 plot tensions, Butters
Ever After, Angeline

#12 Changing Chemistry, GM
Swapping Sciences, Remec

#13 Venral blurt, AH
Untitled, Todski

 

[AlwaysHungry]

A most interesting experiment.

 

[Trixareforkids]

And now I'm curious, actually I'm always curious but right now it's to know what everyone's biggest surprises are/were.

I'm also curious to know if any of you felt influenced by who you thought the originator of your inspiration piece was.

 

[Trixareforkids]

A most interesting experiment.

It really was. Reading the second pieces as they came in I got the feeling that people were influenced/inspired as much whom they thought wrote the original piece as by the pieces themselves. That very well could be me seeing things that aren't there, but the feeling persists even now.

 

[legerdemer]

It really was. Reading the second pieces as they came in I got the feeling that people were influenced/inspired as much whom they thought wrote the original piece as by the pieces themselves. That very well could be me seeing things that aren't there, but the feeling persists even now.

And now I'm curious, actually I'm always curious but right now it's to know what everyone's biggest surprises are/were.

I'm also curious to know if any of you felt influenced by who you thought the originator of your inspiration piece was.

Yes, I was. I was pretty sure that Tods was the writer of Untitled #10, so I did try to be true to his style and voice, but also weave my own in. I thought it was a good pairing on serendipity's part - our styles mesh pretty well, and don't clash.

When I saw Oxymoronic, I felt it must be gm, though it seemed not quite like gm as well. I like what he did, though it was definitely a departure.

I'm off shortly on a trip, so pardon the "it's all about me"-ness of this post. I'm so glad I'm getting to see the pairings' authors before leaving!! Very cool. I'll have to mull over farther surprises later on...

 

[AlwaysHungry]

And now I'm curious, actually I'm always curious but right now it's to know what everyone's biggest surprises are/were.

I'm also curious to know if any of you felt influenced by who you thought the originator of your inspiration piece was.

Honestly, I didn't have a clue. And even so, the subject matter of Angeline's poem was not an especially personal one -- the contrast between the gods, who walk on air, and the struggling humans, is one that has been a major bunny for poets throughout the centuries. It has produced some of my most favorite poems, especially this one.

 

[butters]

Butters, it was fun to watch you build your list. I came on when you were just getting started to post the list but didn't want to ruin your fun.

I was curious to see Tod's guesses and breakdowns as well but I guess he's in the weeds again.

Not sure if anyone noticed but the cheat sheet I posted had the pieces in order of original and response.

I have to say again that this was a fun challenge to be behind the scenes on. There was so much good writing done in both the original and response pieces and all of crossover of styles and voices made for difficult guessing.

Ok, so now for the reveal...


#1 Remember, Champagne
Evolution, Trix

#2 The Big Question for Those of Little Faith, Piscator
Sphere, GP

#3 When Once a scribbler, Legerdemer
Oxymoronic, GM

#4 Seasons Change, HoneyAdored
An Emotional Weather Report, Piscator

#5 Unchanging Terzanelle, Angeline
Evanescent Haikus, AH

#6 Hindsight, Trix
Visions, Champagne

#7 Untitled, Tzara
Rememories of Love..., Butters

#8 Beginnings and an Ending, GP
Polaroids, Tzara

#9 Phoenix, Remec
Phoenix Rising, Honey

#10 Untitled, Todski
On a Winter's Night, Legerdemer

#11 plot tensions, Butters
Ever After, Angeline

#12 Changing Chemistry, GM
Swapping Sciences, Remec

#13 Venral blurt, AH
Untitled, Todski

ha, got almost every one wrong

my connection's so messed up this evening, hoping to get to post this.

 

[Trixareforkids]

Honestly, I didn't have a clue. And even so, the subject matter of Angeline's poem was not an especially personal one -- the contrast between the gods, who walk on air, and the struggling humans, is one that has been a major bunny for poets throughout the centuries. It has produced some of my most favorite poems, especially this one.

Hmm, philosophy time. Forgetting for a moment that I knew who wrote it, I wouldn't say it wasn't personal. Though the theme may be universal, all calls/comparisons to or of God(s) come from a deeply personal space.

What I took from the piece was a lament of passion's end. It could have been because of death or it could have been a dwindling over time, but our voice, as poet's, is our passions. I felt it in the use of the Greek gods in the comparison; the irony of using dead gods who were all about passion, beings that had an expectation of eternal life, sitting on high, and yet, they too are now gone, their voices as transient as our own after all. To me, the piece was not really a comparison of gods and man but a comparison of ourselves that happens in our own minds as we transition between the god-like feeling of youth, full of it's quick fire passion and free of the bone deep knowledge of death, to the point where death becomes fact and passion either dwindles or is suddenly snuffed out.

I also enjoyed the irony that it is only through our transient human voices that speak across time through our writing or memorization of other voices that our image of the gods persists.

 

[Angeline]

Honestly, I didn't have a clue. And even so, the subject matter of Angeline's poem was not an especially personal one -- the contrast between the gods, who walk on air, and the struggling humans, is one that has been a major bunny for poets throughout the centuries. It has produced some of my most favorite poems, especially this one.

Hmm, philosophy time. Forgetting for a moment that I knew who wrote it, I wouldn't say it wasn't personal. Though the theme may be universal, all calls/comparisons to or of God(s) come from a deeply personal space.

What I took from the piece was a lament of passion's end. It could have been because of death or it could have been a dwindling over time, but our voice, as poet's, is our passions. I felt it in the use of the Greek gods in the comparison; the irony of using dead gods who were all about passion, beings that had an expectation of eternal life, sitting on high, and yet, they too are now gone, their voices as transient as our own after all. To me, the piece was not really a comparison of gods and man but a comparison of ourselves that happens in our own minds as we transition between the god-like feeling of youth, full of it's quick fire passion and free of the bone deep knowledge of death, to the point where death becomes fact and passion either dwindles or is suddenly snuffed out.

I also enjoyed the irony that it is only through our transient human voices that speak across time through our writing or memorization of other voices that our image of the gods persists.

Thank you both for commenting. I am appreciate of any feedback, always.

I wrote a terzanelle because the subject is so big and writing with form restrictions is easier for me when I'm struggling to wrap my head around a topic. Go figure.

I tried to find a balance between ironic and serious because I didn't want to sound pedantic and there's cosmic humor in nothing ever staying the same. Also I used to teach mythology, so those figures pop into my head easily. Anyway the ironic part is that the gods supposedly interacted with humans for their amusement. They were not really there to help man imho. We, by comparison, muddle through but it comes out the same for us and them overall.

AH I think your haiku transformed my poem into 34 precise syllables that distill my theme pretty much bang on. It's fascinating to me, here and in the other pairs, how we either find different ways to say the same things or produce poems that are like two sides of the same coin.

There is so much more to consider in the poems this challenge produced. I'll be back to look at more pairs soon.

 

[Trixareforkids]

I tried to find a balance between ironic and serious because I didn't want to sound pedantic and there's cosmic humor in nothing ever staying the same. Also I used to teach mythology, so those figures pop into my head easily. Anyway the ironic part is that the gods supposedly interacted with humans for their amusement. They were not really there to help man imho. We, by comparison, muddle through but it comes out the same for us and them overall.

I never studied Greek mythology, but I enjoyed reading it and used to read it aloud to my cousin's boy who hated to nap. The little guy would listen so attentively for 10-15 minutes and then just fall out, lol. I wonder what crazy things he dreamed.

It'd be a good time to sit around sipping spiked sweet tea and chatting about both the philosophical and nonsense with you while Jazz played in the background.

 

[AlwaysHungry]

I wrote a terzanelle because the subject is so big and writing with form restrictions is easier for me when I'm struggling to wrap my head around a topic. Go figure.

It's exactly the same for me. A sonnet practically writes itself; free verse is a challenge because what I write always sounds trivial and prosaic at first.

 

[Angeline]

I never studied Greek mythology, but I enjoyed reading it and used to read it aloud to my cousin's boy who hated to nap. The little guy would listen so attentively for 10-15 minutes and then just fall out, lol. I wonder what crazy things he dreamed.

It'd be a good time to sit around sipping spiked sweet tea and chatting about both the philosophical and nonsense with you while Jazz played in the background.

I taught it (as part of the language arts curriculum) to seventh and eighth graders. Sometimes I wished they'd just fall asleep lol.

I think we're kindred spirits.

 

[Trixareforkids]

I taught it (as part of the language arts curriculum) to seventh and eighth graders. Sometimes I wished they'd just fall asleep lol.

I think we're kindred spirits.

LOL, guess your voice was too compelling.

And me too

 

[Angeline]

It's exactly the same for me. A sonnet practically writes itself; free verse is a challenge because what I write always sounds trivial and prosaic at first.

When I'm writing a first draft, especially, my mantra is "don't judge." I have to keep telling myself that or I'd throw out three-quarters of what I write. Doesn't even matter if it's form or free verse: I have to constantly remind myself that I can go back and fix stuff.