New Formalism is a late-20th and early 21st century movement in American poetry that has promoted a return to metrical and rhymed verse.

Origins and intentions[link]

The term 'New Formalism' was first used in the article 'The Yuppie Poet' in the May 1985 issue of the AWP Newsletter,^[1] which was an attack on what was perceived as a movement returning to traditional poetic forms; the article accused the movement's poets not only of political conservatism but also yuppie materialism.^[2] New Formalism was a reaction against various perceived deficiencies in the practice of contemporary poets. In his 1987 piece "Notes on the New Formalism," Dana Gioia wrote: "the real issues presented by American poetry in the Eighties will become clearer: the debasement of poetic language; the prolixity of the lyric; the bankruptcy of the confessional mode; the inability to establish a meaningful aesthetic for new poetic narrative and the denial of a musical texture in the contemporary poem. The revival of traditional forms will be seen then as only one response to this troubling situation."^[3]

Background[link]

Despite the formal innovations of Modernism as exemplified in the work of T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, and the widespread appearance of free verse in the early decades of the 20th century, many poets chose to continue working predominantly in traditional forms, such as those poets in America sometimes associated with the New Criticism, including John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Anthony Hecht, and Richard Wilbur. During the 1960s, with a surge of interest in Confessional poetry, publication of formal poetry became increasingly unfashionable. The emergence of the Language poets in the 1970s was one reaction to the predominance of the informal confessional lyric. But language poetry was another step away from the traditions of metre and rhyme, and was seen by some^[who?] as widening the divide between poetry and its public.^{[citation needed]}

Early history[link]

An early sign of a revival of interest in traditional poetic forms was the publication of Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics in 1968.^[4] In the early 1970s X. J. Kennedy started publishing the short-lived magazine Counter/Measures which was devoted to the use of traditional form in poetry. A few other editors around this time were sympathetic to formal poetry,^[5] but the mainstream was against rhyme and meter.

One of the first rumbles of the conflict that was to provide the impetus to create New Formalism as a specific movement, came with the publication in 1977 of an issue of the Mississippi Review called 'Freedom and Form: American Poets Respond'. The late 1970s saw the publication of a few collections by poets working in traditional forms, including Robert B. Shaw's Comforting the Wilderness, (1977), Charles Martin's Room for Error, (1978) and Timothy Steele's Uncertainties and Rest (1979). In 1980 Mark Jarman and Robert McDowell started the small magazine The Reaper to promote narrative and formal poetry. In 1981 Jane Greer launched Plains Poetry Journal, which published new work in traditional forms. In 1984 McDowell started Story Line Press which has since published some New Formalist poets. The Reaper ran for ten years. Frederick Feirstein's Expansive Poetry (1989) gathered various essays on the New Formalism and the related movement New Narrative, under the umbrella term 'Expansive Poetry'.

From 1983 the onset of "neoformalism" was noted in the annual poetry roundups in the yearbooks of The Dictionary of Literary Biography,^[6] and through the mid 1980s heated debates on the topic of formalism were carried on in several journals.^[7] 1986 saw the publication of Vikram Seth's The Golden Gate: A Novel in Verse and the anthology Strong Measures: Contemporary American Poetry in Traditional Forms^[8]

In 1990 William Baer started The Formalist and the first issue contained poems by, among others, Howard Nemerov, Richard Wilbur, and Donald Justice.^[9] The magazine ran twice a year for fifteen years, with the fall/winter 2004 issue being the last.^[10] The Formalist was succeeded by Measure: A Review of Formal Poetry, which is published biannually by the University of Evansville.

Current activity[link]

Since 1995, West Chester University has held an annual poetry conference with a special focus on formal poetry and New Formalism. Each year the Robert Fitzgerald Prosody Award is awarded as part of the conference.

By the end of the 20th century, poems in traditional forms were once again being published more widely. The effects of the movement have been observed in the broader domain of general poetry: a survey of successive editions of various general anthologies showed an increase in the number of villanelles included in the post-mid-'80s editions.^[11] The publication of books concerned with poetic form has also increased. Lewis Turco's Book of Forms from 1968 was revised and reissued in 1986 under the title New Book of Forms.

Interest in the movement and in formal techniques continues, as the West Chester conference demonstrates, but the movement is not without its detractors. In the November/December 2003 issue of P. N. Review, N. S. Thompson wrote: "While movements do need a certain amount of bombast to fuel interest, they have to be backed up by a certain artistic success. In hindsight, the movement seems to be less of a poetic revolution and more a marketing campaign."^[12]

New Formalist canon[link]

The 2004 West Chester Conference had a by-invitation-only critical seminar on 'Defining the Canon of New Formalism', in which the following anthologies were discussed:^[13]

• Rebel Angels: 25 Poets of the New Formalism edited by Mark Jarman and David Mason, 1996.
• The Direction of Poetry: An Anthology of Rhymed and Metered Verse Written in the English Language since 1975, edited by Robert Richman
• A Formal Feeling Comes: Poems in Form by Contemporary Women, edited by Annie Finch, 1993

See also[link]

poetry portal

• New Formalist, a literary journal
• Mezzo Cammin, a journal devoted to formalist poetry by women

Ireland[link]

A movement along similar lines is starting in Ireland with the Rhymers Club movement based around Tullamore and featuring writers such as Tomás Ó Cárthaigh, Anthony Sullivan and Ken Hume. The main journal associated with it is Cartys Poetry Journal

Ref[link]

• JPiC Forum For Writers
• Cartys Poetry Journal
• Anthony Sullivan
• Tomás Ó Cárthaigh

References[link]

• McPhillips, Robert, The New Formalism: A Critical Introduction, expanded edition 2005, Textos Books, Ohio ISBN 1-932339-68-X.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Dr. Spiros Zodhiates (Greek: Σπύρος Ζωδιάτης; March 13, 1922^[1]-October 10, 2009^[2]) was a Greek-American Bible scholar, author, and ministry innovator. He was best known for his work in developing AMG (Advancing the Ministries of the Gospel) International, a Christian missions and relief agency with operations in over 40 countries, and for publishing The Hebrew-Greek KeyWord Study Bible^[3] which indexes key terms in the English Bible with the words they were translated from in the original languages.

Life[link]

Zodhiates was born of Greek parents on the island of Cyprus. After completing his Greek education, he attended the American University in Cairo, Egypt, received his Th.B. degree from the National Bible Institute (now Shelton College) in New York, and his M.A. from New York University. In 1978 he earned his Doctor of Theology degree from Luther Rice Seminary of Jacksonville, Florida. He was also the recipient of several honorary doctorates.

He came to the United States in 1946 at the invitation of the American Committee for the Evangelization of the Greeks (now AMG International), of which he became president in 1966. Under Zodhiates' leadership, AMG grew from a small ministry focusing on the land of Greece to a worldwide evangelistic and relief ministry. AMG, founded in 1943 in New York City and presently located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, provides a wide range of social services, including care for orphans and leprosy patients, and has an expanding evangelistic thrust of “Advertising the Message of the Gospel” through paid newspaper and magazine gospel messages in many lands and languages. From the earliest days of his ministry, it became clear to Zodhiates that Christian service should be patterned after the life of Jesus Christ. His mission was the regeneration of lost souls, but He did not ignore the physical needs of the people He met. Zodhiates discovered that by meeting the physical needs of people, he often opened the door to meet the spiritual ones as well.

In 1951, Zodhiates’ passion for radio was born when he realized the power of media to get the message of Christianity to the masses. Using his Greek background and knowledge of the Greek language as a springboard, Zodhiates took to the airwaves, teaching the New Testament in light of the original Greek meaning of the words used. Zodhiates’ program, New Testament Light, began on one station in rural Pennsylvania, and in its heyday was heard across the United States and Canada. As his career progressed, Zodhiates became a recognized authority on the Greek New Testament. His Bible teaching carried from radio into other media as well. In 1975, he launched Pulpit Helps Magazine, a monthly publication designed to provide pastors with insights from the original languages of the Bible, tips on sermon construction, illustrative stories to enhance Bible teaching, and news from Christian missions around the world. Pulpit Helps still serves thousands of readers in the United States and other English-speaking countries. New Testament Light was developed into a television show during the 1980s and was broadcast on numerous stations through the mid-1990s.

Books[link]

In addition to The Hebrew-Greek KeyWord Study Bible, Zodhiates published over 200 books and booklets in English, as well as 82 in Greek, many of which are in-depth word-by-word commentaries on the books of the New Testament. He started a book house, AMG Publishers, which has since grown into a significant producer of Christian books, to publish much of his material. He was also responsible for introducing the Modern Greek pronunciation of Classical and Koine Greek into U.S. colleges and universities through A Guide to Modern Greek Pronunciation and his tape recordings of the entire Koine New Testament (Nestle's text) in Modern Greek pronunciation. He recorded with Modern Greek pronunciation special courses on New Testament Greek for those who wish to learn it on their own or in classrooms, using texts such as J. Gresham Machen's New Testament Greek for Beginners, Summers', Davis', and Hadjiantoniou's grammars.

After suffering numerous health problems in the late 1990s, Zodhiates transitioned out of active work, though many of his commentary manuscripts are still being edited and published, and his radio and television recordings are being redistributed digitally. He died in Chattanooga on October 10, 2009.^[2]

References[link]

• Zodhiates Bio from AMG International

1. ^ "Online Memorial and Obituary of Dr. Spiros Zodhiates". http://www.lane-southcrestchapel.com/obit-service-schedule.jsp?site=0121&id=50504. Retrieved 2009-10-12. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Obituaries". Chattanooga Times Free Press: p. B6. 2009-10-11. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/oct/11/obituaries-october-11-2009/. Retrieved 2009-10-11. 
3. ^ AMG Publishers,Chattanoga,1998 ISBN 978-0-89957-757-9

External links[link]

• AMG International
• Pulpit Helps Magazine
• AMG Publishers

Basil Twist
Basil Twist with a "Video Puppet"
Born	Basil Twist
Residence	New York, New York
Occupation	Director, Puppeteer
Website
basiltwist.com

Basil Twist is a New York City-based puppeteer who is best known for his underwater puppet show, "Symphonie Fantastique".^[1]

Life and work[link]

Originally from San Francisco, Basil Twist is a third generation puppeteer. He graduated from the École Supérieure Nationale des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières, France. He is founder and director of the Dream Music Puppetry Program at Here Arts Center in NYC, which supports and produces new puppet artists.

Twist has significantly contributed to the art of puppetry since 1998. He creates puppet works focused on their integration with music. His "Symphonie Fantastique", is performed to the symphony of the same name. Twist's version of "Master Peter's Puppet Show" was created with the Eos Orchestra and later performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.^[2] Twist's "Doguageshi" features original shamisen compositions created and performed live by master musician Yumiko Tanaka.^[3] He also directed and designed Humperdinck's opera, Hansel and Gretel, for the Houston Grand Opera and the Atlanta Opera.^[4] In 2010, Twist created the puppetry for the Broadway productions of The Pee-wee Herman Show and The Addams Family.^[5]

Twist is known for his original adult puppet mediums and use of abstraction in puppetry. "Symphonie Fantastique" takes place in a tank of water. In "Red Beads", his collaboration with Lee Breuer and Mabou Mines, he created wind puppetry.^[6] In "Dogugaeshi" he uses the Japanese art form of sliding screens.

Other works include La Bella Dormente nel Bosco, Petrushka, Hansel and Gretel, Master Peter's Puppet Show, the Araneidae Show, Behind the Lid, and Arias with a Twist, among others. He has collaborated with such artists as Joey Arias, Lee Breuer, Pilobolus, Paula Vogel and Joe Goode.

He is considered an important theater artist by critics of the New York Times, The New Yorker, et al.^[7] He has received national and regional recognition through numerous awards, including an Obie Award and a Guggenheim fellowship, and his work has been presented internationally.^[8][9][10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Basil Twist's Official Homepage