Tell us what you think!
  • We welcome your feedback, constructive criticism, and/or error reports about the website.

  • * REQUIRED

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

errorgatio*

February 4, 2020

by Franco Cortese

For Christian Bök

a rote zygote joke, yolkative
rubycon, a vivipartisan

sonburn, a vulvacuous orb,
cannalclaw rue, era

roblation, eyeshore seawall
mhyrrmur, ashbrown

adam kindel, i.e. ceded
fact, unearthen heat,

vagabond of marrage,
blitzleague usurppers,

ovheirspill levellerr, bliss
tared slilvhiermare,

bhurried copses, codoned
note n’ tin fib egging

ontofat, spat fen,
essence’s census,

vinyl spirits, essayed
anihima, ediface tar,

stoulen void, etymolested
DD mammicry, copied

rope, copied nooserib,
grim aura,

noosecyte yarn, haruspectacle
vine, gemclone

plasma, grey dais, uí
riddle residew,

donor dryad ovum,
sodslur lysis

 

* errogatio is a perfect anagram of “Veils” from Eunoia by Christian Bök


Questions and Answers

What did you find particularly challenging in writing this poem?

The present poem is a perfect anagram of the poem “Veils” from Eunoia by Christian Bök (including the poem’s title, body and dedication). As such, the particular challenge I faced in writing this poem was composing a meaningful narrative using only the permuted letters of the original poem off which it was based.

This poem “errorgatio*” originally appeared in 60th Anniversary Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 239 (2019): 85-86.

Please note that works on the Canadian Literature website may not be the final versions as they appear in the journal, as additional editing may take place between the web and print versions. If you are quoting reviews, articles, and/or poems from the Canadian Literature website, please indicate the date of access.