Saturday, June 20, 2009

The Knitted Poem

The Poetry Society (UK) is putting together the world's largest knitted poem; all knitters are
invited to participate. The fact that they are calling it the world's largest, presupposes the existence of a smaller knitted poem somewhere on the globe.

This fascinates me. Have people for centuries been stringing together words out of yarn? Has this been the case all along and I just have not known? To think I have been using ink, paper, notepads, when all along I might have been crafting my poetry through sharp needles and soft alpaca.

And yet, I think I will not participate in this largest project. I would rather twine my poems into small woolly scarves, the kind that are cozy. I like the idea of knitting hidden messages into the heels of socks, and purling my words onto individual pages roughly eight and a half by eleven.

In counterpoint to this fascinating Poetry Society project I am inspired to suggest the world's smallest knitted poems...perhaps with silk thread and toothpick knitting needles... something about as large as a 1940's ladies handkerchief -- delicate, sentimental, and exactly the size to be carried over the heart. What do you think?

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