[John Isbell]

Thank you, Susan! I know what I at least was hoping for in starting this thread was the kind of in the trenches detail you provide about writing triolets. And I find your remarks on them compelling.

Airy generalities are all very well as a preamble, but at a certain point, specificity is welcome. Thus also, Roger on the limerick, or Jayne on the David Anthony triolet she posted. Let me add that I am a different person writing tet than I am writing IP - tet makes me tighter, crisper, a little more brusque - and that tercets or even quatrains for me are a quite different thing than, say, ottava rima, they are less expatiatory. I tend to want to take my octets and pare them down to clarity. Also, over the years I have become increasingly fond of end stops. Repeated enjambment to my ear should be used in moderation, unless you're Milton. And I like stanzas to be self-contained unless there is good reason for them not to be.

Cheers,
John