Thursday, September 07, 2023

Poetry Friday: Her First Novel by James Tate

Photo: Saliha Sevim, Pexels


I'm sharing this one because, honestly, who among us (well, among those of us who write) hasn't had a wake for a novel like this? The last three lines made me laugh out loud (as did, well, most of the poem.) It's a little bit of genius and a lot of real-life writerly angst. 



Her First Novel
by James Tate


When Connie finished her novel she came
over to my place to celebrate. I mixed up a
shaker full of Manhattans and we sat out on the
porch. "Here's to… What's the title?" I
asked. "Well, that's a problem. The title's
kind of awful. It's called THE KING OF SLOPS."
"Gosh," I said, "that's unfortunate. I think
you can probably do better than that." We took
a drink and reflected. "It's about a hospital
orderly." "Ouch," I said. "It doesn't sound
very promising, does it?" "Is there a love
angle?" I asked hopefully. "No," she replied,
"everybody hates him. He's a creep." "Then
....
(Read the rest here.) 

~~~~~~~~~~

The round-up this week is being hosted by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at The Poem Farm

28 comments:

Tabatha said...

Love it! I would read a lot more about writer Connie :)

Irene Latham said...

Ha! I can definitely relate! Big smiles. Thank you! xo

Linda B said...

Well, one never knows what can happen to an idea, Karen. It's even fun to imagine Tate writing it! Thanks!

Tracey Kiff-Judson said...

I feel for Connie! Thank you for sharing!

Susan said...

That is funny, Karen. Thank you for sharing it. A wake, indeed!

Jane @ www.raincitylibrarian.ca said...

Hmmm, I think after downing a few Manhattans, Connie might be ready to do some editing. ;-D

Mary Lee said...

What a train wreck! (Hey, maybe she should include a train wreck to lighten things up! HAHA!)

Patricia Franz said...

Oh yes... with the good priest, now I'm interested! Sigh...poor Connie...I hope she likes Manhattans!

Alan j Wright said...

Your chosen poem takes the reader on a spiraling journey. It makes me feel like I should be stifling my laughter, Karen. It's like the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train. What a poem though!

Linda Mitchell said...

LOL...oh, my goodness. I should have waited until my family woke up and were out of bed before reading this one. It's literally a hoot! Thanks for the fun.

Margaret Simon said...

What a wonderful surprise ending. Chuckles, for sure!

Rose Cappelli said...

Love it! Thanks for sharing.

Karen Edmisten said...

I would too, Tabatha. :)

Karen Edmisten said...

Yes, can't we all? :D

Karen Edmisten said...

It is! :)

Karen Edmisten said...

Right? :)

Karen Edmisten said...

RIP, Bad Novel. :)

Karen Edmisten said...

Yes, I'd like to read the second draft. :)

Karen Edmisten said...

It couldn't hurt. :)

Karen Edmisten said...

At least the Manhattans will take the sting out.

Karen Edmisten said...

Alan, love your take on the light at the end of the tunnel. So true! We're cringing, laughing, and then cringing again. :)

Karen Edmisten said...

I love the image of you laughing out loud as the rest of the family sleeps, Linda. :D

Karen Edmisten said...

Glad you enjoyed it, Margaret!

Karen Edmisten said...

My pleasure, and thanks for stopping by, Rose!

jlcjbuzz said...

Funny and true. Thanks for sharing. Also, I commend you for your post. I have to learn to write/post more like this...I get too long winded. Thanks, again.

Michelle Kogan said...

Thanks for the smiles Karen, poor Connie…

Carol Varsalona said...

Karen, leave it to you to find us a poem that has such a funny twisted plot. Marrying a corpse is a new one in the oddity lists. I have to say that this poem is one big hoot with a laughable ending.

Amy LV said...

This slayed me! So specific and surprising and odd yet oddly perfect. Thank you for sharing it, Karen. Happy week ahead! xo, a.