THE DREADED PANTOUM

Read: 13 Ways, Chapter 5, "Ghazals and Pantoums."

I say "dreaded" just because oftentimes, poetic forms make people insecure, and raise fears that only "real" poets can pull them off. Trust me, plenty of those "real" poets are terribly boring. What do poetic forms do for us as poets? They force us out of our comfort zones, encourage us to try a new strategy, open up language in unpredictable ways, and most of all, free us from the tyranny of our own preconceived notions of what is "our" style.

The bare bones of this scary-looking form are as follows:

1. each stanza consists of four lines
2. Lines 2 and 4 become lines 6 and 8 of the next stanza, and so on (see Ch. 5 for a form to copy)
3. the first and third lines of the first stanza form the second and fourth of the last stanza, but in reverse order, so that the opening and closing lines of the poem are identical.
3. The pantoum is AT LEAST four stanzas long, but often more
4. There is no rhyme scheme; focus on repeating lines creatively so that the lines, relatively unchanged, gain in tone, insinuation, suggestion, and scope.

One way to figure out how the repetitions go is to follow this chart:

1 2 3 4 - Lines in first quatrain.
2 5 4 6 - Lines in second quatrain.
5 7 6 8 - Lines in third quatrain.
7 9 8 10 - Lines in fourth quatrain.
9 3 10 1 - Lines in fifth and final quatrain.

Does that look too much like math?! Try this:

Stanza 1:

Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4

Stanza 2:

Line 5 (repeat of line 2 in stanza 1)
Line 6 (new line)
Line 7 (repeat of line 4 in stanza 1)
Line 8 (new line)

Stanza 3/Last Stanza (This is also the format for the last stanza regardless of how many preceding stanzas exist):

Line 9 (line 2 of the previous stanza)
Line 10 (line 3 of the first stanza)
Line 11 (line 4 of the previous stanza)
Line 12 (line 1 of the first stanza)


Or, use this PANTOUM GRID SAMPLE #2 – by Miriam Sagan

Here is a grid for the start of a pantoum:

____________________ (Line A)
____________________ (Line B)
____________________ (Line C)
____________________ (Line D)

____________________ (Line B)
____________________ (Line E)
____________________ (Line D)
____________________ (Line F)

____________________ (Line E)
____________________ (Line G)
____________________ (Line F)
____________________ (Line H)

And so on for as many stanzas as you want to write until the last, which has its own special form:

_______________ (Repetition from line 2 of previous stanza)
_______________ (Line 1 of the opening stanza of the pantoum)
_______________ (Repetition from line 4 of previous stanza)
_______________ (Line 3 of the opening stanza of the pantoum)

Another way to end the pantoum is to flip lines 1 and 3 of the first stanza so that the poem ends with the same line it began with:
_______________ (Repetition from line 2 of previous stanza)
_______________ (Line 3 from the opening stanza)
_______________ (Repetition from line 4 of previous stanza)
_______________ (Line 1 from the opening stanza)

This gives the feeling of a complete circle.

The pantoum's repetition and circular quality give it a mystical chant like feeling. Its cut-up lines break down linear thought. The form is both ancient and fresh.

Pantoums come from a Malayan song form; the poem benefits from being read out loud, not just while you are writing it, but in the final form. Work at not speeding through the lines, and at giving each line it's own place and meaning, even (especially) when they are repeated.

Listen to these pantoums:

Carolyn Kizer's "Parent's Pantoum" at http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15246 and "Grace" at http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/kumin/grace.htm

Kathy Fagan's "Saloon Pantoum" at http://www.slate.com/id/2089046/

Elizabeth Twiddy's "Menopausal Pantoum" at http://www.barefootmuse.com/archives/issue7/twiddy.htm (this one takes a little while to upload; be patient)

Paul Muldoon's "The Mountain is Holding Out on Me" at http://pplpoetpodcast.wordpress.com/2007/04/01/paul-muldoon/

Alice Friman's "Pantoum for My Father" at http://www.cortlandreview.com/issue/8/friman8.htm

Erika Funkhauser's "First Pantoum of Summer" at http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/funkhous/pantoum.htm