Cento links
The cento (from the Latin word for “patchwork”) is a collage poem, stitched together from lines taken from other poems. Here’s where you can read centos online.
“Approaching a Significant Birthday...,” by R.S. Gwynn
“Approaching a Significant Birthday, He Peruses The Norton Anthology of Poetry” is a most excellent cento constructed from the classics in that most classic of anthologies, taken from R.S. Gwynn’s book No Word of Farewell: Selected Poems, 1970-2000 and reposted at the Writ on Water blog.
“Approaching a Significant Birthday, He Peruses The Norton Anthology of Poetry” is a most excellent cento constructed from the classics in that most classic of anthologies, taken from R.S. Gwynn’s book No Word of Farewell: Selected Poems, 1970-2000 and reposted at the Writ on Water blog.
Cento Bingo
Cento Bingo is a literary party game devised by the folks at Forklift, Ink., which results in 5-line centos posted on the Cento Bingo blog site.
Cento Bingo is a literary party game devised by the folks at Forklift, Ink., which results in 5-line centos posted on the Cento Bingo blog site.
“The Dong with the Luminous Nose,” by John Ashbery
John Ashbery’s cento poem takes its title from Edward Lear, and uses lines from everywhere: nursery rhymes, Shakespeare, Eliot, Hopkins, Wordsworth, Arnold, etc. Doug Kirschen has posted the poem in split screen format with links to each line’s source poem.
John Ashbery’s cento poem takes its title from Edward Lear, and uses lines from everywhere: nursery rhymes, Shakespeare, Eliot, Hopkins, Wordsworth, Arnold, etc. Doug Kirschen has posted the poem in split screen format with links to each line’s source poem.
“Ecstatic Permutations,” by Connie Hershey
“Ecstatic Permutations,” published in Perihelion, is a cento made from one line out of each of the poems in the anthology Ecstatic Occasions, Expedient Forms edited by David Lehman.
“Ecstatic Permutations,” published in Perihelion, is a cento made from one line out of each of the poems in the anthology Ecstatic Occasions, Expedient Forms edited by David Lehman.
“SemiCento,” by Bob Holman
A “stitched together” poem, 50 lines taken from 50 different poems in 28 different languages, written for the Frankfurt Buchmesse 50th Anniversary by Poetry Guide Bob Holman.
A “stitched together” poem, 50 lines taken from 50 different poems in 28 different languages, written for the Frankfurt Buchmesse 50th Anniversary by Poetry Guide Bob Holman.
Split This Rock Poetry Festival Cento
This is not a cento in the traditional sense made by one poet quoting lines from other poets’ work — rather, it’s a collaborative poem, made by many poets, each contributing one 12-word line. Participants in 2008’s Split This Rock Poetry Festival in Washington, D.C. read the poem in front of the White House. YouTube has the performance in video.
This is not a cento in the traditional sense made by one poet quoting lines from other poets’ work — rather, it’s a collaborative poem, made by many poets, each contributing one 12-word line. Participants in 2008’s Split This Rock Poetry Festival in Washington, D.C. read the poem in front of the White House. YouTube has the performance in video.
“These Fragments I Have Shored” by David Lehman
This collage is a commemoration of David Lehman’s experience editing the Oxford Book of American Poetry, made from lines selected from the anthology and later published in the New York Times.
This collage is a commemoration of David Lehman’s experience editing the Oxford Book of American Poetry, made from lines selected from the anthology and later published in the New York Times.