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POET PUB: LET THERE BE LIGHT... (and poetics, friendly disagreements, shared observations and hot apple cider...) - Cyndi Macmillan's Blog

About Cyndi Macmillan

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Cyndi MacMillan lives in a small town in Ontario that is home to North America’s largest working waterwheel. Her writing has appeared in notable Canadian literary journals and local newspapers.

A Cruel Light is her debut gothic mystery (4/4/2023). She has been a Jill-of-all-trades, but for as long as she can remember, she has dreamt of being a novelist. Hard work and the wonderful team at Crooked Lane Books have made that dream a reality. Please note that her husband and daughter kindly keep her coffee mug filled when she is wrestling with a suspenseful chapter. During a pandemic lockdown, the family adopted a rescue cat who chirps.

When not writing, Cyndi enjoys reading Gothics, scrapbooking, and losing horribly at board games. Works-in-progress include the second (and third) Annora Garde Mystery, a Canadian noir series, and a standalone horror mystery, so more often than not, Cyndi is writing. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada.

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POET PUB: LET THERE BE LIGHT... (and poetics, friendly disagreements, shared observations and hot apple cider...)

Blog Posted:1/15/2017 9:11:00 AM

Please, hurry up then, come in and shut the door. This winter is peculiar and some of us are craving light. Today’s soup is a mushroom bisque. The special is goulash, and it comes with herbed bap and a hefty slice of bakewell tart. Loud? YES, IT IS! The poets have taken over the pub, again. Light as a theme seems to be the topic, but they never stay the course, that lot. What? Oh. I mean that they are talking about imagery, fresh language, careful use of line breaks, poetics. Never mind Jimmy. He’s in a dark mood. Wants to argue that as long as you call it a poem, it IS a poem. Marg just went off on him about figurative language and uncommon word pairings and... seat yourself and pay no mind to the colourful remarks flying about the room. Join in, but remember... we respect each other, here. And those that are here only to pick a fight are free to take it outside, far from our friendly (if oft heated) discussion.

(the following is shared for educational/study/review purposes only. The poems will be removed in a few weeks but the links will remain. Thank you.)

SORRY ABOUT THE SPACING. COPY/PASTE WEIRDNESS!

http://composejournal.com/articles/paterson/

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/coming-light

https://canpoetry.library.utoronto.ca/birney/poem1.htm

http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/soft-edged-reed-light

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/february-evening-in-new-york/

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Nette
Onclaud

Date: 1/19/2017 2:54:00 PM

not too late for the party, i hope.. am getting system errors here, sis.. paterson and A Soft-edged Reed of Light are endearing... there is something in the creative process that bring these two above the line...aside from the distinct imagery, perhaps, it is the element of not knowing what to expect in the end gives IMPACT to these poems... a final twist or turn truly engages me to be involved in a piece that is not too obvious in its delivery but layered, taunting, surprising!.. huggs

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 1/30/2017 9:32:00 AM

I haven't been stopping by my own blog! Bad hostess! Glad you liked them, soul sis. Life has been topsy turvy as of late. Coming out from under the shadow... slowly. xoxoxx

Charmaine
Chircop

Date: 1/17/2017 1:31:00 AM

In each poem there was something I liked...But Paterson and The coming of light are my favourite two.'The coming of light' is beautiful in its own simplicity..and 'Paterson'-I really liked those ending lines.Nice to see a blog from you Cyndi xx.

Charmaine Chircop
Date: 1/18/2017 5:54:00 AM

Indeed She did ,and still loved life..What a wonderful positive message there..

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 1/17/2017 10:15:00 AM

Well, that poem is hard to digest. It denies God. I love the poetics, but not the message. There are some things I enjoyed about the Evening in New York one. Take "crooked heels." So often we just cut to the chase, but what has she SHOWN us by using 'crooked heels?' Shoes that have walked for miles and miles and miles... yes? ;)

Charmaine Chircop
Date: 1/17/2017 1:33:00 AM

I usually like poems with no punctuatuon..I liked ' Vancouver lights',but maybe a bit too long to use with no punctuation at all..I usually enjoy reading those kind of poems...but somehow I got lost along the way,or maybe its me..I don't have enough patience to enjoy reading a longer poem with no punctuation at all.

Brian
Strand

Date: 1/16/2017 3:26:00 AM

My namesakes offering for me Cyndi .Class is inherent and real talent always stands out .It also 'reads aloud' which will always be the key for me whether on 'pub nights' or in my premieres.Have a good day and best wishes with your creative endeavours

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 1/16/2017 8:08:00 AM

What I especially enjoy about that one is the small puff of breath in the "p's" which is so perfect. "P"our into your "P"illows, not euphonic, but still lovely. Thanks for the stop by and comments, Brian. Hope you have a good day, too. :)

Deborah
Burch

Date: 1/15/2017 8:49:00 PM

I like the way "Paterson" flows in a single consciousness of thought without being choppy, broken or forced...feeling as a silkiness itself...;) A wonderful free verse!! Subtle in its outspokenness!!

Nette Onclaud
Date: 1/19/2017 2:58:00 PM

same here, deborah--the paterson thing!

Deborah Burch
Date: 1/16/2017 11:25:00 AM

I did notice that..;) lol... Big Hugggs!!! Mmmwah!!

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 1/16/2017 8:13:00 AM

I'm as longwinded in poetry as I am in every aspect of my life. I like how nine lines can hold an entire city and I need to learn how to say more with less. Did you notice it's a list? I wonder if this brings the flow, as well? Tight on the subject? HUGS!

Cyndi
Macmillan

Date: 1/15/2017 4:29:00 PM

Debbie... I keep going back to Paterson's second line. I always slap my own wrist when I alliterate that much... I think the distance between the words helps... as does the fact she ended the line above with BUT so that the line did NOT read "but the busted." Ugh... the line break saved that fumble from happening. My other favourite break in THAT poem is the cellblocks/// on Grand. It delivers an unexpected jolt... Grand streets have estates, luxury... the fact she brings reality home makes the enjambment STING, as it should, yes? HUGS!

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 1/16/2017 8:11:00 AM

Miss the wickedness.. haha!

Debbie Guzzi
Date: 1/15/2017 6:45:00 PM

Oh yes WIMPLES is lovely - and yet I can hear folks saying - what's a wimple? well- I'd love reviving words - I see the nun's wimples

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 1/15/2017 4:30:00 PM

PS Wimples the mountains... (sigh... so wish I'D written that!)

Debbie
Guzzi

Date: 1/15/2017 3:03:00 PM

Gaze with a sharpened eye at the barbed wire brutally clear imagery brought to you by Patterson. Marvel at the pillowed softness of the dust motes given to us by Strand. Copus takes us back and through and out the other side of love cooled by the sterility of a childless marriage. SO MUCH good writing!

Debbie
Guzzi

Date: 1/15/2017 2:58:00 PM

Wow Dee you sure found some GREAT free verse, contest contestants for You Say you Want A Revolution- TAKE NOTE - even romantic beautiful subjects be can given new light in free verse. There are subjects which are best suited for certain forms and when rendered in an inappropriate form read like square pegs in round holes.

Stephen
Pennell

Date: 1/15/2017 10:37:00 AM

paterson : so descriptive, I can see it . stephen

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 1/15/2017 11:42:00 AM

It was the poem that inspired me to open my pub. Totally wowed me... his use of alliteration, RESONANCE, assonance and consonance... the "ar" sound in some lines... bARS guARding ApARtments. The second line 'should' be overkill, but he makes it work! Glad you enjoyed it, too :D

Carrie
Richards

Date: 1/15/2017 10:30:00 AM

Variations of light... each so unique in their content and interpretation. Somehow the "one" that grabbed me the most, perhaps for its brevity and meaning is #2, "The Coming Of Light". As I read it, I remembered my dad, who lived his last two years under my care before he passed away. He would often sit at the breakfast table telling us about a dream that was still warm from the long night. Where he was a young man, or a young boy, riding his horses, or doing his job, where the candles still burned bright, and hadn't melted into old age. His eyes would shine bright with the memory of his youth....'the coming of light' would last until the dream was gone.

Deborah Burch
Date: 1/15/2017 8:26:00 PM

My fav too!! But I also see it as finding love in 'mature years'...renewing afresh what was there all along...able to now see it in the light that it is as it...restoring dreams, hope,love, and life anew...just my child-like view ;)

Cyndi Macmillan
Date: 1/15/2017 11:34:00 AM

Carrie... I loved that one, too... and you aptly caught all its meanings. As someone who also witnessed that going towards the light, I understand the way time flickers back and forth, never perpetually moving forward. We time travel, in a way, before we die. xoxox

My Past Blog Posts


Ekphrastic Writing Within Fiction. An Article published in CRIMEREADS Date Posted: 5/10/2023 10:26:00 AM
Publishing News, a Dream Come True, and an Article on Ekphrastic Writing Date Posted: 4/15/2023 5:52:00 AM
A WRITER'S DREAM COME TRUE Date Posted: 7/19/2022 7:17:00 AM
My novel will be published by Crooked Lane Books Date Posted: 3/21/2022 12:16:00 PM
HOW THE POSITION OF POET LAUREATE HAS CHANGED Date Posted: 11/6/2017 3:12:00 PM
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? OPEN DISCUSSION. Date Posted: 10/24/2017 7:59:00 PM
Emotion in poetry: laying it on heavy by leaving it to the reader, a response to Brian's Blog Date Posted: 9/1/2017 5:00:00 PM
POETRY TOOLBOX SERIES: CONNOTATION Date Posted: 7/12/2017 8:51:00 AM
RESOURCE LINKS TO POETRY JOURNALS & EXCELLENT POETRY ARTICLES. HELP YOURSELF :) Date Posted: 6/12/2017 5:27:00 PM
A HAIKU SHABU SHABU PUB - SHOP TALK & SMALL TALK. Date Posted: 6/9/2017 8:07:00 PM
THE POETRY PUB: SMORGASBORD Date Posted: 5/26/2017 9:14:00 PM
THE POETRY PUB: CONTEMPORARY RHYME & THE NEW FORMALISM Date Posted: 5/5/2017 12:19:00 PM
***EDIT. ALL FIVE MOSIACS COMPLETE. THANKS FOR PLAYING THE WORD PAIRING GAME. THE PAIRINGS WERE AWESOME! Date Posted: 4/20/2017 2:06:00 PM
POETRY PUB: EMOTIVE. READ AND BLEED.**EDIT***MORE ON THE POEM GRIEF! Date Posted: 3/20/2017 11:32:00 PM
POET PUB: LET THERE BE LIGHT... (and poetics, friendly disagreements, shared observations and hot apple cider...) Date Posted: 1/15/2017 9:11:00 AM
5 PROOF BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED A POEM, PLEASE READ THIS. JOIN IN ON THE DISCUSSION. Date Posted: 2/25/2016 11:16:00 AM
POET PUB, TONIGHT'S SPECIAL: EXTRA TENDER, EASY TO DIGEST Date Posted: 1/25/2016 9:40:00 PM
THE POET PUB, GRAND OPENING, NO WIFI, WARM SEATS Date Posted: 1/11/2016 9:28:00 PM
CONTEST: 5 PROOF: FREE VERSE THAT SHOWS IT AIN'T NO PROSE Date Posted: 12/23/2015 6:30:00 AM
A CLOSER LOOK AT PUNCTUATION. SOME, PLENTY, NONE. Date Posted: 5/25/2015 10:05:00 PM
WORK WORK WORK! WAY TO GO! AND HOW TO USE AN ELLIPSIS. Date Posted: 5/16/2015 8:51:00 AM
FARMHOUSE: Uncommon word pairings poem #2 Date Posted: 4/9/2015 6:02:00 PM
WHATTA PAIR YOU GOT THERE: A WORKSHOP ON IMAGERY AND WORD PAIRINGS Date Posted: 4/7/2015 9:30:00 PM
MEMORIAL TRIBUTE ON THE CONTEST PAGE: A WORD COLLAGE FOR CHAN. PLEASE, Take up the challenge. <3 Date Posted: 11/10/2014 9:30:00 AM
A LOVE-IN & WAKE FOR CHAN. ALL SOUPERS WELCOME. PLEASE ADD SOMETHING. Date Posted: 11/9/2014 10:03:00 AM

My Recent Poems

Date Posted	PoemTitle	Form	Categories
7/25/2023	The Library's Book	Sonnet	emotions,feelings,poems,p
9/20/2018	The Yield	Free verse	moving on,peace,sleep,
10/20/2017	Dinner Guest: Me	Free verse	emotions,longing,rude,
9/20/2017	Toothsome	Free verse	life,poetry,writing,
9/5/2017	The San Antonio Night Crossing	Free verse	change,death,immigration,
8/23/2017	Turning the Other Cheek	Free verse	christian,hate,people,
8/16/2017	Whatever Happened To the Real Poets	Free verse	poetry,political,society,
6/18/2017	Fetal Position In the Er	Sestina	death,heartbreak,my child
6/7/2017	Well Understood	Free verse	feelings,language,people,
6/4/2017	I'D Rather Write About	Free verse	poetry,writing,,memorial,
5/19/2017	The Palm-Chats of Jalousie, Haiti	Free verse	analogy,bird,humanity,lif
5/4/2017	Water, Water	Free verse	africa,sympathy,
11/18/2016	We, Nasty Women	Ekphrasis	allegory,history,politica
5/22/2016	The Chronicles of a Phonophobic	Free verse	fear,life,people,
5/6/2015	Tail Spin, Revised	Free verse	courage,fear,love hurts,
11/10/2014	Chan	Free verse	friend,goodbye,
1/31/2014	Journey Companions: the Friend Sonnets Part Ii	Sonnet	friend,hero,places,poetry
1/29/2014	Divine Steeples	Sonnet	friend,love,places,poetry
1/26/2014	Muse	Sonnet	friend,love,places,poetry

My Photos

Fav Poems

PoemTitle	Form	Categories
The Sowing	Free verse	devotion,
Ten Little Toes	Rhyme	daughter,lifeold,old,gran
Woodland Rhapsody	Quatrain	inspirational,
Contradicting Keats	Sonnet	introspection,life
Surrender To Love	Rhyme	loveme,
A Totum Pole Ode	Concrete	native american,people,
More Dreams To Row	Rhyme	inspirational,life,
When the Tab Comes Due	Free verse	inspirational,introspecti
Lighting My Candle From Within	Quintain (English)	caregiving,introspection,
The Kirk By the Sea	Couplet	nostalgia,religion,love,
Moonlight on the Ward	Choka	health,life,
Nocturnal Poetry	Rhyme	imagination,life,poetry,
Slumber	Epic	dedication,slam,
Frosty Night Stroll	Couplet	inspirational,seasons,
Our Thanksgiving	Light Verse	holiday,
My Country 'Tis of Thee	Etheree	peace,
A New Star Shines Above Hawaii	Rhyme	dedication,music,
Monarch of Summer	Haibun	animals,devotion,inspirat
Untouched	Rhyme	forgiveness,me,me,
Beaucoup Blooms	Terza Rima	nature,spring,spring,
On Heaven's Doorway	Narrative	inspirational,life,care,c
Walking On Faith	Verse	faith,children,
Sleepless Nights	Narrative	angst,imagination,mystery
Another Face	Rhyme	lost love,
Paired Parings	Ballad	childhood,
Friend To Friend	Haiku	people,philosophy,
Calligraphy	Verse	on writing and words,
Cyndi	Sonnet	dedication,
Night Comes	Rhyme	time,
Without Hope's Gleam	Terzanelle	flower,hope,joy,paradise,
Down Fall	Italian Sonnet	beautiful,miracle,nature,
When Your Dead Your Dead	Rhyme	friendship,love,wife,
Chamber Music Chopped	Blank verse	music,
After My Prayer	Haiku	inspirational,
God Forbid	Couplet	angst,devotion,write,life
To Kashinath and Cyndi	Rhyme	dedication,devotion,frien
Cherished	Sonnet	love,peace,
Bliss State	Quatrain	faith,
Onward Christian Soldiers	Rhyme
Westward Movement	Free verse	devotion,love,peace,
The Rocking Chair	Rhyme	child,christmas,sister,
A Tribute To Leonora G	Dramatic Verse	death,deep,evil,sorrow,st
To the Rescue	Rhyme	snow,
Release	Free verse	encouraging,grief,hope,st
In the Mood	Light Verse	adventure,woman,
Beyond Tears	Rhyme	child,encouraging,hope,,L
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis	Epic	abuse,analogy,art,corrupt
Dewberry Cobbler	Haibun	growing up,
To Love Myself	Sonnet	love,new year,self,
In Stillness	Free verse	change,life,
The Byway	Rhyme	care,
Within Reason- Maurice Yvonne and Seren Roberts	Verse	life,
Candles of Your Fingers	Light Verse	death,memory,missing you,
Softly	Sonnet	poetry,
The Skeletons and Songs of Samsara - 1	Crown of Sonnets	birth,death,life,
Inner City	Free verse	city,
My Own Way	Free verse	adventure,life,self,

Fav Poets

Poet	Country
Debbie Guzzi	United States	Read
Caryl Muzzey	United States	Read
Joe Flach	United States	Read
Nette Onclaud	Philippines	Read
Poet Tacito	United States	Read
Elizabeth Wesley	Canada	Read
Rhonda Johnson-Saunders	United States	Read
Carrie Richards	United States	Read
Kathryn Collins	United States	Read
David Williams	United Kingdom	Read
Charmaine Chircop	Malta	Read
Francine Roberts	Canada	Read
Faye Gibson	United States	Read
Hannington Mumo	Kenya	Read
Lora Robinson	United States	Read
John Lawless	United States	Read
Kabuteng P.Ink K.	Philippines	Read
Roy Jerden	United States	Read
Anthony Mark	United Kingdom	Read
Brian Strand	United Kingdom	Read
Olive Eloisa Guillermo - Fraser	Philippines	Read
Charlotte Puddifoot	United Kingdom	Read
Joann Grisetti	United States	Read
Painted Hunter	United States	Read
Connie Marcum Wong	United States	Read
Tim Ryerson	United States	Read
Olusegun Arowolo	Nigeria	Read
Becca Teagan	United States	Read
Royal Ninja	United States	Read
Justin Bordner	United States	Read
Garth Von Buchholz	Canada	Read
Jim Howe	United States	Read
Shronda Wilson	United States	Read
Sneha Rv	India	Read
Agnes Krampe	United States	Read