The Barefoot MuseA Journal Of Formal & Metrical Verse |
Issue #3, Summer 2006About the artist, Erin McGeeLatest NewsArchivesGuidelinesLinksDreaming in Iambic Pentameter
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EditorialIt is my great pleasure to welcome you to the third issue of The Barefoot Muse, our first ever special issue, dedicated to the sestina. I'm honored to have persuaded (okay, I begged) Denise Duhamel to allow me to reprint her superb double sestina "Incest Taboo." In addition to that we have a serious sestina "Refractory of Rain" by Leland Jamieson, a light verse sestina "How to Write a Sestina" by Edmund Conti, a review of James Cummins' book of sestinas The Whole Truth and a tongue in cheek step by step Guide to Sestina Writing from your intrepid editor. I'm delighted to see the return of previous contributors Bruce Niedt and Carol Taylor, as well as to be publishing many others on this site for the first time, including Ian Devine's thought-provoking essay on the importance of form in translation. Also available for the first time in this issue are .wav files of some of our contributors reading their poems:
Artwork for this issue was provided by Erin McGee, a local New Jersey artist whose work is set to make waves in the future. Do visit Erin's website and leaf through her wonderful online portfolio. I have tweaked the layout of the zine so it will hopefully prove easier to navigate, and I've also added several new features. The Latest News section will feature items from the formal poetry frontline, and will be updated between issues, so check back regularly to see what's new. For a more personal take, you can now also visit my online poetry blog "Dreaming in Iambic Pentameter." I would love to include a Readers' Letters section in future issues, so please do take the time to email me and let me know your response to any items in this issue, suggestions for features, or your thoughts and concerns about any other area of the formal poetry arena. Formalists are sometimes accused of being elitist. I want The Barefoot Muse to refute this by being a journal written for and by its readers, and I want its readership to be the people. I hope you enjoy Issue #3 as much as I enjoyed compiling it, Best, Anna Evans, Editor, The Barefoot Muse |