In the City of the Lamb

Abstract

The genesis of this work begun by my desire to merge the entertainment value of escapist-fantasy with narrative poetry's ability to teach by example. Much of the sound-play manifest in this work was influenced by classical Latin poetry's habit of intermeshing sound throughout the poem, rather than focusing it at the end of the line. My youthful interest in Heian-Japanese waka and poetic diaries also left its mark on my poetry. Echoes of waka and tanka form reverberate through even my more European-flavored folk-tale poems. Ultimately, I have followed my own taste and have no particular idol to credit. The oral aspect of poetry has been at the forefront of my mind, and sound plays an important role in these poems. The purpose of this work is to entertain as well as to plant a few seeds of thought in the mind of the reader.