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Monday, December 6, 2021

Word Garden Word List #3 (Grover Lewis)

 

Hello friends, it's me, Shay, with your weekly word list prompt! What we do here is to look at the 20 words on the list and use at least 3 of them to write either a poem of any length or style, OR a flash 55 (a poem or flash fiction consisting of exactly 55 words.) Just leave your link in the comments! Prompt remains "live" through Friday. 


This week our list is taken from I'll Be There In The Morning If I Live, the only volume of poetry by Grover Lewis. Dave Hickey, in his introduction to Splendor In The Short Grass: A Grover Lewis Reader,  calls Lewis "the most stone wonderful writer nobody's ever heard of." Lewis was a native Texan (hence the "short grass" of west Texas) who wrote marvelously for Rolling Stone and other publications about movie sets and the directors, actors, and extras found there, as well as his own harrowing history. Lewis's father shot his mother dead when he was just a boy. The police were told that, in her dying moments, the mortally wounded woman picked up the gun that her husband had dropped and shot him right between the eyes, rendering Lewis an orphan. (It seems that a friend probably shot the husband, but we'll never really know.) Young Grover was sent to live with strict, sour, religious grandparents, and then on to another relative who encouraged his love of books. 
When I was a teenager, I found I'll Be There In The Morning If I Live, and devoured it, cover to cover. I still have my copy, and Lewis's poems have been a prime inspiration for me in my own writing. 

And now, your word list. 

dittybops
dumbshows
fever
fragrant
fumed
grandfathers
locust
mulligan
painters
pandemonium
prowled
pulpit
sailors
scudding
shadows
stricken
strophe
tatting
text
wreckage

32 comments:

  1. My kind of guy! Going to order the book on Amazon, a quick online check of our library and it’s not there.

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    1. I am super pleased that you want to acquire his book, Helen!

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    2. Scratch that! There are treasure troves of him online. For free! Whee! Got to stop reading for now and write.

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  2. “dittybops” is my favorite; I can’t wait ...

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  3. I've yet to read Grover Lewis, despite your ample recommendations over the years. I can see I will have to make more of an effort. These words remind me very much of your style, and not much of mine, but that's what makes word lists work, as well as being so much fun. I have randomly strung a bunch of them on some barbwire for you here:

    https://versiscape-lifesentences.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-day-before-gone.html

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    1. Barbwire is a fine medium! As soon as I finish working on mine and post it, I will be by!

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  4. Mine is here:

    https://fireblossom-wordgarden.blogspot.com/2021/12/remember-alamo.html

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  5. Monday, be that time, again!

    https://nicecissist.blog/2021/12/06/conqueror/

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    1. Heyyyy, Darius! So good to see you here once again!

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  6. Love the word list Shay! Not sure that my poem suits Grover but I used the words I could and here we are. Thank you for doing this my friend, and thank you for this weekend too!!

    https://dancingwithelephants2.blogspot.com/2021/12/winter-sailors.html

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    1. Welcome, Carrie! Hey, suiting Grover was never the point. The list is just a springboard to whatever YOU want to say. And it was entirely my pleasure to fill in for you this past weekend. It seemed to go very well!

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  7. That makes sense and I love the idea of using the theme of a poet for the word list instead of just random words. You are so right, this week at the Muse was fabulous. You can't go wrong with an image like that!

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  8. https://woonietest.blogspot.com/2021/12/day-of-infamy.html

    (I ordered the book though it is $$ for a paperback)

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    1. Yes, it's costy, partly because of rarity and partly because if it's the same as my copy, it's printed on heavy paper. I am very excited that you're excited about Grover Lewis!

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  9. You've added several poets to my reading list this year. Looking forward to reading Grover Lewis when I track his poems down.


    https://theexpendabledraft.blogspot.com/2021/12/short-seasons.html

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    1. Yay on the new poets! Good to see you here, Chrissa!

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  10. Wow, what a blast this will be, and a journey of discovery as well! Grover Lewis is a huge unknown for me. Thanks, Shay, for another exciting and inspiring word list. You're good at this, my friend.
    Pax,
    Dora

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    1. It's going well, isn't it? I'm having a lot of fun doing it, and I'm so happy to see you here!

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    2. Well, here it is and I think I even used all the words on the list! But who's counting right? Knowing how much Lewis means to you, Shay, I hope you like it!
      https://pilgrimdreams.com/2021/12/08/into-the-epode-with-grover-lewis/
      Pax,
      Dora

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  11. I am pleased to announce that, going forward, these word lists will have a linky!

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    1. Good to hear! Meanwhile I'll trouble you with my offering which is dedicated to you, Shay, knowing how much Lewis means to you. I even used all the words on the list. But who's counting, right? Hope you like!
      https://pilgrimdreams.com/2021/12/08/into-the-epode-with-grover-lewis/
      Pax,
      Dora

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    2. This is just the coolest thing! You went all out, from the photo bar at the top, to the Ditty Bops, to bringing Grover vividly to life in a scenario he might well have found himself in during his life. Thank you!

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  12. Feh!

    If you are Grover Lewis
    karma is a steel nutcracker, the kind
    with the screw that sets against the end
    of your soul and then starts turning,
    your history and the shitty stuff you did
    splitting along the sides until pandemonium
    fractures into your hand, the
    nut meat of your life crumbling like the wreckage
    of your mother pulling the trigger
    as she hit the floor, so fragrant, so irresistible,
    you pop it in your mouth, eat your fate
    like an ouroboros, grandfather swallowing
    the father swallowing the son, each
    a reincarnation of your dumbshow life,
    Vodka and bullets and your words
    gathering no moss
    from a rolling stone.

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    1. I love it, qbit, especially the ending, given that he wrote for RS. I also really like the ouroboros and each generation swallowing the next. Glad you made it!

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    2. Love the ouroboros, and all the striking images you employ here, qbit. Full Lewis flavor, and seamless use of the list words.

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    3. Thanks both of you. I was rushed getting it out, so was grumpy. Glad you liked it OK.

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  13. Will read your grumpy ~ any day!

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