The Lampeter Review #11

A poem of mine – 'Ghazal' – has been published in Issue 11 of The Lampeter Review, the online journal of the Lampeter Creative Writing Centre (part of the University of Wales, Trinity St David).

You can read the entire issue for free by going here: lampeter-review.com/issue-11

A 'ghazal' (roughly pronounced like the English word 'guzzle') is an ancient poetic form with origins in 6th century Arabic verse. It made its way to South Asia by the 12th century, and is now most commonly found in the poetry of the Indian sub-continent. Ghazals are composed of (at least) five thematically and emotionally autonomous couplets, with the link between couplets derived from a strict rhyme and rhythm pattern, rather than a development of subject. However, my poem is a loose, Westernised (or, bastardised) version, and does not follow the strict pattern of the traditional form. Instead, I have focused solely on the poetic style of a traditional ghazal where, as the American poet Len Anderson states, "each couplet should be a poem in itself, like a pearl in a necklace."

Elesewhere in this issue of The Lampeter Review, there is a thematic focus on magic realism and the writers of Latin America, which has made for very interesting reading so far. All 10 back issues of the journal, which "promotes the best in new writing from published and unpublished authors", can also be read on The Lampeter Review's website: lampeter-review.com

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