Hello, dVerse Poets! It’s Merril welcoming you to the pub with a Meeting the Bar challenge. Today, we’re going to be writing duplex form poems.
The duplex is a very recent form invented by Jericho Brown in 2018. It combines the forms of ghazal, sonnet, and blues. You can read his explanation of the form here. The article also goes into more detail about the form. Brown is also one of the featured writers on the current PBS show Southern Storytellers.
Here are the basic components of the form:
- 14 Lines, in couplets
- 9 to 11 syllables for each line (but the lines don’t have to have the same number of syllables)
- The second line of each couplet is partially repeated or echoed by the first line of the following couplet. The last line (line 14) echoes the first line.
The second line of each couplet should change the meaning of the first line in some unexpected way.
I know it sounds very confusing. It’s easier to understand if you look at an example. Here is Jericho Brown’s poem, Duplex
Here is an example of a duplex poem written by poet I.S. Jones
It took me awhile to get all the components of this form, and perhaps I don’t have it all yet. Just try it and have fun!
For this prompt, you must write a 14-line poem in couplets.
The second line of each couplet must be partially repeated in the first line of the next couplet, and the first line must at least partially be repeated in the last line.
Suggestions: Brown uses lines from poems that he never finished. You may want to take random lines from some of your old poems and experiment with moving them around. I consulted the Magnetic Poetry Oracle, always a good way for me to get inspired.
Once you have written your duplex poem, add the link to Mr. Linky. Then visit others to see what they have written.
kim881 said:
Hi everyone and thank you Merril for a tricky challenge. I’m not sure that I’ve got it right, and I know I’ll have to work harder on the next one – if I dare to write another one! But thanks for the opportunity to give the duplex a go.
merrildsmith said:
You’re welcome, Kim. I’m not certain I have it right either, but I do like the form. 😊
merrildsmith said:
Welcome All! It’s hot here in NJ, and it will be hotter tomorrow. But whatever the weather where ever you are, it’s also perfect here in the poet’s pub! We have a variety of cold and hot beverages, and yummy treats.
I hope you enjoy today’s form. It occurred to me that this form might also work with two poets writing alternating couplets.
sanaarizvi said:
Peach cobbler for me please! Loved the prompt, Merril 😀 I look forward to reading what everyone comes up with. Happy Thursday 💙💙
merrildsmith said:
Peach cobbler–perfect! We have some wonderful Jersey peaches from the farm stand. Happy Thursday to you!
sanaarizvi said:
Thank you! 💙💙
merrildsmith said:
You’re welcome!
Helen said:
I also enjoy a good challenge!! Surprise me with a cold beverage, guaranteed to boost my duplex building skill!
merrildsmith said:
Hmmm. . .I think you probably want a glass of champagne, don’t you? 😉
Helen said:
You know me well … LOL
merrildsmith said:
Hahaha. I’ll join you!
Helen said:
Hope I didn’t veer too far off-script. But I did have fun with the Duplex.
merrildsmith said:
Thanks so much, Helen. I’ll be over to read soon. 😊
Helen said:
Thank you so so much for the constructive pointers … I have revamped and please, please tell me if what I’ve done is what I needed to do.
merrildsmith said:
You’re welcome, Helen. It looks perfect to me!
Jim H said:
This was a fun form to work. If I did it right, sort of, I hope.
I’m going to see my dermatologist now, I’ll make changes when I come back if they’re needed.
..
Jim said:
Thank you for finding it, I’ll read yours also when I return this evening. I know it will be GREAT!!
..
merrildsmith said:
Thank you very much, Jim! I hope all goes well with your appointment.
Jane Dougherty said:
I’m pleased you chose this form. It’s a good one.
merrildsmith said:
Oh good! I think it is, too. I was trying to find something different. 🙂
Rob Kistner said:
Thank you for hosting Merril. I read this sitting in the parking garage at UW’s Fred Hutch Center, waiting for Kathy to finish her treatment. It was confusing, so I waited until we got home here to read again in my comfortable chair. I am still confused. Gonna read some Duplex poems tonight and see if I can find inspiration. If I do, I’ll put up a link. Right now I am finishing the artwork I started for a piece I wrote about the blues, thinking today would be an open link day. I have lost track of my days. Happy weekend everyone. 🙂✌🏼🫶🏼
merrildsmith said:
Hi Rob. It’s easier to understand if you look at what to do and then look at Brown’s poems.
Hope Kathy’s treatment went OK, and you are doing well. 😊
rob kistner said:
Thank you Merrilll. So far Kathy is tolerating the daily radiation, but apparently next week and beyond it begins to get more difficult. She is strong though, and she has a focused family support group here.
merrildsmith said:
You’re welcome, Rob. Yes, everyone tolerates it differently. Hopefully, all will go smoothly.
Helen said:
Thank you for the update, Rob. I have been thinking about you and Kathy recently, hoping all was progressing well for you.
merrildsmith said:
💙
Rob Kistner said:
The more I read Duplex poetry the more it reminds me of how my ADD mind naturally “thinks” when my tempo gets raised. I have to work very hard to stop my mind from glitching like a squirrel jumping and jerking, so I then can stay on point to write. In grade school my report card always said… “Robert is very intelligent, but he has difficulty focusing on the task at hand”. Funny that I find it hard to write in the pattern to which my mind is naturally predisposed. I was thinking about it today waiting for Kathy. Perhaps because in most of my writing I fight hard not to “squirrel”, so it is difficult to allow myself to do so because it feels like I am heading down the ‘distraction’ rabbit hole — so I pull back… hmmm, interesting. I am excellent at SOC writing, but you don’t have to come back every two lines and reconnect it — it can just flow naturally on a much larger scale of disassociation.. as long as you eventually resolve your train of thought. This every two-line thing is a challenge for me. It disrupts my comfortable cascade of thought. I will try again this evening Merrill.
merrildsmith said:
Some people don’t like to write form poetry of any sort, and some do not like particular forms. We all have different styles. Whatever you want to do, Rob. Don’t feel like you have to.
Rob Kistner said:
I maybe didn’t get what you want Merril, but it’s all I got. Even created and posted a new piece of digital hyper realistic art to coordinate with this new poem. Hope you like both… 🙂✌🏼🫶🏼
merrildsmith said:
Thank you so much, Rob. I appreciate the effort of poem and art! 💙
Frewin55 said:
Good Morning Merril – Breakfast time now in a gloomy, soggy Yorkshire – send us some of your heat please – perhaps the kitchen can rustle up some curried eggs and a strong coffee please.
I enjoyed this form – at first, my lines were too long so the exercise of compression was good – not sure that I managed to make it bluesy but I think the other Duplex elements are there…
merrildsmith said:
Good morning, Andrew! I’m just having my morning coffee now (I get up early). It is strong, and I’ll make some rye toast and get your curried eggs. I’ll be over to read your poem in a bit.
I don’t think you want our heat and humidity!
Melissa Lemay said:
It really helped me to sing it like a blues song in my head.❤️⛵️
merrildsmith said:
Oh, that’s so interesting! Thank you!
pvcann said:
Thank you Merril, you mentioned the Duplex at the OLN Live, and here we are, I am captivated by its rhythm.
merrildsmith said:
That’s wonderful, Paul. I’m pleased you like the form!
pvcann said:
I think it gives me the same pleasure as doing a pantoum or similar form.
merrildsmith said:
I like pantoums, too. 🙂
pvcann said:
Yay 🙂
kittysverses said:
Thank you for hosting, Merrill. That’s a wonderful form to write to. 🙂
merrildsmith said:
Thank you very much! I’m so pleased you think so.
Colleen M. Chesebro said:
Merril, I’m intimidated by the form! I will have to try this another time when things aren’t so chaotic! Thanks for your hard work.
merrildsmith said:
No need to be intimidated, Colleen! Let me know if you try it sometime. 🙂
Colleen M. Chesebro said:
I will give it a try, Merril. I’ll let you know it goes.
merrildsmith said:
You could stick to a syllabic count, if you like. 😉
Colleen M. Chesebro said:
That’s what I was thinking. I’ll work on it tomorrow.
highhiker said:
Thanks for introducing me to a new form and a poet new to me.
merrildsmith said:
You’re welcome.