Orvillette

I found a few invented forms which appear to be exclusive to The Study and Writing of Poetry; American Women Poets Discuss Their Craft, 1983. The book is a collection of essays from 50 American women poets, each essay provides insights into a multitude of topics from poetic genres, stanzaic forms, to writing techniques. This book provided some addition insights and background information on several stanzaic forms that I thought I had researched fully. I liked this book, it pays attention to the details.

• The Orvillette is an invented verse form crated by Virginia Noble as a tribute to her son, Orville, a disabled World War II paratrouper. 

The Orvillette is:
○ a verse form, written in 4 quatrains, a poem in 16 lines.
○ metered, iambic tetrameter.
○ composed with a refrain and a rentrament. L1 is repeated as L1 in each quatrain. The first 3 syllables of L4 are repeated as the first 3 syllables of L4 in each quatrain.
○ rhymed, Raba Rcbc Rdbd Rebe. L3 of each stanza carries a linking rhyme between stanzas.

x x x x x x x R
x x x x x x x a
x x x x x x x b
r r r x x x x a

x x x x x x x R
x x x x x x x c
x x x x x x x b
r r r x x x x c etc.

Pasted from http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/index.php?showtopic=2008#anna
My thanks to Judi Van Gorder for years of work on this fine PMO resource.

My example

My Tin of Paints (Orvillette)

My Tin of Paints

My tin of paints contains it all
from places that I’ve never been
with scenes that scare me and enthrall,
important only now and then.

My tin of paints contains it all
A dragon facing me one day
gives way to maidens lithe and tall.
Important things those pictures say.

My tin of paints contains it all
I play, or get things off my chest.
No picture ever seems banal
Important feelings are expressed.

My tin of paints contains it all
With my own brush and putty-knife
and my inventive wherewithal
Important times are brought to life.

© Lawrencealot – August 24, 2014

Visual Template
Although it is not mandated, I chose the refrain end word rhyme to agree with the b-rhyme.
Orvillette

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