Letter Letter (From an Admirer)
Letter Letter (From an Admirer)
Hey “A”–
You make
my day–“O” there’s “B”–where would we be
without “B”?–But “B”
and “C” (for all its mimicry of “S” and “K”) are just not
“U”.
Nor you.
My aching, awkward “A.”
My ass-backwards Affecter
of Able, my Aper of Avant-Garde Angst, my
‘ap’azard Artiste, ah-singing Ariator, Applauder at my ambling Audition (my sainted
Aunt), Alibi
for the Awful, Aviator of Away, Aspirant to
Amour, my Angle
on just about All of it, my Atoms of
Adam and also you-know-who, and, mon
Ami (so much more Article than
indefinite), the Apple, always Apple,
of my Aye–
******************
Here’s a very draftish poem which I am posting from my apple iPhone as still without wifi (agh!) for Kerry O’Connor’s With Real Toads Prompt to write an “open letter”. I wrote mine to a letter. I don’t know that A is my favorite letter but it’s a good one.
Tags: A is for Avant-garde Aper, Letter Letter (From an Admirer), manicddaily, Open Letter to a Letter, poem about A, What we forget about when we talk about A
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ManicDDaily 
February 28, 2013 at 2:19 am
(Thought I posted this already…)
Speaking of Avant-Garde Angst, have you read Louis Zukofsky?
February 28, 2013 at 7:12 am
You know I’d heard of him but never really investigated. I’m still on phone so investigating facility is a bit limited but thanks so much! I just saw that there’s a whole book “a.”. Can’t get poems opened but will do. Thank you so much,David.
March 1, 2013 at 9:04 pm
Not just a whole book, but essentially the man’s whole life’s work. (There is a small volume, All, of shorter earlier verse, hence “essentially.” And one very experimental poem that I know of that postdates the magnum opus.)
My I share a it-left-a-sour-taste-in-my-mouth story? In college I took a Pound-Eliot-Williams course. That semester Yale hosted a highly relevant conference celebrating some Pound anniversary, and it was suggested we student attend. Which I did. And there I learned the name Zukofsky from Guy Davenport. (It would have excited me that he was the father of violinist Paul Zukofsky, in that day the primary exponent of avant-garde violin music.) When time came to write a term paper for the course, I read _A_ and tried to make what sense of it I could. Well the graduate assistant who graded my term paper explained in writing that he had down-graded me right off the top because I had chosen to write on a poet of insufficient importance!
March 1, 2013 at 9:12 pm
Terrible! So stupid! Those grad students!
I’m sorry. I’ve still just been on phone– and right this minute am on a train–but am getting Internet back! Will investigate him more. Thanks so much, David. And for sharing the story.
February 28, 2013 at 6:46 am
Thank you, thank you very much for taking me along on that fine ride. The way you combined the letters was similar to the way a choreographer prepares his or her dancers: with grace and attitude. 🙂
Greetings from London.
February 28, 2013 at 8:11 am
Cracking UP here. This is clever and delightful to read.
February 28, 2013 at 9:04 am
… {A}nd it’s where everything begins! A refreshing letter that ‘A’ .. not like the boring D – doe a deer a female dear.
February 28, 2013 at 9:16 am
Letter to a letter – that’s such a clever concept!
February 28, 2013 at 9:34 am
Thanks. I wasn’t in a position to carry it out so well but will consider further. K.
February 28, 2013 at 9:34 am
Ha, I love all of it, bit nothing more than the ending. All very clever and entertaining.
February 28, 2013 at 10:13 am
This had me laughing, which isn’t easy first thing in the “A” M–very enjoyable and creative response, K. You are the August Avatar of Accomplishment here.
February 28, 2013 at 10:22 am
perfect poetry for everyone a ok
February 28, 2013 at 1:30 pm
I love the way you twist prompts… this is great wordplay and what a tribute to the letter A. Brilliant.
February 28, 2013 at 1:40 pm
A very creative Approach to the prompt! A-OK! 🙂
February 28, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Hilarious! You created an original perspective and response to the prompt. That alone deserves kudos. And then you totally entertain me… Brava!
February 28, 2013 at 3:16 pm
This was a fun read!! Thank you!
February 28, 2013 at 4:34 pm
chipper, clever, crafty. I smiled the whole way through
and wondered if you’d continue with the rest of the alphabet…
I enjoy your voice and tone, your almost educational rhythm, and your entirely bearable lightness of subject. ~jane
February 28, 2013 at 7:26 pm
clever! I love the shape !
February 28, 2013 at 10:37 pm
So very clever!
February 28, 2013 at 10:48 pm
haha this is awesome k…love your play with words…all the alliteration with the letter A…my fav was…mon
Ami (so much more Article than
indefinite)…and apple of my aye…smiles…
March 1, 2013 at 2:27 am
Love this…how creative to write a letter to a letter….
March 1, 2013 at 6:02 pm
Wow, that was startling good. Almost like it demands the whole series of alphabet poems of a similar style over the next 2 years!
March 6, 2013 at 4:54 pm
As Always A+…
March 6, 2013 at 5:03 pm
Ha. Thanks so much, Linda. k.
February 22, 2015 at 9:55 pm
[…] to Kerry’s challenge to write an open letter. I realized on reviewing this that I’d written a letter to the letter “A” on the first go-round, so thought I’d try “B” this […]