tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84786669902051059.post4739962651234307873..comments2023-04-09T05:59:28.385-04:00Comments on Matched: Reviews and Recommendations: Not Waving But Drowning by Stevie SmithKristinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09536428856341691610noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84786669902051059.post-78451653610201903082012-11-05T13:34:58.199-05:002012-11-05T13:34:58.199-05:00I actually posted my reply as a separate comment o...I actually posted my reply as a separate comment on this post - I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by!Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09536428856341691610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84786669902051059.post-37890805607587564312012-11-05T13:33:48.422-05:002012-11-05T13:33:48.422-05:00What a thought provoking question! I have been co...What a thought provoking question! I have been considering it in the back of my mind all morning. I don't even pretend to be intimately familiar with a myriad of poetic conventions. My undergraduate work was in mostly Brit. Lit, focused on the Romantics. However, from a generic standpoint, I see "Not Waving But Drowning" to represent that darker, skepticism that characterized later 19th century, early 20th century work. Early 19th century work was more naturally and spiritually focused - at least in my experience. However, "Not Waving But Drowning" was published mid-twentieth-century as the transition from 1950s domesticity was making way for 1960s freedoms. Although the central figure in the poem is a man, the reader has to consider that Stevie Smith was a woman and the accompanying image (not included in my post) is of a figure with long hair covering its face - implying a more feminine persona. Maybe Smith was writing about the struggles she was facing as a modern woman. I realize as I am writing this though that I am considering a more American point of view in my 1950s/1960s observations. Smith was British and considered an oddity by many for her poetry, drawings, and performances. Perhaps she was merely expressing the dual facades she felt dueling within herself. Regardless of a specific interpretation, I believe readers can agree there is a personal, internal tension in this poem that is at odds with the natural, spiritual, and/or political tensions that characterized the poems of the 19th century. What are your thoughts? Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09536428856341691610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84786669902051059.post-3136184862639323512012-11-05T00:27:15.875-05:002012-11-05T00:27:15.875-05:00I've got a question for you, what separates th...I've got a question for you, what separates this poem from the works of the earlier century?Dr.Lithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02314964522228873731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84786669902051059.post-32531283285974690782012-09-17T05:40:56.686-04:002012-09-17T05:40:56.686-04:00I'd forgotten this poem but yeah, what a good ...I'd forgotten this poem but yeah, what a good one for the start of another academic year!Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374498643286099244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84786669902051059.post-14129719231755951272012-09-09T18:16:46.544-04:002012-09-09T18:16:46.544-04:00Thank you for your kind words. My husband and I go...Thank you for your kind words. My husband and I got to celebrate the birth of their first child with some dear friends this weekend, which was life-giving. That's what I love about this Stevie Smith poem. It reminds us that it's all about perspective.Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09536428856341691610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84786669902051059.post-30617711369447530982012-09-07T22:16:52.640-04:002012-09-07T22:16:52.640-04:00I remember feeling the same way when I was in grad...I remember feeling the same way when I was in grad school and now it seems like a dream. It couldn't have been that bad, could it?<br /><br />What struck me most were the lines in the poem where the dead man lay moaning. It's as if no one at all recognized his most dire distress.<br /><br />I just wish I could toss you a life preserver.Snowballhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02638506554534468064noreply@blogger.com