One Page Poetry Circle Archive

Welcome to the One Page Poetry Circle at St. Agnes Branch Library!

Date: April 14, 2020
Theme: Poetry and Satire (pdf)

Find a poem! Show up! Read a poem! Discuss a poem!

We're back for the twelfth spring season of the One Page Poetry Circle where people gather to examine the works of established poets. While there is no instructor and this is not a workshop for personal writing, once a month OPPC gives everyone a place to become teachers and learners to explore the form, content, language and meaning of poetry. Since the circle began, participants have selected and discussed 1207 poems and have read countless others in pursuit of poetry that speaks to them.

Our theme for April is Poetry and Satire. The Romans are credited with inventing satire, which exposes common human follies and vices for all to recognize, laugh at, and scorn. Poetry with its brevity of form is especially effective at this. The lyricist and pianist Tom Lehrer parodies a sentimental old favorite: "I wanna go back to Dixie/Take me back to dear ol' Dixie/That's the only li'l ol' place for li'l ol' me/Ol' times there are not forgotten/Whuppin' slaves and sellin cotton."

The poet Dorothy Parker, celebrated for her short biting lines makes a sly comment on the popular myth about relationships between men and women in her poem "Interview":

• The ladies men admire, I’ve heard,
• Would shudder at a wicked word.
• Their candle gives a single light;
• They’d rather stay at home at night.
• They do not keep awake till three,
• Nor read erotic poetry.
• They never sanction the impure,
• Nor recognize an overture.
• They shrink from powders and from paints ...
• So far, I’ve had no complaints.

Please note that the NYPL has closed all its branches due to the ongoing Covid-19 public health crisis. However, we ask you to send us the poems you have selected on the subject of Poetry and Satire, with a comment on why you chose them. We'll share the poems with you through our blog and by email in April.

We're looking forward to the poems you select for Poetry and Satire. Whether a poem calls attention to human foibles, parodies another poem or itself, or discusses satire as its subject, find a poem that inspires you. If you can't locate a poem you want to bring, browse the poetry section at the library or check out Poetry Foundation or poets.org.

In the meantime, stay safe and please blog with us at onepagepoetrycircle.wordpress.com.

Spring 2020 Schedule
April 14, Poetry and Satire
May 12, Poetry and Joy

Abigail Burnham Bloom and
AnnaLee Wilson

The One Page Poetry Circle is sponsored by the New York Public Library and is open to all. St. Agnes Branch Library is handicap accessible.