poems by Chad Chmielowicz & Ellaraine Lockie, issue 11
1/26/22: Into the Archives: staff member Selena Cordar on two poems from issue #11
I recently read the eleventh issue of Prism, specifically the poems “Well and Good” by Chad Chmielowicz and “The History of Color” by Ellaraine Lockie.
“Well and Good,” by Chad Chmielowicz, was a rather short, yet impactful poem. This was within a set of three poems, but I felt to be most connected to this one. When I read this poem, I felt it read more like prose than other pieces I have read. The language was rather informal at times, which is why I feel I gravitated towards it. This piece differs in the sense that it didn’t have a great sense of musicality to it, but there was still a rhythmic aspect to it. I feel the structure, although did not have much whitespace, helped with the pacing because the lines ended in places that would cause the reading to be paused. This halt assisted in creating a sense of rhythm even though the poem lacked rhyme or “poetic-sounding” verbiage. This poem does a great job of implementing vivid diction throughout. In doing so, the poem seems to come to life in a sense and fully submerge the reader into the world the author is creating. In addition, I find there to be a great impact by the end of the piece because of how abruptly the tone shifts from what it was before. There is a line of dialog that is followed by the statement “forgiven, just not necessarily here, forever”. This left me with an almost unsetting feeling and caused me to think even deeper about the meaning and depth of the poem in its’ entirely. As a whole, I really enjoyed reading this piece and would love to read more like it.
“The History of Color,” by Ellaraine Lockie, was a little longer than the previous one I had reviewed. This poem had great use of whitespace, as after every five to six lines there was a single blank space that separated ideas/topics from one another. I feel this form helped with the impact of the poems, as it caused for there to be more time for the reader to fully understand and ponder on what the author is discussing. I feel the language almost shifts between prose and poetic language, which is very intriguing to read. To elaborate, the verbiage ranges from “And when wind stirs the prairie dust and weeds tumble in a grey line dance,” to “They came in mail trucks inside Sears and Roebuck catalogues”. The first statement has a great sense of musicality and imagery that causes it to be read with a great sense of rhythm. Regarding the second line, it feels almost like it is a part of a short story rather than a poem. This dynamic causes the piece to stand out amongst other poetry within the literary journal. The poem has a well-developed sense of both vivid diction and sensory detail that helped indulge the reader in the world the author is describing and made everything feel all the more tangible.
Overall, I really enjoyed both of these pieces and reading a past issue of Prism. Since we as a class are reviewing new work from a variety of authors to be put in the next issue of the literary journal, it is very helpful to see what has been accepted already to use as a line of comparison.
