Tag Archives: Ovid's "The Art of Love"

HELLO, READERS #POETRYTWITTER, #WRITINGCOMMUNITY, FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS, ALL AND SUNDRY!  ANNOUNCING THE SELF-PUBLICATION OF A NOT-THAT-LONG POEM (WELL, OKAY, SEVERAL PAGES, BUT I PROMISE NOT WITHOUT DRAMATIC INCIDENT).  THIS POEM IS ONE I WROTE AT A TIME WHEN I WAS MYSELF STUGGLING WITH LOVE LOST, WITH INSECURITY ABOUT BODY IMAGE, AND WHEN I AT LAST RESOLVED THAT TO LAUGH AT MY OWN TROUBLES AND INVITE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME WAS THE ONLY SOLUTION.  EDITORS DO NOT LIKE THIS POEM AND WON’T PUBLISH IT.  SOME I KNOW HAVE SPACE LIMITATIONS OR DON’T PUBLISH COMIC POETRY, OR HAVE TOO MANY DEMANDS UPON THEIR ATTENTION, BUT OTHERS I SUSPECT OF BEING WHAT USED TO BE CALLED “GRIM SOBERSIDES,’ WHO ARE AFRAID TO LAUGH AT ANYTHING NOT STRICTLY ON THE APPROVED LIST OF TOPICS LEST IT COME BACK TO BITE THEM.  THIS IS MY POEM, ABOUT A  CONFLICT OF MY OWN, SO I CAN PUBLISH IT WITH IMPUNITY; NO ONE WILL INTERFERE WITH MY LAUGHING AT MYSELF (AND MOCKING ALEXANDER POPE’S “THE RAPE OF THE LOCK” AND OVID’S “THE ART OF LOVE” AT THE SAME TIME, BOTH OF THEM REAL MISOGYNISTIC TEXTS, THOUGH THE FIRST WAS MEANT FOR HUMOR AT WOMEN AND THE SECOND FOR MALE EDIFICATION ABOUT WOMEN.  LAUGH ALONG WITH ME THEN, AND MY JOG-TROT RHYMES OF NON-SERIOUS VERSE, IF YOU DARE).