[Andrew Frisardi]

The intrepid Siham Karami has a poem in the current issue of Comstock Review. I don’t have the journal, unfortunately, but Siham says about the poem at her blog that it “is written using only the letters in the title, with the additional limitation of not using any letter in a single word more times than it is used in the title, an oulipo-type poem with my own additional restrictions, which I call 'strangled alphabet.' ”

Wow. I’d try “Weedwhacking in Italy” but I know it would pale by comparison. (Editing back in to say that I forgot to mention her poem is called "Lawnmowing in America"!)

Kudos, Siham!

[Susan McLean]

Wow, I would love to read the resulting poem. I enjoy building my own hurdles, too, though I have never tried the restricted-alphabet approach. The resulting difficulty can lead to interesting results. When I use existing forms, I can get so used to dealing with their challenges that they become less challenging. There is probably a limit to how difficult one can make the process without hampering the artistry. I would hate to have a reader say "I'm amazed to see it done, but I don't enjoy the poem." I am not saying that that would be true of Siham's poem. It is true of some experiments I have seen.

Susan

[Eileen Cleary]

It's a wonderful poem Siham and some of the best news of the week.
Always happy to see you in another journal.
Congrats! Eileen

[Orwn Acra]

A very fun lipogrammatic, Oulipian poem!

[Janice D. Soderling]

I'm awed. Really awed.

[Andrew Mandelbaum]

Congrats Siham! If I am not mistaken I saw a version of that poem (here I think) a time ago and the bindings of its rules had made it quite wild and interesting to look at and read. I should like to see its final cut.

[Pedro Poitevin]

I saw this on Facebook and was really pleased for Siham! I didn't think there would be venues smart enough to appreciate good Oulipian pieces, so kudos, too, to the Comstock Review!

Pedro

[Rick Mullin]

An oligonucleotidal wave, Siham! Congrats. Great journal, too.