Elizabeth Smither
Lipstick stain on a poem
I’m reading a Smalltown Dance
and the folding by women of sheets.
Somehow I leave a lipstick trace in the margin.
Fetch the soft white rubber and rub at
the sheet’s corner so the blood-like trace of a lip
doesn’t mar its hemmed border
and step back again, undistracted by
a night stain, a small map of love
the mouth that kissed the lipstick off
into the order of the poem: the stanzas
making their orderly dance as the sheet is taut
between the lines and the brought-together edges.
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Elizabeth Smither has published 17 collections of poetry and was New Zealand poet laureate 2001-2003. She was awarded the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Poetry 2008. She also writes short stories and novels.
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RECONFIGURATIONS: A Journal for Poetics & Poetry / Literature & Culture, http://reconfigurations.blogspot.com/, ISSN: 1938-3592, Volume Three (2009): Immanence/ Imminence
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VOLUME SIX (2020): ARCHIVES ON FIRE
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2009
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November
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- VOLUME THREE (2009): Immanence / Imminence
- Editors, "Almost Nearly So"
- * * * FEATURING * * *
- "Baobab Tree: local knowledge / global politics"
- Obododimma Oha, "Embracing the Baobab Tree"
- Toyin Adepoju, "Ifa Divination & van Gogh"
- ‘Tunde Awosanmi, "Wole Soyinka’s Africa"
- Jen Bouchard, "The Essays of Suzanne Césaire"
- Peter Ciccariello, "3 Works"
- M. Neelika Jayawardane, "Life in Transit"
- Obiwu, "Ndebele’s Art of Redemption"
- Tom Savage, "3 Poems"
- * * * POEMS * * *
- Salvatore Attardo, "Columbus Poems"
- Emily Brandt, "Deep blue"
- Charles Freeland, "Units of Measurement"
- Geoffrey Gatza, "4 Poems"
- Ray Gonzalez, "4 Poems"
- Jeff Harrison, "Knots of Hilda Doolittle"
- Mary Kasimor, "a vase" & "xxxv"
- Penn Kemp, "Dream Sequins (i & ii)"
- Camille Martin, "double sonnets"
- Jonathan Minton, "4 Poems"
- Robert Mittenthal, "Memory Play" & "Severance"
- Kelly Moffett, "God of Water"
- Sheila Murphy, "5 Poems"
- Pamela Johnson Parker, "Narcissus: Narke"
- Mark Prejsnar, "transmetadata map"
- Michael Ruby, "Infinite Worlds"
- Karen Schubert, "Cutting Ties"
- * * * FICTIONS * * *
- Mark Jacobs, "Singing in a Foreign Land"
- Pierrino Mascarino, "Peril of the Miss Jenny"
- Robert Ready, "Her Infinite Variety"
- * * * FEATURING * * *
- "Myth, Erasure & Consequence: Selected Poems"
- Page Starzinger, "Myth, Erasure & Consequence"
- Regan Good, "The Rocking Horse"
- Carol Peters, "de Kooning, No Title"
- Shin Yu Pai, "requiescat"
- Mary Kaiser, "Gretel"
- Victoria Chang, "Man 4"
- Robert High Guard, "Giving Up Lent"
- M. Jan Bender, "Syrinx"
- Matt Miller, "Thrift"
- Jennifer Luebbers, "after the Lakota"
- * * * REVIEWS * * *
- Ailbhe Darcy, review: Zawacki's "Petals of Zero"
- Tod Edgerton, review: Harmon's "Quinnehtukqut"
- Roy Exley, review: Daive’s “Under the Dome”
- Crag Hill, review: Gizzi’s "New Depths"
- Susan Scarlata, review: Nakayasu's "Hurry Home"
- Jess Wigent, review: Greenfield's "Tracer"
- * * * ESSAYS * * *
- Hope Bernard, "Spaces of the Corseted Body"
- Erika M. Nelson, "Traumatic Traces"
- * * * FEATURING * * *
- "New Zealand Poetry & Poetics"
- Bryan Walpert, "Foreword"
- Shona-Ellen Barnett, "One for the Pukeko"
- Ross Brighton, "Poem"
- Jennifer Compton, "The Topography of Wellington"
- Jan FitzGerald, "Spider"
- Helen Lehndorf, "A skull" & "1001 Questions"
- Elizabeth Smither, "Lipstick stain on a poem"
- André Surridge, "Lunch in Prague"
- Tim Upperton, "Like smoke"
- Mercedes Webb-Pullman, "prime dream"
- * * * DIALOGUES * * *
- James Belflower, Anne Heide, Michael Martinez
- Jon Cotner & Andy Fitch, "Box Trick"
- * * * IMAGE-TEXTS * * *
- carlyle baker, "about to happen"
- John M. Bennett, "Poemages"
- Vernon Frazer, "Random Axis"
- Philip Meersman, “Multzumess”
- Philip Meersman, "Concreet gedicht"
- James Sanders, "Self-Portraits"
- * * * FEATURING * * *
- "Review Review"
- Jared Schickling, "Preface"
- Nate Pritts, "Review Review"
- John Bloomberg-Rissman, "Lighter Darker Bouquets”
- Mark Spitzer, "No Bullshit Reviews"
- Anon., "Response to Kentson #1"
- Christian Prozak, review: "Wine-Stained Notebook"
- Anon., "Response to Kentson #2"
- Christian Prozak, review: "Rimbaud, Double Life"
- Murat Nemet-Nejat, "A Frameless Review"
- Anon., "Response to Kentson #3"
- Christian Prozak, review: "Delta Blues"
- Anon., "Response to Kentson #4"
- Christian Prozak, review: "Pendulums of Euphoria"
- Anon., "Response to Kentson #5"
- Gina Myers, "How I Came to Review Books"
- Anon., "Response to Kentson #6"
- Murat Nemet-Nejat, "A Historical Postscript"
- Chuck Richardson, "Ketchup Stain on Page 87"
- Anon., "Response to Kentson #7"
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November
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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