October 1 Newsletter
Anadiplosis -- what is it? Prompt -- "bittersweet." And more...
First, a “Thank you” to the three who decided to go paid this month. I am grateful for each!
On the first of each month, I post a potpourri-type newsletter with bits and piece, including a prompt, a re-cap of the month’s posts, a piece pulled from the archives, and more. Sometimes markets, most often some bit of craft. (Scroll down for navigation tips, if new to Substack/Unschool.)
For October, I’d like to revisit the device of anadiplosis from the September poetry discussion. In these discussions, we’re reviewing Annie Finch’s tome A Poet’s Craft, chapter by chapter. The sheer number of devices in one chapter might be overwhelming. Yet another reason to have the book on your shelf to pull and work with and replace for later…
So for the October prompt let’s spend time with ONE.
Anadiplosis
Is the repeated use of a word, phrase, or clause from one line to be used in some way in the next. The examples should give you some idea.
From ancient times: Song of Solomon 2:15
Take us the foxes
the little foxes
that spoil the vines:
for our vines have tender grapes.
And from II Peter 1:5-7
…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
Note how, without any repetition of the closing word—love—it is given a note-worthy emphasis. Know when to break a pattern! Or how to “roughen” as Finch says. (Noted in the September discussion piece.)
While the first example might be poetry, this second shows the strength of this device in prose.
Consider even, how you might use anadiplosis to construct a longer and persuasive piece that underscores your ideas, and progresses a thought/theme. Words/phrases/clauses (the longer for longer works possibly?) might create a patternign to reflect such “build.”
Anadiplosis doesn’t have to go on at length—it can be a touch of repetition that draws attention, and no more.
From Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita:
What I present here is what I remember of the letter, and what I remember of the letter I remember verbatim (including that awful French).
The repetition of “what I remember of the letter” is powerful. The word “verbatim” is almost unnecessary: the reassurance of the narrator’s absorption of the words in that letter is already there in the doubled useage.
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and the Prompt…
Let’s work with anadiplosis, using end-to-beginning repetition/echoing in some form.
And to add further “constraint,” let’s use the word “bittersweet” as theme or starting place—a word I often feel this time of year. A word I feel when I look at the photo of a lovely bench… with no one on it.
However, feel your own “bittersweet.” Take it in any direction you want! And post to the prompt thread. (Or if you want to play with anadiplosis with some other theme or idea, do so!)
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Re-cap of September posts
September 1 post had fires/smoke as the prompt, and not surprisingly it had quite a number of responses—hard to have nothing to say about this. We’ve all been living with it to some degree, whether merely the strange pink-yellow light in our summer sun or a close call; just today I learned that my brother and sister-in-law had to be rescued recently from a wild-fire that grew too close.
We had a lot to say about this! Thanks to all who posted and offered thoughtful feedback: Nika Trifo, Amy Whitmore, Heather Ramsay, Frank Dent, Georgia Patrick, Erin Buchmann, Stephen Razis!
What are the three elements in a strong opening sentence? was the next post. And Al Rutgers posted the opener for his WIP: a story that begins with “If it had not been for…” has me reading on!
Next up: The Anger Short-cut. This really has become a go-to emotion in stories. Why? An exercise or two here… if you missed it.
How to break up paragraphs was the next subject. With a lot of examples, exercises, and thoughts about this piece of writing, which can seem so (too?) intuitive, but’s worth a dig. Again, some lively discussion. Thanks Annette Laing, Georgia Patrick, and Steve Fendt! I appreciate the community, the ideas, the back-and-forth.
I posted the monthly poetry discussion.
And…
we had two picturebooks and one poem posted to the workshops space (paid reader-writers only), which is the best way to kick off the change in seasons! Thank you to Cindy, Sheryl, and Joan for sharing work. And Cindy, Sheryl, and Elizabeth Barnesco for offering feedback!
If you’d like to submit work to the workshop space, email it to me: alison@alisonacheson.com
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Poll
It was interesting to see the results of the August poll, in which I asked how it is working for me to be posting weekly instead of every 5 days. The results were solidly on the side of “once a week.” I’m a little curious as to what the other 14% meant by “other.” That would be the problem with polls and stats, right?? They NEVER tell a story—not a story like us wordsmith-types create.
If you click a box below, consider leaving a note in the comments box for the story that accompanies your checked box.
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From the Archives - 18 months ago
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Books
I was hoping to disclose details of my latest contract, but the contract is not yet in my hands. And since my last contract experience ended some time between being verbally-agreed-to and signed, I’m a little something-like-superstitious about it. So I’ll save it for next month.
However, I AM excited to share news of the release of Jean Peelen’s Feisty: A Memoir in Pieces, a book I had the pleasure of reading as beta-reader, and writing a blurb. It’s an inspiring work. I’d love to see it passed along to young people, and feminists-in-the-making, too; this lived history is critical. Written with a pithy, honest, and humourous voice.
Goodreads description: Feisty is the story of a woman with attitude—told in short reflections that capture a life of awakening activism. From her exploits as a five-year-old New Jersey cowboy, to hosting Gloria Steinem in Alabama, to an awkward drink with a young Clarence Thomas, Jean Peelen shares her civil rights journey and the most vulnerable moments in her life. This book is funny and sad, deep and wide. Feisty shines a light on what is possible when a woman rejects the roles she is expected to fulfill and finds her own path.
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Probably almost a perfect example of anadiplosis with bittersweet is the title of Gertrude Stein’s poem: “Before the Flowers of Friendship Faded Friendship Faded.”
And of course George W. Bush’s famous quote: “When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible.”
I would think songwriters use this technique a lot, but looking around I’m seeing mostly their use of refrain, which is similar, but usually is the repetition of a phrase or line(s) at regular intervals, as in a song’s chorus.
One possibility is from Stevie Nicks’ “Dreams”:
“Like a heartbeat drives you mad / In the stillness of remembering what you had / And what you lost / And what you had / Oh, what you lost”
Her repetition of “had” and “lost” is good, with the second lost set off by “Oh,” which is devastating (she actually sings it more like “ooh”).
I’m finding that examples are easier to find than to write.
Patrick Gillespie over at Poem Shape pointed out a couple years ago the many rhetorical devices Amanda Gorman used in the poem she composed and read at Biden’s inauguration. Had another look just now and sure enough, anadiplosis. It’s everywhere.
“We close the divide because we know, to put our future first / we must first put our differences aside”
https://poemshape.wordpress.com/2021/02/12/a-brief-look-at-amanda-gormans-inaugural-poem/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ055ilIiN4
There’s also Matthew 20:16: “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” And also Mark 10:31: “But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.” Those are both from the King James translation. Those translators were contemporaries of Shakespeare and probably knew their rhetoric and poetry, although I suppose the anadiplosis could also be in the original Greek (a Greek word after all).
Dylan practically quoted those in “The Times They Are A-Changin’: “And the first one now will later be last.” Although he dropped the anadiplosis.