Entry 368 — Of Signifliture and Other Matters
Yesterday, I posted the following snide comment to The Best American Poetry website: “It seems to me that a Worst American Poetry series would be beneficial–composing a kind of poetry ignored by the editors of the Best American Poetry series is not anywhere enough of an affirmation.”
That inspired a new coinage: “signifliture,” for significant literature. The adjective would be “signiflerary.” Distinguished from “literary” because not including people like Eminem . . . and Nobel Prize Winners.
Meanwhile, I visited Geof Huth’s dbqp blog yesterday. He does a piece on me every Groundhog Day. This one was Very Nice–although he as usual said a few things I do not entirely agree with. He also featured one of my mathemaku, one–in fact–that I changed after sending him the version he posted. Now I more and more feel his version is better. What I changed (or maybe it’s the main thing I changed–I’m too lazy to try to find my later version) was the quotient–from “soon” to (I think) “Persephone.” I always liked “soon, but Geof told me that one of the Poetry editors who rejected it for their magazine dissed “soon” for rhyming with “June,” and I agreed that it shouldn’t for a while. I can be very suggestible, however stubborn many think me.
Oddly, I hadn’t even noticed that “soon” rhymed with “June” when I picked it–I was revved up by the way I’d converted it from an adjective to an image. I’m almost sure I’ll bring it back. Should I cancel the other version or label it a variation? I don’t know.