ABOUT THE (CONTRAPUNTAL) TRINITAS

Samantha Terrell has not so much written to fulfill the needs of a particular form as discovered the only form that can do justice to this exceptional and spellbinding piece of poeticism. Initially I was concerned at having to negotiate the paths of this extended poem, but my hesitation was quickly forgotten as I abseiled down and across her ingeniously worked phrases and images.
- Roger Hare, Pushcart Prize Nominee

Terrell's book Things Worth Repeating? can be read three ways.

Terrell's handbook offers resources for both self-taught and formally educated poets, featuring a special unit on the trinitas.

"Dismantling Mountains" (written as a trinitas) is the title poem of Terrell's seventh collection, which features both traditional and experimental poetry.

What is a poetic trinitas?

A contrapuntal trinitas, or "trinitas" ("three in one") for short, is an experimental form of poetry written to create three distinct, but related, poems in one – hence the term contrapuntal (1). However, unlike other types of contrapuntal poetry, such as a cleave (2) or a dialectic (3), the trinitas liberates both poet and reader with a free verse style that bears a resemblance to Japanese Zuihitsu (4), and by utilizing flexible stanza length. It can be rhymed or unrhymed and does not follow a distinct meter.

Therefore, a trinitas need not set up opposing arguments, as in dialectical literature, nor must it be aligned line-by-line and side-by-side such as cleave poetry, but instead allows for varying stanza-length and freedom of topics. Worth noting is that shorter stanzas (six lines or fewer) will aid the reader in appreciating a continuous flow of the piece.

Ultimately, a trinitas may be approached by reading first in a zig-zag manner, scanning back and forth through the stanzas; second, from the top, but reading only the stanzas on the left side of the page; and third, reading from the top, but only the stanzas aligned on the right. All three pieces within the one, will exhibit value and meaning in their own right.

Insights or questions may be directed to:  samanthaterrell[at]protonmail[dot]com, or poetrybysamantha[at]protonmail[dot]com.

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Notes:
1. Contrapuntal Form: Contrapuntal poems combine multiple poems into one to create a single composition that builds on its components.
- www.masterclass.com
2. Cleave: Cleave is part of an exclusive lexical club whose members are known as contronyms: words that have two meanings that contradict one another.
-Merriam Webster Dictionary
3. Dialectical Method in Literature: By playing this dialectical game [one] can appear to present contrary views as their respective proponents might, and then expose the errors of those he opposes, leading the readers to accept his own conclusions.
-Encyclopedia Britannica
4. Zuihitsu, 10th Century Japanese Form: This capacious genre incorporates nonfiction, musings and confessions, poetry, and miscellany to create a spontaneous, layered text.
- Poetry Foundation