# - sestina



## Penelope (Feb 20, 2011)

deleted at author's request


----------



## Gumby (Feb 20, 2011)

Now that is an impressive accomplishment, Penelope! I have never attempted a Sestina, and I am a bit intimidated by the strict structure. Kudo's to you.  How long did it take you to write this, if you don't mind my asking?


----------



## Olly Buckle (Feb 20, 2011)

"The willows, bedazzled with frost
light up the lee side of our road."

Perhaps a comma after 'bedazzled with frost' as well as before?

Love it, sparse and cold and made me shiver, and full of life at the same time.


----------



## Penelope (Feb 21, 2011)

As to how long it took me to write ... oh .. about four to six hours I suppose but I know the topic intimately ..

Many thanks for punctuation suggestions!  I have sparse skills in that department and always expect everyone else knows far better than I.


----------



## Olly Buckle (Feb 21, 2011)

You are modest, i am not hot on punctuation, that's why it is a suggestion. I noticed that you commented in Shiley Bracken's that she was lucky to receive such attention, be assured that I gave this considerable attention, I only made one comment because I saw nothing else to comment on. I thoroughly enjoyed this and thought it a remarkable piece of work. I give more attention to people like Shirley because her title and first couple of lines demonstrate that she actually has some feel for words, even as the rest shows she has very little formal knowledge. Given some encouragement she may well bother to find out more about form, structure, metre and verse and derive great pleasure from her writing. You, on the other hand, could probably teach me a thing or two, and, I guess, already get considerable pleasure from your writing, as well as a lot of hard work. Thank you for the pleasure of reading it.


----------



## Gumby (Feb 21, 2011)

Penelope said:


> As to how long it took me to write ... oh .. about four to six hours I suppose but I know the topic intimately ..
> 
> Many thanks for punctuation suggestions! I have sparse skills in that department and always expect everyone else knows far better than I.


 
_Only_ four to six hours? Even knowing the topic intimately, that seems quick. When you say the topic, are you meaning Sestina's or prairie winters? Or perhaps both. 

I struggle with punctuation myself, it isn't my strong suit. I'm always grateful when someone helps me out in that department.


----------



## Penelope (Feb 21, 2011)

Oily - no!  I wasn't moaning about getting sparse feedback.  I was just impressed with the input is all.  I so rarely am able to be that thorough when I'm putting my own thoughts down.  So kudos to you.

Gumby - Yes, I am familiar with the northern winters although this wasn't the prairies per se.  Rose Prairie is in Northern British Columbia and it's where I lived on a homestead for a few years.  Sestinas are not my formula of choice by any stretch but it went easier because of the topic.  It was the second sestina I'd written last week so that may have helped too.  The other one I struggled with for .. um .. four days but I was doing research into the topic too.  I could post a link to that one if you like.


----------



## Shirley S. Bracken (Feb 22, 2011)

This is wonderful Penelope!  I do love to write too and I appreciated the attention I got from Olly.  Thanks Olly.  I have no experience with proper writing forms.  I am sad to say I never heard of a Sestina.  I am hearing a lot of new things here.  Just reading others' work is showing me many new avenues.  Thanks for sharing your work.
You made the same mistake I did... Olly, not Oily!  Funny!


----------



## Penelope (Feb 22, 2011)

arrgghh ..  Olly .. Olly .. Olly .. and it's Buckle not Bucket .. must be thinking about the herring season or something.  heh heh

I began writing sestinas in .. um .. 2005{?} and haven't written too many because it's not my favourite format.  I believe there are two sestinas I wrote posted here when I was just learning the ropes.  One is Big Sky Winter and it's based on the same topic but has flaws.  I liked it enough to leave it alone instead of trying to adjust it.  

My favourite style?  The villanelle.


----------



## Shirley S. Bracken (Feb 22, 2011)

This is showing me just how little I know.  
Olly, would you look at my "Cycle of life" please.  
I guess OILY is better than Greasy!


----------

