JaniceT began to write poetry at the age of 11. One morning, her sixth grade teacher placed a small mound of dirt on each of his students’ desks and instructed them to write about it. In response, she crafted a prosaic piece citing the soil as mother and the seed a child, and handed it in. To her surprise, the teacher exploded with enthusiasm and ran down the hall declaring, “I have a poet in my class!”
Out of curiosity, she went through her father’s modest library to find out more about these “poets.” There she found The Oxford Book of English Verse. The poems in this thick volume were written between 1250 and 1918, and included the works of the Lake District Poets. They immediately became JaniceT’s new teachers, her template, as she began to write her own poems in earnest.
Although her first poem was written in prose form, JaniceT says that her muse has always preferred the Victorian voice. Trying her hand at other poetic forms, in order to stretch and grow, only brings her back to home base; improved but never truly converted. Now JaniceT is on a mission to prove that rhyming poetry is not old-fashioned but classic, and is still as powerful and important an art form as it ever was.
Here at Discover San Jose, we are proud to carry both of her wonderful collections of Victorian style rhyming poems, Echoes and Echoes II. Both small books are packed tight with poetry that simply drips with style, wit, and elegance. Here’s a taste of JaniceT’s style, which she wrote only a few weeks ago!
Pluviophile
I pull the curtains back
From windows clear and wide
In earnest, hopeful stance
To search the open sky
For merest wisp of cloud
In arcing ever blue
Until I burst aloud,
”The rain is long past due!”
Where is that swollen scent
When sea birds fill the air
And moisture not yet spent
Is lurking everywhere
Why do they stay away
This season’s call defy
Oh how I miss those days
When all the sky would cry.
Isn’t that just lovely? Come in to Discover San Jose and thumb through her books today!
For more info about JaniceT’s work, visit her blog: janice-t.weebly.com
Follow JaniceT on Facebook: facebook.com/JaniceTPoems
Or on Twitter: @JaniceTpoems
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