Friday, July 24, 2009

Three versions of "Turtle"

...by Ian LeTourneau sit before me right now.


The poem first appeared in The Malahat Review in 2005. Then in his chapbook Defining Range in 2006. Then in his book Terminal Moraine in 2008. I just spent time comparing each version. What a joy it is to place the three "Turtle" side by side and see the changes. How the poem grew. This is one big reason why I love literary journals. Why I love chapbooks. This is the kind of thing I do on a Friday afternoon.

*
We saw some pigeons when we went for our walk this evening. They were perched in their usual location. I chuckled at the sight, thinking of the science news story I read yesterday titled "Pigeons as art critics? Pigeons, Like Humans, Use Color And Pattern Cues To Evaluate Paintings."

4 comments:

Zachariah Wells said...

But what about the art critic as pigeon: flying around shitting on everything.

Brenda Schmidt said...

Ha! Now I won't be able to keep a straight face around critics either. Good thing I live where I do.

Ian LeTourneau said...

I wonder which version the pigeons would like best?!

Brenda Schmidt said...

I'm sure they'd coo at all three. No poo for you.