Further Samples of Serial Poetry
There isn't a great deal of serial poetry readily available, but I've managed to track down a reasonable sampling. Much of the material in this installment is courtesy of my partner Doug. Some of these serials involve work all from the same person, while others combine work by different people. Some of the poems have also been set to music, song lyrics counting as a type of poetry.
Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws by Frank Sidgwick.
The Robin Hood cycle belongs to a larger conglomeration of cultural work featuring this famous outlaw. The section "A Gest of Robyn Hode" comprises eight "Fyttes." Another four poems cover Robin's interactions with individual characters. The cycle concludes with "Robin Hood's Death."
"Casey at the Bat" and sequels.
The original poem "Casey at the Bat" was written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, featuring a popular baseball player who struck out and disappointed his whole town. Plenty of writers didn't want to leave it at that. "Casey's Revenge" by Grantland Rice was written in 1906 and pits Casey against the same pitcher in another ballgame. "Casey Bats Again" is a sequel done as Disney animation, released in 1954, in which Casey's daughters play baseball.
The Courtship Trilogy by Molly & the Tinker: "Virtue," "The Drunken Suitor," and "A Damn Peculiar Wedding." These three songs follow a relationship from beginning to completion, with just slightly bawdy Irish humor. I'll add that the songwriter is one of the most talented lyricists I know, and I highly recommend his work in general.
“Cycles Within Cycles: A series of Haiku poems" by David Britton.
This series begins with poems relating to the four seasons, then moves through some other abstract concepts. The seasonal touch is particularly apt because nature and the seasons figure strongly in traditional haiku.
Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre edited by August Derleth.
In particular, see the Fungi from Yuggoth series by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. This is a sonnet cycle of 36 poems written in first person, past tense, about discovering an ancient book and running afoul of horrific creatures. Lovecraft makes excellent use of the sonnet form's weight, along with vivid and ominous imagery, to create a potent impact in horror poetry.
Dreams from R'lyeh: A Sonnet Cycle by Lin Carter.
This includes a sonnet cycle of 31 poems written in tribute to Lovecraft's earlier work, also in first person and past tense, with a strong milieu aspect exploring New England and other iconic locations of the Cthulhu Mythos. It's about halfway between a travelogue and a memoire as the individual poems explore places and events.
"Last Song" and sequel "Close Your Eyes" by the band Edward Bear.
These songs comprise a breakup and makeup pair.
Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws by Frank Sidgwick.
The Robin Hood cycle belongs to a larger conglomeration of cultural work featuring this famous outlaw. The section "A Gest of Robyn Hode" comprises eight "Fyttes." Another four poems cover Robin's interactions with individual characters. The cycle concludes with "Robin Hood's Death."
Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws by Frank Sidgwick.
The Robin Hood cycle belongs to a larger conglomeration of cultural work featuring this famous outlaw. The section "A Gest of Robyn Hode" comprises eight "Fyttes." Another four poems cover Robin's interactions with individual characters. The cycle concludes with "Robin Hood's Death."
"Casey at the Bat" and sequels.
The original poem "Casey at the Bat" was written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer, featuring a popular baseball player who struck out and disappointed his whole town. Plenty of writers didn't want to leave it at that. "Casey's Revenge" by Grantland Rice was written in 1906 and pits Casey against the same pitcher in another ballgame. "Casey Bats Again" is a sequel done as Disney animation, released in 1954, in which Casey's daughters play baseball.
The Courtship Trilogy by Molly & the Tinker: "Virtue," "The Drunken Suitor," and "A Damn Peculiar Wedding." These three songs follow a relationship from beginning to completion, with just slightly bawdy Irish humor. I'll add that the songwriter is one of the most talented lyricists I know, and I highly recommend his work in general.
“Cycles Within Cycles: A series of Haiku poems" by David Britton.
This series begins with poems relating to the four seasons, then moves through some other abstract concepts. The seasonal touch is particularly apt because nature and the seasons figure strongly in traditional haiku.
Dark of the Moon: Poems of Fantasy and the Macabre edited by August Derleth.
In particular, see the Fungi from Yuggoth series by Howard Phillips Lovecraft. This is a sonnet cycle of 36 poems written in first person, past tense, about discovering an ancient book and running afoul of horrific creatures. Lovecraft makes excellent use of the sonnet form's weight, along with vivid and ominous imagery, to create a potent impact in horror poetry.
Dreams from R'lyeh: A Sonnet Cycle by Lin Carter.
This includes a sonnet cycle of 31 poems written in tribute to Lovecraft's earlier work, also in first person and past tense, with a strong milieu aspect exploring New England and other iconic locations of the Cthulhu Mythos. It's about halfway between a travelogue and a memoire as the individual poems explore places and events.
"Last Song" and sequel "Close Your Eyes" by the band Edward Bear.
These songs comprise a breakup and makeup pair.
Ballads of Robin Hood and Other Outlaws by Frank Sidgwick.
The Robin Hood cycle belongs to a larger conglomeration of cultural work featuring this famous outlaw. The section "A Gest of Robyn Hode" comprises eight "Fyttes." Another four poems cover Robin's interactions with individual characters. The cycle concludes with "Robin Hood's Death."
Contest Entries
As part of hosting a week's discussion of serial poetry on the Poetree community, I also judged a contest for writing a poetic serial. Entrants submitted at least two poems linked by common characters, setting, and/or plot. I wrote feedback for each set of poems submitted.
Schrodinger's Heroes Series by Primeideal: "The Tentacle Monster Chronicles," "Taxicab Geometry," "The Shirt Off Her Back," "All Politics Is Local," and "Who Let the Dogs Out"
Each of these poems crosses the science fiction shared world of Schrodinger's Heroes with some other fandom. "The Tentacle Monster Chronicles" features a character from Animorphs interacting with the team of heroes. "Taxicab Geometry" is a math geek mixer, with one of them coming from Numb3rs. "The Shirt Off Her Back" stars two different versions of Ash, one from the core dimension of Schrodinger's Heroes and one from Revolution. "All Politics Is Local" brings in messages from @MayorEmanuel. "Who Let the Dogs Out" riffs on the widespread folklore about black dogs, and the presence of a black cat, Schrodinger, in the core series. This series was the winning entry in the serial poetry writing contest.
Schrodinger's Heroes Series by Thesilentpoet: "Lior's Dream," "Hal's Nightmare," and "A Crack in the Maelstrom"
The first two poems, "Lior's Dream" and "Hal's Nightmare," were contest entries. The third came out of a later prompt session. These three poems explore the adventures of two sisters who don't always get along but still care what happens to each other. This is a crossover between the science fiction shared world Schrodinger's Heroes and Thesilentpoet's project 64-squared.
Torn World Series by Ellen Million: "First Day on the Trail," "A Wild Wind," and "Youngest
and Oldest"
Three poems detail the experiences of a young ranger in her arctic home. This series takes place in the science fantasy shared world of Torn World.
Schrodinger's Heroes Series by Primeideal: "The Tentacle Monster Chronicles," "Taxicab Geometry," "The Shirt Off Her Back," "All Politics Is Local," and "Who Let the Dogs Out"
Each of these poems crosses the science fiction shared world of Schrodinger's Heroes with some other fandom. "The Tentacle Monster Chronicles" features a character from Animorphs interacting with the team of heroes. "Taxicab Geometry" is a math geek mixer, with one of them coming from Numb3rs. "The Shirt Off Her Back" stars two different versions of Ash, one from the core dimension of Schrodinger's Heroes and one from Revolution. "All Politics Is Local" brings in messages from @MayorEmanuel. "Who Let the Dogs Out" riffs on the widespread folklore about black dogs, and the presence of a black cat, Schrodinger, in the core series. This series was the winning entry in the serial poetry writing contest.
Schrodinger's Heroes Series by Thesilentpoet: "Lior's Dream," "Hal's Nightmare," and "A Crack in the Maelstrom"
The first two poems, "Lior's Dream" and "Hal's Nightmare," were contest entries. The third came out of a later prompt session. These three poems explore the adventures of two sisters who don't always get along but still care what happens to each other. This is a crossover between the science fiction shared world Schrodinger's Heroes and Thesilentpoet's project 64-squared.
Torn World Series by Ellen Million: "First Day on the Trail," "A Wild Wind," and "Youngest
and Oldest"
Three poems detail the experiences of a young ranger in her arctic home. This series takes place in the science fantasy shared world of Torn World.
Companion Poem: "Come Midwinter at Carterhall"
"Come Midwinter at Carterhall" came out of the September 8, 2009 Poetry Fishbowl. It was prompted by LiveJournal user dormouse_in_tea. You can read the original post on LiveJournal.
Here is a direct sequel to the traditional folk song "Tam Lin." It points out some character
flaws and leaps of illogic that really should have been obvious from things specified in the
original song.
This article was originally posted to the Poetree community on 10/28/12.
Here is a direct sequel to the traditional folk song "Tam Lin." It points out some character
flaws and leaps of illogic that really should have been obvious from things specified in the
original song.
This article was originally posted to the Poetree community on 10/28/12.