words from the publisher

Warm congratulations to the winners of gloria-brame.com's first annual Kinky Poetry contest. Thanks also to all who contributed to this unique chapbook devoted to erotic verse about BDSM sex.

We received some wonderful poems--evocative and full of feeling about what it's like to play on the radical edges of sex. I hope readers and contestants alike are pleased both with our choices and the way this chapbook looks. We invite you to come back again and again to these pages and to share them with friends.

If you've just stumbled in and don't know the history of this chapbook, an abbreviated explanation. In 1998, I announced a poetry contest on kinky themes. I promised then that the winners would see their work published on this site in chapbook form. And now, here it is.

This chapbook is offered as a gift to all visitors. You may save or print this entire chapbook (12 pages in total). There is no charge or obligation of any kind. You are simply requested to agree to the following rules:

• The poets names, the links, and the copyright information must remain intact. As long as the names of the authors of the poems and the copyright information are visible on the copies, I grant free permission for you to reprint or distribute this chapbook as you wish. If you publish only excerpts, make sure to list full copyrights as well.

If you agree to the above, you may download the chapbook; you may print it out; you may make as many copies as you wish to share with friends; you may distribute it at BDSM meetings and events, add it to an auction basket, or anything else. You may may even post the chapbook on UseNet. Just give the credit where credit is due.

Now, why am I stepping away from the usual Net copyright protocol of fiercely protecting each morsel of text? Simply because, as a poet, I want to see poetry get as wide an audience as possible. And because, as the chapbook publisher, it's my privilege to give it away.

And now...some words on the art and craft of poetry

Trying to explain what makes a poem a good poem is as hopeless a task as trying to explain what makes a person a poet. There are too many ambiguous circumstances that intervene in the lives both of poems and of people. I have a good number of friends who busily attempt, nonetheless, to explain the inexplicable, and to teach the mysteries of the art. Personally, I don't think you can teach anyone to write a poem.

Be it free verse, tautly rhymed stanzas, primly organized sonnets or pantoums, or loose, sliding lines that seem to want to escape the page, a poem is a poem is a poem as long as the people who read it believe it is a poem. Perhaps the lyric from Rita Marley's song, "Ja," says it best:

What can be taught however is the craft of poetry. This includes reading and analyzing the work of poets from classical to contemporary times, and developing insights into what makes their work worth reading. Knowing the craft of writing poetry means among that you could, if necessary, quickly produce a competent sonnet or that you can compose couplets nearly in your sleep. And, by the way, if you don't know what a pantoum is, then you need to bone up on your craft.

Knowing the craft means you understand all about forms, and also understand how to break form intelligently. As anyone who's done bondage knows, wearing restraints is a liberating experience. Poetry works the same way. Form and meter are the ropes and chains of poetry. You must test them and resist them before you can hope to break them successfully. Meanwhile, some of us find the greatest freedom in remaining bound.

With a bit of study, anyone can learn the craft. RedCrow has offered some good pointers, particularly to aspiring poets. If you haven't already read his comments, you can do so now. I add my voice to his in urging those of you are serious about writing poetry to read as much as you can, and to learn everything you can about this magical art.

This site also offers a spectrum of resources for writers in all genres. Indeed it is my hope that, in 1999, I will have the time to expand the literary offerings even further. But, for now, for those of you interested in the writing arts, here are some of the resources we offer. Some are designed to teach, others to stimulate discussion, and some are just for the pure pleasure of reading verse. Here is a short list of features within this site which offer diversions for poetry readers:

• Thermopylae, a formal literary 'zine devoted to archiving the previously published work of established poets.

• Thermopylae recently expanded to include interviews and reviews. The Poetry Review page now accepts book reviews from readers.

• Arts Interviews, a series of in-depth interviews with writers and poets, including Dana Gioia, Rachel Hadas, and Allen Ginsberg, among others.

• So You Want to Be A Writer?, a teaching essay on the pains and perils of pursuing writing professionally. Includes advice and information for writers at all levels, including a bibliography of helpful books.

• Erotic Fiction: A Writer's Perspective, by Ray Girvan is a fascinating essay on trends in the erotica markets. It includes numerous links and references (including footnotes) that are helpful to poets.

• Poems Suitable to Give to a Dominant, showcases 3 classical poems on sadomasochistic themes, including Shakespeare's "slave sonnets."

• My home page contains links to the various chapbooks of my own poetry that I've published here.

• Art Links, a compendium of links to arts-related sites on the Net, with huge resources for poets and writers. Also links to art museums and to film directors on the Web.

• Bibliophilia Books the bookshop on this site hosts a selection of titles in poetry and the writing arts.

Again, my sincere congrats to the winners. And last but never least: a great big thank you to A RedCrow for his hard work. I couldn't have done this without him.

kisses,

Glory