Further Samples of Serial Poetry
Oct. 28th, 2012 12:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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poetreeThere isn't a great deal of serial poetry readily available, but I've managed to track down a reasonable sampling. Much of the material in this installment is courtesy of my partner Doug. Some of these serials involve work all from the same person, while others combine work by different people. Some of the poems have also been set to music, song lyrics counting as a type of poetry.
"Casey at the Bat" and sequels. The original poem "Casey at the Bat" was written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, featuring a popular baseball player who struck out and disappointed his whole town. Plenty of writers didn't want to leave it at that. "Casey's Revenge" by Grantland Rice was written in 1906 and pits Casey against the same pitcher in another ballgame. "Casey Bats Again" is a sequel done as Disney animation, released in 1954, in which Casey's daughters play baseball.
The Courtship Trilogy by Molly & the Tinker: "Virtue," "The Drunken Suitor," and "A Damn Peculiar Wedding." These three songs follow a relationship from beginning to completion, with just slightly bawdy Irish humor. I'll add that the songwriter is one of the most talented lyricists I know, and I highly recommend his work in general.
Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre edited by August Derleth. In particular, see the Fungi from Yuggoth series by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. This is a sonnet cycle of 36 poems written in first person, past tense, about discovering an ancient book and running afoul of horrific creatures. Lovecraft makes excellent use of the sonnet form's weight, along with vivid and ominous imagery, to create a potent impact in horror poetry.
Dreams from R'lyeh: A Sonnet Cycle by Lin Carter. This includes a sonnet cycle of 31 poems written in tribute to Lovecraft's earlier work, also in first person and past tense, with a strong milieu aspect exploring New England and other iconic locations of the Cthulhu Mythos. It's about halfway between a travelogue and a memoire as the individual poems explore places and events.
“Cycles Within Cycles: A series of Haiku poems" by David Britton. This series begins with poems relating to the four seasons, then moves through some other abstract concepts. The seasonal touch is particularly apt because nature and the seasons figure strongly in traditional haiku.
"Last Song" and sequel "Close Your Eyes" by the band Edward Bear. These songs comprise a breakup and makeup pair.
Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws by Frank Sidgwick. The Robin Hood cycle belongs to a larger conglomeration of cultural work featuring this famous outlaw. The section "A Gest of Robyn Hode" comprises eight "Fyttes." Another four poems cover Robin's interactions with individual characters. The cycle concludes with "Robin Hood's Death."
"Casey at the Bat" and sequels. The original poem "Casey at the Bat" was written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, featuring a popular baseball player who struck out and disappointed his whole town. Plenty of writers didn't want to leave it at that. "Casey's Revenge" by Grantland Rice was written in 1906 and pits Casey against the same pitcher in another ballgame. "Casey Bats Again" is a sequel done as Disney animation, released in 1954, in which Casey's daughters play baseball.
The Courtship Trilogy by Molly & the Tinker: "Virtue," "The Drunken Suitor," and "A Damn Peculiar Wedding." These three songs follow a relationship from beginning to completion, with just slightly bawdy Irish humor. I'll add that the songwriter is one of the most talented lyricists I know, and I highly recommend his work in general.
Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre edited by August Derleth. In particular, see the Fungi from Yuggoth series by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. This is a sonnet cycle of 36 poems written in first person, past tense, about discovering an ancient book and running afoul of horrific creatures. Lovecraft makes excellent use of the sonnet form's weight, along with vivid and ominous imagery, to create a potent impact in horror poetry.
Dreams from R'lyeh: A Sonnet Cycle by Lin Carter. This includes a sonnet cycle of 31 poems written in tribute to Lovecraft's earlier work, also in first person and past tense, with a strong milieu aspect exploring New England and other iconic locations of the Cthulhu Mythos. It's about halfway between a travelogue and a memoire as the individual poems explore places and events.
“Cycles Within Cycles: A series of Haiku poems" by David Britton. This series begins with poems relating to the four seasons, then moves through some other abstract concepts. The seasonal touch is particularly apt because nature and the seasons figure strongly in traditional haiku.
"Last Song" and sequel "Close Your Eyes" by the band Edward Bear. These songs comprise a breakup and makeup pair.
Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws by Frank Sidgwick. The Robin Hood cycle belongs to a larger conglomeration of cultural work featuring this famous outlaw. The section "A Gest of Robyn Hode" comprises eight "Fyttes." Another four poems cover Robin's interactions with individual characters. The cycle concludes with "Robin Hood's Death."
