The Brain has Grown and Folded: All in the Mind

Hi, it’s Stephen Wolfing, science correspondent at the Greenygrey. Greenygrey in the human world was totally separate from the Folding Mirror poetry form when the two concepts emerged five years ago. However, through research and new discoveries the two fields have converged over the last half-decade.

Mind Is Not Brain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the natural world and human architecture there are many examples of greenygrey folding mirrors, such as horizons and reflections.

Greenygrey All in the Mind

The Greenygrey in the human mind is most easily defined as a kind of bipolar schizophrenia: the division of the mind into at least two separate parts; more vertical than horizontal.

Meanwhile, the Folding Mirror poetry form divides two halves of poetry with a middle line: more horizontal than vertical.

The Greenygrey concept has therefore provided a lot of conceptual material for Folding Mirror poems.

Physical Evidence of Folding Brain Folds to Fit Skull

While the Greenygrey is only a concept when it comes to the human brain, the actual physical matter is called Gyri (ridges) and Sulci (crevices), and it has folded itself to fit into our skulls.

Apparently, if the brain was unwrapped it would be the size of a pillowcase.

Gyrisulci doesn’t seem that far off the Greenygrey to me!

Marc Latham drew this self-portrait of what he suspected to be an ADHD mind around about the conception time of the Greenygrey and Folding Mirror poetry form:

New Poem has Guillotine Topic and Structure

Marc Latham’s latest Folding Mirror poem is the first of a new era: the first after the last 121 have been included in his new collection, which is nearing completion. After completing the Table of Contents chapter list Marc discovered he did in fact have 122 poems, so one old small one was included as an extra reflection, as he thought the caterpillar-butterfly metamorphosis extra one should be included. Anyway, more about that soon, and here’s the first FM poem of a new era. Out with the old, and in with the new; hey, that could be another FM poem…

P.S. Sorry if the subject matter of this poem is a bit grisly, and it should be read in a light-hearted (not headed) way. It is also shaped guillotinishly, so is presented from the left, rather than the usual centred.

Road to the Guillotine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Basket Case

Sun
King
Madam
Guillotine
smiles sharp
blade gleams
steel promises
plummet scream

neck tingles, kiss cuts

closing thoughts
head spinning
losing mind
looking up
Goodbye
M’lord
Kiss
Sin

Guillotine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk)

Front Row Lit Interview and Book Update

Marc Latham has an interview on Front Row Lit, where he talks about his poetry and writing influences and inspirations, and plans for a new Folding Mirrors poetry book. And he followed it up on the Greenygrey website with the following update:

‘… shaping up with my next project: 242 Folding Mirror Poems and Reflections.

I thought I had 122 (one spare) unpublished Folding Mirror poems until recently, but then noticed I’d included one of somebody else’s poems, and one of mine twice! So, I’ve got one more to create, but have a couple of ideas, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

After copying all the poems into a word document I mirrored them with reflections, which are a mixture of old and new thoughts and poems. I am now sorting them into chapter categories such as psychological, social, cultural, travel, nature, folklore and fiction, literary and space. It’s quite boring and tedious work, but necessary. It also makes me absorb the poems, which should be helpful in understanding what topics I’ve focused on, as I haven’t really read them since their creation. Hopefully it won’t take too long to complete the book.’

http://frontrowlit.com/?p=2378
http://www.greenygrey.co.uk/blog/?p=4394

Small Bird Poem Provided by the Werewolf of Oz

Image via Wikipedia

Thanks for all your visits this week. Our sister blog, the Werewolf of Oz, is nearing its conclusion now, after two years of virtual travelling across Australia by google maps to the Wizard of Oz theme, so that has been taking precedence lately.

There’ll be another Folding Mirror especially written for this blog on Monday, but in the meantime, I just noticed that a poem on the WoO blog mirrors, so I thought I’d include it below.

The 70 poems in the WoO story are written in the literary nonsense style pioneered by Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll, looking at things from the opposite or upside down view, so fit in with the reverse mirror theme of the Folding Mirror form, although most don’t mirror structurally.

The following little poem was inspired by a place called Mollymook in Australia, with Molly Mook becoming the crow landlady of the Rowdy Rook. Here it is:

I said we were doing well,
but the offer sounded as swell

as the wave just approaching,

so how faraway is the Rook
as the crow flies, Molly Mook.

http://australiatraveller.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/molly-mooks-rowdy-rook-in-ulladulla/

Caroline Gill writes about Poetry Forms

As previously mentioned on this site, the Folding Mirror poetry form was included in the new Book of Forms, edited by Lewis Turco. One of the examples of an FM poem included in the book was by Caroline Gill, who has also provided a lot of expert advice and support for the establishment of the form and this site. Caroline recently blogged about the book on her Caroline at Coastcard site, and an extract is copied below with her permission.

Caroline Gill
Publication Pointer (2): The Book of Forms (4th edition) by Lewis Putnam Turco

Professor Lewis Turco’s work, The Book of Forms, is now available in its 4th Edition, published by the University Press of New England. This new ‘revised and expanded edition’ has as its subtitle, A Handbook of Poetics Including Odd and Invented Forms. 

A copy of the third edition (published in 2000) has long been my constant poetry companion. I have learned so much about what Professor Turco calls ‘the elements of poetry’, comprising ‘levels of language usage’. I have been fascinated by the plethora of covered forms, from one lineadonics to 210 lined sonnets redoubled.

The latest edition contains all these features plus added extras in the guise of ‘odd and invented forms’. If I home in on British contributions for a moment, you will find a description of Dr Marc Latham’s Folding Mirror Poetry, with an example by Claire Knight and a second one by yours truly.

Lewis Putnam Turco is an emeritus professor of English. He was the founding director of the Cleveland State University Poetry Center and of the Department of Creative Writing at the State University of New York College at Oswega. The new edition, with sample poems by established names like Robert Frost and newer names like Greg Pincus, can be purchased from UPNE: the details can be found here. You can read the reviews on Amazon here.

In drawing these thoughts to a close, I would also wish to express my thanks to those who create these new forms for us to enjoy. For after all …

“It can be argued that to invent a verse-form which becomes immortal,
living on in the works of future poets and in other languages,
is one of the greatest achievements possible for a poet …”  

Martin Lyon, ‘Acumen‘, issue 71 (Sept 2011), p.71 

http://carolinegillpoetry.blogspot.com/2012/01/publication-pointer-2-book-of-forms-4th.html

Folding Mirror Poets Featured on New Poem Forms Image

FMPoetry is proud to see two poets who have created Folding Mirror poems alongside many famous poets in an image on Lewis Turco’s Odd and Invented Forms blog. Caroline Gill and Claire Knight had Folding Mirror poems accepted for the new book of Odd and Invented Forms as examples of the Folding Mirror form.

Both poems were first featured on this site. Caroline Gill’s accepted poem was Thalatta, Thalatta; Claire Knight’s was Hourglass of Time. Thanks again to Lewis, Caroline and Claire for their creativity and time.

Here’s the image that appears on the Odd and Invented forms blog. Viewing it as a clock face, Caroline Gill is at about 5 o’ clock and Claire Knight is at about 9 o’ clock:

Poems on this Site (195) and New Poetry Books

Hi, I just updated the poems on this site list, and it now stands at 195.

New Book by KJP Garcia

Several of the new entries were by KJP Garcia, who has now released a book of poetry.  More details at the kjpgarcia site.

New Book by Lewis Turco

Lewis Turco has also had a new book of poetry forms published, and includes the Folding Mirror form in it.  More details at the Lewis Turco poetry site.

Happy Holidays

Thanks to everybody who has supported this site through contributing or reading in 2011 and I hope you have a great holiday season.

Marc Latham’s central site is the Greenygrey (http://www.greenygrey.co.uk)

Poem about Future Wars same as the Past

Image via Wikipedia

Today we have another powerful Folding Mirror poem by KJP Garcia, and thanks again to KJP for creating and sharing them on the above blog and here.  This was first published in the Straight to Screen section of the above blog.

by KJP Garcia:

the news told new

stories of future alien

civilizations’

secrets

the grandchildren denied the beginning of the settlements

played

war

and wrinkled their clothes

as next show began

New Poem of Life, City and Season from KJP Garcia

Image by Guillaume Capron via Flickr

Today we have an impressive and intriguing Folding Mirror poem from a new FM poet: KJP Garcia.  The poem was first published in the Straight to Screen section of Kenyatta’s website, and there have been a couple more since, which will hopefully also appear here soon.  But if you want to read them now, please head over to KJP’s website from the above link.  Here’s the poem, enjoy!

it was july

out for summer

the smells took seat in hair, skin

as the wandering began

past yesterday’s rain, junk

heading down to

*

main street

*

winding up on

this block – this place

empty glasses – full seats

another round, before the leaves turn

back to classroom echoes

and their fall.