Navigating Some Dworkin Maps

Frances Boyle

i.                     tiptoe neologism

shlip shush
insinulate round the cornerstoop
corridor percolumcution
fingler on hips

elephegantic wordplay

ii.                    elusive bongo breakdown

raptop slaptap
stopstart warily standstare    pause
wantnot willnot cantstop ghosthaunt
staystrong playlong halfgone blob
badmoon ragoon showtune bassoon builtsoon
fleshwound mayjune lakeloon
muttership
rudderslip
wordlessness
pause

iii.                   calcify cottony domicile doll

where you live:  curtains quilts cushions
dolloped whipped-creamy over surfaces
swaddled in cosy, you lie recumbent
blue eyes open to the ceiling   

iv.                   complex phrasemake bizet adept

complex phrase – make bizet adapt?

v.                    verbosity rev

revving (start your engines) well then, well then, what do I think about the fine state of affairs in the world today? Let me tell you, it isn’t like it was (whazz, whazz) when I was young,  no, not at all, it’s just a dog eat day world (whirr, whirr, whirr),  ever’ body for them selves and it’s not mine to make of it more that it was but if I had my way there’s be a rev-rev-rev-olution, a revisioning, a new dog day, a taking off and going places, a tomorrow, a …

Section titles taken from Craig Dworkin’s Maps http://www.ubu.com/ubu/unpub/Unpub_009_Dworkin_Maps.pdf

Frances Boyle is the author of two poetry books, most recently This White Nest (Quattro Books 2019). She’s also written a novella, Tower, and a forthcoming short story collection, Seeking Shade. Her poems and stories have appeared throughout North America and in the U.K., with recent and upcoming publications including Best Canadian Poetry 2020, Blackbird, Prairie Fire, Parentheses Journal, Cypress and The /tƐmz/ Review. Originally from the prairies, Frances now lives in Ottawa. For more, visit www.francesboyle.com