Lynne Dreyer: Pick of the Week [ed. Terence Winch]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_______________________________________

Down monkey. Monkey down

Go girl and get, he ices and is rowdy. The lamp still hangs dirty and massive. Eat this ox, now eat
this meat all in a jovial mess. The bee dovetails its only trail, a trial with the dog it meets. You’d
think they’d see the score implicitly but no per se. Piggy she see, she small. An ABC jumping in
head over the books the connection is made through motion, rhyme, and tongue. In that place
between yours and theirs each letter hangs free in form.

The voice was a structure of the guidelines which were changing in Biggy and memory.
Between memory and the future was desire and before desire was rest. Art is pain and light. It
is distinguished by the portable sky that touches various hues. It is small and within and has
something in it that is almost clear. Art is jealous and human, it asks for hope. The good house,
the writer’s context, the poet’s mind.

________________________________________________________________________________

Lynne Dreyer is the author of The White Museum (Roof Books), Step Work (Tuumba Press), and The Under Arc (Primary Writing Books). Her writing is also Included in various anthologies--- e.g. None of the Above (ed. Michael Lally), Moving Borders (ed. Mary Margaret Sloan), and Leaving Lines of Gender (ed. Ann Vikery). She is forever grateful and lucky to have been surrounded by the Washington DC poets through the years.  [This poem is from The Under Arc, Primary Writing Books, 2025.]

________________________________________________________________________________

Doug Lang, language collage, ca. 1980  [courtesy of Diane Ward]. Pictured in the piece are unknown, Doug Lang, P. Inman, and Michael Sappol.

Comments

[Grace Cavalieri]

WOW and a half! Gives us reason..Gives us courage.. Shows us how! "GO AND GET" INDEED!

[Chris Mason]

What a joy to read the beautiful words of Lynne Dreyer! “In that place between yours and theirs each letter hangs free in form.” Each word is full of surprising feeling and thinking.

[Bill Nevins]

Between memory and the future!

[Sr. Leslie]

Terence you always come up with the most interesting and thought provoking poems! The line: “Art is jealous, and human, it asks for hope.” That line will float through me in this Cathedral for by the next couple of hours and we will see where it leads…

[Jack Ridl]

Remarkable ‼️

[Rae Armantrout]

Wonderful to wake up to this. Thank you.

[David Beaudouin]

Hooray for Lynn Dreyer! Starting with her earliest book, "Lamplights Used to Feed the Deer," I have remained a consistent admirer of her work. Time and again, she shows us how "art is pain and light." Thank you, Lynne and Terence!

[lally]

except for being in a cathedral, ditto to all the previous comments

[Terence Winch]

Thank you, Leslie---I'm glad you think so.

[Peter Bushyeager]

Wonderful to read —- especially on a Sunday morning!

[Terence Winch]

David: thanks for the comment.

[Beth Joselow]

So good to see Lynne's wondrous work here. It sparks feeling and the will to keep on... making art.

[Phyllis Rosenzweig]

"Art is jealous and human..."
So good to see.

[David Lehman]

Remarkable the juxtaposition of words and art. A toast to Doug Lang!

[Bernard Welt]

Inimitable is right! This is thriling.I love a poem that makes me want to read it about 47 times before lunch.
Truly inspiring, Lynne.
(We have a cat named Monkey.)

[Lynne Dreyer]

thank you all so much for you comments, (old friends and new) I was not laughing at the tree. and thank you Terence for thinking of me.(my writing) Diane's art work..... so fitting, and so good.

[Dr. Earle Hitchner]

"Between memory and the future was desire and before desire was rest." The inversion is investigative, ensnaring, and even subverting. The only threat is to being upended by the falsely inevitable. We all punch at the air at some time in our lives. Why are we so startled when the air punches back? Lynne Dreyer's "Down monkey. Monkey down" is a poem that masterfully piques our curiosity while also challenging any tendency to accede rotely or uncritically. "Art is jealous and human, it asks for hope." Even if hope is all we have, is it really too much to give to jealous, human art? Kudos to Lynne Dreyer for her extraordinary poem and to Terence Winch for selecting it.

[Terence Winch]

You're very welcome, Lynne. (The collage is by Doug Lang,
but came from Diane Ward's Lang collection.)

[Terence Winch]

Thanks, Earle. I always appreciate your astute comments.

[Becky Levenson-Smith]

I love this poem of Lynne’s and that it’s paired with Doug’s collage- perfect.

[Don Berger]

I love the certainty of this piece, its being certain at the same time things are "almost clear." Which leads me to the poems foremost element, its supremely great music. Its texture. Wonderful, what a treat for all of our ears Lynne! Nice pick Mr. Winch!

[Terence Winch]

Thanks for the comment, Prof. Berger

[Diane Ward]

Thank you for posting this, Terence. And Lynne, your words of wisdom are also an invitation to fill in the blank. The artwork is Doug's, I only "possessed" it and passed it on to Terence! Figuring there's enough _______ to go around (fill in the blank).

[Terence Winch]

Thanks, Diane---good to hear from you.

[Cindy Hochman]

As a fan of experimental writing, especially in prose, this poem hath inspired me. I love the wordplay, the cadence, the non sequiturs, and the overall tone of joy. I will definitely be seeking out more of your poetry, Lynne—I'm an instant fan of your work and now, having read it once, I feel the urge to read it again (and again). Thanks, Terence, for sharing this one.