A.E. Stallings, Burned

This episode we continue examining how villanelles work and we walk through another example. Every form begs for a bending of the rules, sometims in small ways, sometimes in big ways. We look here at how slight bends in the rules bring home the poem.

For more on A.E. Stallings, see her biography at The Poetry Foundation.

The poem cannot be reprinted here for copyright reasons. Thank you to Northwestern University Press for permission to read the poem today. This poem comes from A.E. Stallings' remarkable collection of poems titled Olives. We encourage you to check it out.

For another great villanelle of Stallings that is available online, see Daedal.