It's pantoum time

What object is important to you?

Dear friends, 

It’s pantoum time again — a fascinating form from Malaysia (it is called pantoun in Malaysia; internationally, its popular name is with the m, though I don’t know why). 

Begin by thinking of a single object that means something important to you. I’m hoping you choose something that has deep meaning for you. A blanket. A watch. A bunch of letters held together by twine. These objects carry meaning, and the plain description of them can often be a carrier — the “objective correlative” TS Eliot called it — of emotional weight. 

I’ve got a lot to say about this pencil. Photo by Pádraig Ó Tuama

Without further ado, here is the invitation: Respond to the following eight prompts, with a single line each. Then arrange it in pantoum form and share it — if you’re willing — in the comments. 

1. Where you got the item

2. Where you keep it

3. What others say about it

4. A secret only it knows

5. A description of it

6. How others see it

7. A particular time you reached for it

8. What it means to you

Try to make each line of roughly equal length, and certainly each line should be no wider than a page. Then arrange the 8 lines in the following order (each line is repeated, so this will turn into a 16-line poem). 

1
2
3
4

2
5
4
6

5
7
6
8

7
3
8
1

If you wish, you can modify the line when it repeats — to make it fit in with the previous line or to give a different angle into it. 

Part of the intuition of a pantoum is that it explores what happens to lines when their sibling lines are rearranged, and what happens to expectation when there’s a formal (or informal) repeated line. Things can come into perspective in new ways (we made an episode of Poetry Unbound about Kay Ulanday Barrett’s pantoum a while back). If you wish to read a more literary exploration of the pantoum, there’s a fantastic article hosted by the good people of poets.org here.

I’d love to read your pantoums (and your replies to the ones offered by others) in the comments section. I read everything you wrote last week — and I’ll look forward to reading what you offer this week. 

Also — a side note — On Being and Poetry Unbound have been nominated for some awards! If you feel like it, you can vote in the popular contest. The On Being interview with Nick Cave is nominated, and Poetry Unbound is up for an award in the general category of Arts and Culture. 

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Poetry in the World

A list of events: Online; in the US (Norfolk, VA; Minneapolis, MN; Durham, NC); in Canada (Hamilton, Ontario); and the Scottish island of Iona 

PS: I’ve got two books coming out in early 2025 — Kitchen Hymns and 44 Poems on Being with Each Other. You can pre-order them wherever you buy books. 

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October 26–27, Norfolk, Virginia, US

I’m giving some readings, a class, and a reflection, hosted by the good people of Christ & St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Details here.

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October 30, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

I’ll be giving a lecture on literature and health at the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University as part of the Hooker Lecture 2024 series. Details here.

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November 2, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US

I’ll be exploring concepts of politics, peace and poetry at an event with the wonderful people of the Loft Literary Center. Details here.

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November 3, 10, 17, 24, December 1, Online

Fill your Sunday evenings with peculiarity, poetry, and ancient literature: I’m giving new online lectures on “Strange Stories of the Bible”. Register here.

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November 18–19 Durham, North Carolina, US

I’m giving the William Preston Few lecture at Duke University. I’ll share details here as they emerge. 

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March 10–15 and March 18–23 2025, Isle of Iona, Scotland

I’m holding two Poetry Unbound retreats on the gorgeous Scottish island of Iona; each retreat is the same. Both retreats are booked up, but you can get on the waiting list by contacting the folks at the St. Columba here.