1.16.2003

The "abba" rhyme quatrain of Stubborn Grew & its sequels is the smallest ring structure. I varied it, especially in "July", where I tried to turn the rhymes inside-out or backwards. The most-articulated design is in the center poem, "Grassblade Light": there each chapter has a centered symmetry (ring structure), as does the book as a whole, which is balanced on a single separated line. It is framed by books 1 & 3 (Stubborn & July), each of which have two large parts which are designed to mirror each other. So the whole thing is circular, like a bowl, the way I describe Providence in the early sections of Stubborn (1st line: "Time flowers on the lips of whispered clay.") The 4th book, "Blackstone's Day-Book", sprouts off as a short coda.

The design in some ways impelled the narrative. You travel to the center & back out again, you breathe in, you breathe out. This static design is crossed by the variation in the rhetorical SPEED of each book.

Another aspect has to do with the "occasional" quality of many parts - the poems relate to specific dates of the year. I'll try to post an example of what I mean.

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