Marie-Eluzabeth Mali

This was a serendipitous find for me back in 2012. I enjoyed the book then, and I've enjoyed rereading it this year. Since the theme of the book is a form, not a subject, the poems range from grim to comical. Some closely follow the rules for constructing a villanelle; others stretch the form almost beyond recognition. The book has four sections: traditional villanelles, contemporary ones, villanelles about villanelles (metavillanelles?), and variations on villanelles. While I didn't like all the poems, I admired many of them, and I got some new favorites from this book.… (mer)