Inverted Syntax
Online Issue Two
James Davis' poem "Al" was a Runner-up in the 2019 Sublingua Prize for Poetry Selected by Dorothea Lasky.
Here, we feature "Ar," another one of his poems from this series.
Here, we feature "Ar," another one of his poems from this series.
Ar
James Davis
“the letter R” – The Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary
Comparatively speaking, you’re a real go-getter,
the one that makes the one that does a doer
or a good a better, a terminal creator,
an ace flying over and under the radar.
You regurgitate butter into rebutter.
The ridge of your brow climbs two times higher
when starting a sentence, then sinks a bit lower
the longer you ramble. You make quite the lover
with your tricks of the tongue, your oral manœuvres.
You’re sour and bitter, a taste best acquired
through overindulgence, through left- and hangovers.
Your protean music changes keys across borders:
guttural schwesteren, uvular confrères,
trilling fratelli, alveolar kardeşler.
Something about you is part of our nature,
our anger, our shivers, our begging to differ,
our names below “Yours,” at the end of a letter.
Comparatively speaking, you’re a real go-getter,
the one that makes the one that does a doer
or a good a better, a terminal creator,
an ace flying over and under the radar.
You regurgitate butter into rebutter.
The ridge of your brow climbs two times higher
when starting a sentence, then sinks a bit lower
the longer you ramble. You make quite the lover
with your tricks of the tongue, your oral manœuvres.
You’re sour and bitter, a taste best acquired
through overindulgence, through left- and hangovers.
Your protean music changes keys across borders:
guttural schwesteren, uvular confrères,
trilling fratelli, alveolar kardeşler.
Something about you is part of our nature,
our anger, our shivers, our begging to differ,
our names below “Yours,” at the end of a letter.
The rest of Davis's poems can be found in Inverted Syntax's Print Issue Two, coming February 2020.
James Davis lives in Denver, where he directs the Denver/Boulder Scrabble Club. His poetry has appeared in 32 Poems, Best New Poets, Copper Nickel, The Gay & Lesbian Review, Gargoyle, and elsewhere. He is a graduate of the University of Florida's MFA program and of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's Poetry Collective.
About the work: "In 2019, I was lucky enough to get fired and spend most of my time writing. I traveled to Portland for AWP and to the Berkshires for a month-long writer's residency through The Mastheads. In Denver, I finished the Poetry Collective at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, which resulted in a chapbook and a full-length manuscript. I submitted to about one magazine or press a day and had a number of bites. I played a lot of Scrabble and wove the words into my poems. If you ever have the chance to get sacked from your day job, I heartily recommend taking it."
James Davis lives in Denver, where he directs the Denver/Boulder Scrabble Club. His poetry has appeared in 32 Poems, Best New Poets, Copper Nickel, The Gay & Lesbian Review, Gargoyle, and elsewhere. He is a graduate of the University of Florida's MFA program and of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's Poetry Collective.
About the work: "In 2019, I was lucky enough to get fired and spend most of my time writing. I traveled to Portland for AWP and to the Berkshires for a month-long writer's residency through The Mastheads. In Denver, I finished the Poetry Collective at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop, which resulted in a chapbook and a full-length manuscript. I submitted to about one magazine or press a day and had a number of bites. I played a lot of Scrabble and wove the words into my poems. If you ever have the chance to get sacked from your day job, I heartily recommend taking it."
The Art
"Can you tell i'm dying?" by Alexis Cortez, 9x9, Giclee print of the Acrylic painting on Archival Matte paper
Alexis Cortez, or who is more often known by the name "luna" is a visual artist born out of Southern California. Although art has always been a constant practice in her life, only until recently has she began showcasing her art to the public. Due to art being a very personal practice for her -- she hopes to captivate her viewers through the figurative expression of the human body and the subtle connotations of her own personal connections as both an artist, a LGBTQ+ woman, and as well as her journey of dealing with Bipolar disorder. Within the "fruit series" you can see the connection of the dismal state of isolation due to depression and the beauty that can easily hide the true meaning behind the something that goes unlooked unless told. She has been featured in SCWCA Pulse of LA SoLA Gallery – Los Angeles, CA (2018), Art Feature “Beyond the Commons.” Issue 4, Jan. 2019 , Artist Interview Fangz magazine (2019), Artist Interview Downtown 500 magazine (2019), 71st Annual Student Art Exhibition Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery - Walnut, CA (2019), The Remedy: A Healing Art Exhibition-Las Vegas, NV (2019), Art Feature “Maelstorm.” Volume 6: The Other, June. 2010, Out Loud: A Cultural EvolutionThe Hangout - Long Beach, CA (2019), Kisses Kitten Nous Tous - Los Angeles, CA (2019), New Perspective -Downtown Pomona, CA(2019), Heartfelt -Downtown Los Angeles, CA (2019) Bokiso: Old New Body Touchon&Co Gallery - Los Angeles, CA (2019), Body Nous Tous - Los Angeles, CA (2019).
