Foundlings

by Cindy O'Quinn, Stephanie Ellis

Found poetry is an act of creation in its own right. By taking words already in existence in the works of others, something completely new can be created.
This collection was created in tribute to renowned dark poets, Linda D. Addison and Alessandro Manzetti. In all instances, we have indicated those poems from which we carved our own.

82 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 14, 2022

Reviews

[Char · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry is kind of hit or miss with me. I have to be in the right mood for it. Also, I won't sit down and read a book of poetry in one sitting. Is this just me trying to find an excuse for taking 6 months to read this slim volume? Maybe a little. But it's also me saying that these poems made me think and marvel over the words. I marveled over a few phrases like "crunchy glass lies." These are words to be savored, words to wash over you, and sometimes words that echo something I was just thinking or talking about.

This is a volume of "found poetry." What is that? From this book, the definition:

Found poetry is work created by taking the words, lines or phrases of an existing text and constructing something new. It can take different forms, for example, blackout or erasure poetry, cento or cut-up poetry amongst others. It is important, however to ensure that you are simply not copy or plagiarizing the source.

In our poems, we have taken words of the sources referenced previously, and remixed them to make our own original work. In all instances, we have credited the sources which formed the basis of each poem.

With that definition in mind, please note that the poems that were the sources for this book were written by Linda Addison and Alessandro Manzetti. (Two of the some of the best dark poets working today.) But then Cindy O'Quinn and Stephanie Ellis took words from those poems and created their own.

I'm not going to list any poems here or which ones I liked the best, because I think you should go into this collection with no preformed thoughts or theories. I recommend to go into this collection with basically no other knowledge than what I've provided for you here. Let the words wash over you and see where they take you!

My highest recommendation!

*Thank you to the lovely Cindy O'Quinn for sending me this volume with no strings attached.*

[Wayne Fenlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cool concept. Original poetry created from the lines of other poetry, credited to the original source. No plagiarism. What I liked about this was how it sparked the imagination in a few words. I am quite partial to that.
It's a short book too, one to take your time with. Read closely. Six or so a day suited me just fine. I also think this book could inspire creativity for many writers out there. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

5 stars

[Steve Stred · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found Poetry.

To me, a poetry novice (read uneducated in all of the forms of poetry!), my first experience with Found Poetry was with last years ‘Strange Nests’ by Jessica McHugh. In that collection, McHugh reconstructed sections of ‘The Secret Garden’ to create vivid poems. Reconstructed might not be the correct word or idea, but I’m not sure how else to describe it.

In Found Poetry, the author essentially ‘blacks out’ portions of lines to reveal the word or words that they need to use to create their own poem. It is really something and both staggering to comprehend and fantastic to read.

Which brings me to ‘Foundlings.’ Cindy O’Quinn and Stephanie Ellis are not only two of my favorite writers to read, but also two of my favorite people in the dark fiction community. Time and time again they demonstrate their talent as well as their kindness, so seeing them team up for this release had me super excited.

Within ‘Foundlings,’ O’Quinn and Ellis focus on the poetry of the amazing duo of Linda D. Addison and Alessandro Manzetti, both of whom are phenomenal writers on their own right.

What I liked: The book is separated in different sections. First we get O’Quinn’s found poems, then Ellis’, and in the last section we then also get to see them take it to a whole other level by crafting Haiku’s as well. Re-read that last bit. I’ll wait while you give your head a shake. That’s right. Not only do they first tackle straight forward poetry (and trust me this isn’t simple in that sense) but then go one step further and craft Haiku’s from Addison and Manzetti’s work. Stunning.

The poems within are all really, really engaging and filled with visceral images, moving passages and heartfelt moments. It makes it all the more intriguing when you remember that this was once someone else’s work and through stripping away words and portions, they’ve left us with something completely new. It’s akin to the phoenix rising from the ashes but time and time again.

Now, in most of my reviews of collections and anthologies, I often highlight a few that stuck with me or that I felt were the ‘best,’ but in this case I’m not going to for two reasons. The first is that every single piece within was really, really phenomenal. The second reason, is I don’t think it would be fair to Addison and Manzetti. I know that sounds odd, but both of those writers are living legends in the fiction and poetry worlds and I wouldn’t want to suggest that any of their original work was lesser by highlighting something written from it. It may seem odd, but for me, I just can’t bring myself to do that.

Saying all of that – I do want to highlight the level of care and thought that O’Quinn and Ellis put into this project, as well as just how fantastic those Haiku’s are at the end. To take something and craft a found poem inspired by someone else’s work is one thing, but to then restrict yourself to Haiku parameters. Wow. Just wow.

What I didn’t like: This release was really phenomenal, but for those who are potentially put off by not being familiar with Addison’s or Manzetti’s work, don’t let that stop you. Much in the way McHugh also took source material and utilized it to her own benefit, O’Quinn and Ellis do that same.

Why you should buy this: O’Quinn and Ellis are two of the most supportive people out there, so that should be reason enough to buy this. Saying that, this release is just an outstanding achievement. What they’ve done here is hands down one of the most amazing things I’ve read; both the poems and Haiku’s they’ve created, but also the amount of work that has gone into this release.

The dual foreword’s by Addison and Manzetti really show how much they’re in awe of what has been created here and that in itself should really show you what you’re in for.

Kudos to Cindy and Stephanie, this was outstanding.

[Nat Whiston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written this collection pays homage to the dark and amazing work of two dark poets. Bringing their own beautiful spine on poetry they have connected with, Stephanie and Cindy are a match made in heaven. As they complement each other, whilst also coming up with their own incredibly heart tugging work. Dead one is a poem that speaks to me the most, as it's speaks of heart and music connecting in one powerful moment. Or that is how I relate to it, the beauty of this collection is each poem can provoke a variation of responses from readers. Each feeling one emotion or maybe connected to the soul destroying loss and loneliness in others. A truly gifted pair of writers have created this collection, I cannot wait to see what else they have in store.

[Raegen Pietrucha]

The concept behind this project is truly novel! It’s one thing to build a collection of found poetry as a single author. It’s another thing to build a found poetry collection with another author. It’s yet another thing to build a found poetry collection of collaborations with that other author. It’s still another thing to build a found poetry collection from work by a single author. It’s yet another thing to build a found poetry collection by multiple authors. It’s still another thing to build a found poetry collection from original work that was a collaboration. It’s yet another thing to build a found poetry collection that creates new pieces from the found pieces initially created for the collection. And this book has all of the above! Personal faves included “Forget,” “Lane,” “Dead One,” “How to Disappear,” “Medusa Smiles,” “Collecting, “To Hide the Change,” “Disappear,” “Smiles,” “Scars,” “Hide,” “Shattered,” and “Behind the Whispers.”

[Julie Allyn Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not. Great.