On Erasure Poetry

As I blogged Sunday, Silver Birch Press's NOIR Erasure Poetry Anthology is now available. In this post, I'll describe the feel of erasure poetry, and of many poems in this particular anthology.

One reason I'm drawn to poetry is its independence from narrative. Yes, narrative helps clarity, and erasure poetry can feel disjointed—"experimental"—diverging from an existing narrative. However, poetry's purpose is often to get at sensations that don't fit neatly into stories. Several poets in this anthology used Hammett and Chandler as source material, but each poem feels new and uniquely the poet's.

I don't consider Robert B. Parker a noir author, but I used the first page of his first Spenser novel, The Godwulf Manuscript, for the phrase "Victorian whorehouse". Parker used it figuratively, to describe a university president's office; I used literally, as the setting of my noir poem.

The NOIR Erasure Poetry Anthology also features 5-2 contributors Rosemarie Keenan, Catfish McDaris, and David S. Pointer. If you'd like to see it your local independent mystery bookshop, contact me, and I'll pass the details on to publisher Melanie Villines.

And let me mention another Silver Birch Press erasure poetry anthology, accepting submissions until December 31. Poets are asked to create Valentine's Day-themed poems from page 214 of the book of their choice. I chose Active Server Pages Bible by Eric Smith.