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Sunday Scribblings #55: Wanted: Less Crazy, More Serenity

January 10, 2021

Another week; another wanted poster for me. This time, it will say, Wanted: Less Crazy, More Serenity, Please…..

It has certainly been a crazy week this past week; I wish I could have been that ostrich burying its head in the sand. But sadly, there is no sand I can bury my head deeply enough in to escape all that is happening around us. And to top it off, an ostrich burying its head in the sand is apparently a myth!! So, I really can’t even do that. So shall we simply fast forward to inauguration week? Or no?

Since we cannot do that, I will simply wish for less crazy… and try to move on with what I can do.

Sunday Scribblings

Poetic Sundays

Etheree

Today’s form is a comparatively modern invented poetic form called the Etheree, named after its creator, American poet Etheree Taylor Armstrong (Feb. 12, 1918-March 14, 1994).

So what is the Etheree?

The Etheree is a simple unrhymed progressive syllabic poem of 10 lines, where syllable count equals line number. That is, the first line has one syllable, the second line two, and so on till the last/tenth line of the poem.

It has since taken on other appearances, like an inverted or reverse Etheree, a stacked or multiple Etheree, and more. The form lends itself to adaptations easily, and to rhythm and meaning as the poet chooses. You can choose to center align or left align (or even right align) the poem as you wish. I did not see anything regarding this anywhere.

The Etheree’s Characteristics

So the Etheree’s elements are (in its most basic form):

  • decastich: 10 line poem
  • syllabic: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 syllables by line
  • unrhymed: abcdefghij
  • themed: focuses on an idea or subject

h/t: Owlcation , ShadowPoetry

Play With the Form

While sticking to the element of writing the poem around a central idea or subject, feel free to play with the form by writing one of these variations, or make your own version of it.

  • Reverse or Inverted Etheree: the same as the basic form but with syllable counts from 10 to 1 
    • Unrhymed decastich with a decreasingly progressive syllabic count of 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
  • Stacked or Multiple Etheree: get creative and include multiple Etherees back to back (double, triple, quadruple, and so on). Have the syllable counts go from 1 to 10 for each Etheree, or alternate between the basic and a reverse Etheree.
    • Stack multiple Etheree back to back to back… 
    • Syllabic count variations can include:
      •  1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 … and more of the same for additional multiples
      •  1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10- 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 … and so on for as long a poem as you need it 
  • Twin Etheree: This was developed by Robert Crockett of Kansas and is based on the Etheree. It consists of ten rhyming couplets where the lines of each couplet have syllabic count equal to the couplet number.
    • A poem with 20 lines (double decastich, if you will)
    • Syllabic: 1-1-2-2-3-3-4-4-5-5-6-6-7-7-8-8-9-9-10-10 (syllable counts increase from 1 to 10 for each couplet)
    • Rhymed: aabbccddeeffgghhiiijj
    • So you can see that each line of the Etheree is twinned (in a way) to arrive at this form….
  • Make Your Own version of the Etheree!

My Example

I used the basic form to come up with this first Etheree.

True Treasures
Love
Laughter
Happiness
All this is true,
When your family
Surrounds you; when friends old
and friends new, are there to share
in joys and blues; yes, love, laughter,
happiness — all this is true when the
people you cherish, they treasure you too!
– Vidya Tiru @LadyInReadWrites

Recently

On My Blog

I managed posting almost everyday(!?) this past week! And here they are (since my last Scribblings)

And the Home Front

Not much as we settle back into routines after the holidays; but I am hoping to settle into a more productive routine. I have been adding books to my reading challenges list; working on my reviews for the overdue+Cybils books; working on the other items on my resolutions list as well. So far, so good!

MyPhotoADay

No bookstagram attempts (Again) this past week so here are a couple of the regular IG posts

ONE
TWO
THREE

Upcoming

On My Blog and Home Front

For my blog, I will continue to catch up on reviewing all the books I have read for Cybils and then some more; and continue to work on lists for my challenges (and update it here in a post next week).

This Week’s Celebrations

For this week, here are a few I wanted to mention…

The Days
The Week and Month
  • Then there are these two month-long celebrations, among many others, that seem apt for January. One is National Hobby Month (what with everyone resolving to do new things!) and the other is National Oatmeal Month (healthy eating goals).
  • And that oatmeal month along with Diet Resolution Week in the previous week (first week of January) along with a National Healthy Weight Week that begins the third Sunday in January makes me totally go uhhh? what??? at this… This week, that is, the 7 Days starting the 2nd Sunday of January is apparently National Pizza Week!!! How did someone choose to sandwich pizza between diet resolutions and healthy weight? Please ignore that additional food reference in the last sentence, totally intentional as it was!!
  • Last but not the least, considering we are all socially distanced still (at leas, here in the Bay Area, we are still in a shelter-in-place mode), why not take the time to write a letter this week to communicate in another mode than virtual? It is apparently Universal Letter Writing Week starting today (or rather the week starting the second Sunday every January)

Cybils Awards Roundup Post Four

Cybils Nonfiction Roundup Post One

As mentioned in my post last week, Cybils Awards 2020 finalists were announced! Check out the complete list of the finalists on the Cybils Awards web page here.

Fourth Roundup

Previous review round up posts

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, this was it for my Sunday Scribblings and the Cybils Awards roundup. I would love to hear your comments on my post(s), poetic Sunday section, and anything else. And which of these days do you plan to celebrate (or any other)? Also, I do look forward to reading your poems (if you have attempted one or the other forms so far?!) 

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon

Sunday Scribblings #55: Wanted: Less Crazy, More Serenity

6 thoughts on “Sunday Scribblings #55: Wanted: Less Crazy, More Serenity”

  2. If you find that place with less crazy and more serenity, would you please take me with you? I will be happy if they can cart away the crazies for a little while.

    I like the poetic form you shared this week. Your example has a beautiful flow, with each line building.

    You are focusing on drawing this year? Very nice. Love your Instagram example.

    And look at all those reviews for the Cybils. Wonderful.

    Let’s hope for a better week.

    1. And I would love to have your company!!!
      Thanks on the comments on my poem… I tried to read it out loud and made some changes.. and hopefully the more I write, the better it gets..
      I love your artwork; you make it seem so effortless – reading, writing, baking, and art, as well as … and I hope I can work on one small art project a week..for now
      Am getting closer to the end (well, not yet, but thinking that makes it easier) for the Cybils reviews I had planned..

      And yes, hoping for a better wekk

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