Playing the Form

Poetry. In PLAYING THE FORM, James Maughn continues his exploration of the intersections between poetry and martial arts. This is a poetry of haptic resonance, built around the three sections of the Yang Family Tai Chi long form, and grounded in daily lived practice of poetry and Tai Chi. PLAYING THE FORM engages with form as dynamic process, and seeks new ways to engage in and with the world that are at once fluid and solid, playful and political, deeply rooted and always in motion.

"Intriguing, playful, and illuminating, PLAYING THE FORM comes out of the dual daily practice of writing and martial arts. With a steady intensity, the poems explore how we navigate and are shaped by external forces—time and gravity but also architecture, habitat destruction and the free market. In dialogic structures, serial forms, and witty word play, this collection creates a wonderfully expansive approach to poetics and is a joy to read."—Judy Halebsky