[Maryann Corbett]

Mr. Cantor's villanelle on plaid sneakers, featured on the Web site of The Dark Horse this week.

The Sphere saw it first, folks. Congrats, Michael.

[W.F. Lantry]

Very cool, Michael!

[Julie Steiner]

High top indeed, Michael!

And even more fun is reading Gerry Cambridge's defensiveness about being caught praising a villanelle. I didn't want to like it; I must confess that I did like it, because it's exceptionally clever; but let's not get carried away here.

[Michael Cantor]

Thanks, Maryann. I had no idea. And thanks, Gerry for the choice.

Where are those comments, Julie? I can't find them. (I remember that Gerry's attitude was similar when he accepted the poem - all right, just this once...but don't think this means you can get away with it again...)

[Tim Murphy]

I remember laughing out loud at this outrage when Michael posted it at The End, although I am entirely WITH Gerry on the subject of villanelles. Brilliant poem.

[wendy v]

Nice one, Michael. And great curmudgeo-comments from Gerry Campbridge. My Favorite Rejection Ever came from him. He said something like: I won’t be taking any of these, though as consolation I’d like you to know I hate your poems a little less than most of the poems I see ...

[Duncan Gillies MacLaurin]

Yes, this villain-elle redeems the form.

Duncan

[Jean L. Kreiling]

Michael--

I remember seeing and admiring this one, and I'm so glad it's going to be seen by so many. Congratulations!

Best,
Jean

[Tim Murphy]

That's a GREAT rejection letter, Wendy. I hope you added it to the paper supply in your outhouse in Grand Junction. Macambrose's loss, Wiman's gain.

[Ed Shacklee]

Originally Posted by Michael Cantor

Thanks, Maryann. I had no idea. And thanks, Gerry for the choice.

Where are those comments, Julie? I can't find them. (I remember that Gerry's attitude was similar when he accepted the poem - all right, just this once...but don't think this means you can get away with it again...)

http://www.thedarkhorsemagazine.com/poemoftheweek.html --

"Any editor of a poetry journal is deluged with poems in repeating forms such as sestinas and villanelles. I only like a small number of villanelles, even by famous poets (I am not entirely sure about Dylan Thomas’s much vaunted example of this form, though I can understand its appeal). Michael Cantor’s sprightly use of the form as a satirical monologue on contemporary consumerism, combined with his barbed use of French as a shorthand in some quarters for elegance, is an exception. While one would not make overblown claims for this poem, it is wry, formally nimble and with a serious point at its centre. The note of culpability in the switch to the first person in the poem’s closing line is a fine touch."

—Gerry Cambridge


Resistance is futile.