Martin Bidney

Book of the Amphibrach Martin Bidney

Book of the Amphibrach is the first of several verse journals I aim to offer, each of them highlighting a "foot" (syllable structure) or line unit largely neglected or under-used in Anglo tradition. An amphibrach is a three-syllable rhythm unit: weak-STRONG-weak, represented as x/x or U-U. Like the medieval troubadours, I'll be inventive in structuring each musical line and stanza. The entries retain the dates of their composition, showing how my life and art proceed from day to day. My journals are journeys, and my mentality is that of a pilgrim. I'm attached to the Sufi idea that every creed, myth, religion, or metaphor is just a glass lending form and color to the water of spirit as revealed in ways suitable to one's current level of awareness.