NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW

ALL SINGING, ALL DANCING PANTOUMS is a short anthology of pantoums. The pantoum originated in France and is made up of any number of 4 line stanzas with lines being repeated within the poem. This element of repetition makes it a difficult form for many readers and writers. Readers may find themselves becoming bored by a book full of poems that are repetitive by nature. Many writers, including some represented in this book, may concentrate so much on the form that they sacrifice content and narrative flow to the demands of rhyme and pattern. Some poems here feel as though they were written to satisfy the writer's desire to write a pantoum for its own sake, rather than choosing the form to do what it does best, that is to convey an intense atmosphere.

The poems that work best in this anthology skilfully use repetition to create emotional tension and to add to meaning. For example, in PHEASANT, Sheila Garwood carefully repeats her lines to evoke the sense of obsession inherent to hunting, while the short rhythmic lines convey a sense of graceful movement:

	He moves with silent dancer's grace
	through beams of sly seducing sun,
	a wary look upon his face,
	the stealthy poacher with his gun.

	Through beams of sly seducing sun
	cordite perfume has filled the air.
	The stealthy poacher with his gun
	now sees the pheasant bright and clear.

	Fat purple berries glistening in the light,
	a broken sword, the pieces set apart,
	cold, rusting, armour of a gallant knight.
	Dark ivy holds this secret to its heart -

	a broken sword, the pieces set apart.
	Black crows, so bright of eye have ceased to gain.
	Dark ivy holds this secret to its heart.
	In Castle Mere, a lady waits in vain.

	Tell me where can I find Mr Right?
	I seem destined to stay on my own.
	Talk of marriage and men get uptight,
	— same old story with each one I've known!

	I seem destined to stay on my own;
	why are some men afraid to commit?
	Same old story with each one I've known —
	I fall madly in love and then we split.