Anne Sexton: "Her Kind"

Another one of my favorite poets and Pulitzer Prize winners is Anne Sexton.  I especially like her fairytale collection, but the one poem of hers that always sticks with me is "Her Kind."  To me, this piece really captures the struggle of being a woman with many responsibilities and roles to take on.

Her Kind

I have gone out, a possessed witch,   

haunting the black air, braver at night;   

dreaming evil, I have done my hitch   

over the plain houses, light by light:   

lonely thing, twelve-fingered, out of mind.   

A woman like that is not a woman, quite.   

I have been her kind.

I have found the warm caves in the woods,   

filled them with skillets, carvings, shelves,   

closets, silks, innumerable goods;

fixed the suppers for the worms and the elves:   

whining, rearranging the disaligned.

A woman like that is misunderstood.

I have been her kind.

I have ridden in your cart, driver,

waved my nude arms at villages going by,   

learning the last bright routes, survivor   

where your flames still bite my thigh

and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.   

A woman like that is not ashamed to die.   

I have been her kind.

In fact, I once wrote a sort of homage to Anne Sexton that was inspired by Frost's "Acquainted with the Night" and Sexton's "Her Kind." 

Channeling Anne Sexton’s Spirit                                                      

I have been one acquainted with the night.

A witch myself,

I sailed across the dark sky

Shrouded in fog –

A thin, comfortless blanket.

There are others

Like me –

Daughters of a different sort.

Twelve fingers and twelve toes,

And no place to go.

What poets have inspired you?

Some Poetic Advice

I'm at the beach this morning, so this will be quick, but I had to share this post from Regular Rumination about how to love a poem.  She perfectly captured my attitude towards poetry and why the study of it when I was in school sometimes grated on my nerves. Yes, sometimes really digging into a poem, getting under its skin, unearths something new and deep to love in that poem, but sometimes I love a poem just because. Just because it's beautiful, because the words or the images come together just so. If you feel the same, read Lu's post below. She said it better than I ever could have.

Regular Rumination, How to Love a Poem

Recommendation: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Sometimes there are books whose hype is so huge that I can't help but think "I am not going to read that - it can only be crap."  Then, impossibly, the hype gets even bigger, and I think, "Hmmm...maybe I should read this just so I can join in on the conversation."  And then I do, and it sucks (I'm looking at you Twilight!).  But sometimes...sometimes I read it and think, "Why did I wait this long?!"

Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife is one of the latter.  It surpassed the hype.  The Time Traveler's Wife details the life of Clare and Henry.  Henry is a time-traveler.  Clare is not.  Nevertheless, from the moment Clare meets Henry at age six, her life is consumed by him, and she is always waiting for the next time she gets to see him.  When they are finally in the same time and the same place, they are in their twenties, and their relationship quickly becomes serious.

Although this novel is about time-travel, it is not science fiction.  In fact, it is Niffenegger's quiet style that appealed to me the most.  The story of Clare and Henry unfolds in dated entries, and the reader is often witnessing the most mundane, daily occurrences in a couple's life - cooking dinner, riding in a car, eating breakfast, going to work, house shopping.  In spite of Henry's abnormal ability, this novel is a very realistic portrayal of contemporary adult life, which makes it all the more poignant.  Clare and Henry face triumphs and tragedies the same as any couple, but the biggest obstacle in their relationship - Henry's tendency to disappear and leave Clare alone for days - sometimes weeks - on end - is also one that any wife with a husband who travels frequently or is in the military can relate to.  

The biggest praise I can give Niffenegger's novel is that it is unimposing.  It is a beautiful story about how much the everyday moments in life matter and how when you add them all together you end up with an exquisite tapestry of a life loved and lived to the fullest.  There are those who may say the message of The Time Traveler's Wife is "true love is worth waiting for" or "true love is forever," and although these themes are certainly apparent in the novel, I think Niffenegger's true message is an exhortation to experience and savor the little moments in life.

I recently watched the movie adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife with Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana as Clare and Henry.  After a stilted start, the result of missing plot details, an inconsistent timeline, and off-kilter acting, the movie really demonstrated the intimacy between the characters.  As with all movies, it took some liberties with the plot that I was not happy with, and it focused more on the strain Henry's time traveling put on his and Clare's relationship than the many moments of happiness they share in the book.  Overall, it was a touching portrayal of the novel, but to really grasp the subtle complexities of the plot and characters Niffenegger created, I suggest you read the book.

Robert Frost: "Acquainted with the Night"

Robert Frost won the Pulitzer Prize four times.  He is most well-known for his poems lauding the beauties of nature, but my favorite Frost poem has always been "Acquainted with the Night," which shows a darker side of Frost. 

Acquainted with the Night

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
A luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

I love the repetition of the first and last lines - book-ending the poem.  One of my other favorite poems is also about walking.  Thomas Hardy's "The Walk" is about how his daily walk is changed after the death of his wife because she is no longer waiting for him when he returns.

The Walk

You did not walk with me

Of late to the hill-top tree

By the gated ways,

As in earlier days;

You were weak and lame,

So you never came,

And I went alone, and I did not mind,

Not thinking of you as left behind.

I walked up there to-day

Just in the former way;

Surveyed around

The familiar ground

By myself again:

What difference, then?

Only that underlying sense

Of the look of a room on returning thence.

How sad...what are your favorite themes in poetry?

Just the Beginning - Poetry Project: July 2012

Over at Regular Rumination and The Written World, Lu and Kelly have launched a project I am really excited about.  Mostly because the post that introduced me to it housed one of my favorite poets and poems of all time - Pablo Neruda's Sonnet XVII from 20 Love Poems and a Song of Despair.  After I discovered this slim volume of exquisite poetry on relationships, I was obsessed.  I read a lot of Pablo Neruda over the years, collected his books, and wrote about him and his poetry extensively for classes I took in college.  Now, sadly, his books, along with many of my other favorite poets, languish on my bookshelves.  Lu and Kelly's "Poetry Project" is an easy, no-frills way for me to get back into poetry reading and share my love with all of you!  If you're interested in joining the guidelines can be found here. 

For July – A few questions
This month, in addition to linking to your other posts about poetry, we have a few questions! Think of it as a way to get to know the other poetry readers. Post the answers to these questions any time in the month of July. Kelly will be hosting the Mr. Linky on her blog.

1) Why do you want to join the Poetry Project?

As I stated above, I have long been a lover of poetry, but since I've been out of school, I haven't had much motivation to read and write about it.  This project will give me just the push I need!

2) Do you have a favorite poet?

Ah!  Too hard!  I definitely love Pablo Neruda (as espoused above), but I also love Keats and Wordsworth - Dorothy and William.  I was a Brit. Lit. nerd in my day.

3) Hopefully this will go longer than a year. Do you have any suggestions for monthly themes?

Hmmm...how about a silly poem or a sentimental poem or one you remember from your childhood?

4) What are your experiences with poetry in the past? Have they been positive or negative?

As an English major in college and grad. school, I have had a wide range of experiences with poetry, mostly positive.  For my negative experiences, see question 6.

5) Tell us about a poem or poet that has had a profound effect on you. If you can’t think of a poem, how about a song? Or a line from a story?

My "lyric journals" from high school.

Ha - you would have to go to my "lyrics journals" from junior and senior year of high school to get that answer.  Let me see if I can snap a picture for you.  But...I attended a conference when I was a senior in college in Salisbury, Maryland.  One of the presenters read from Margaret Atwood's "Tricks with Mirrors" (see below) and that image of woman colliding with herself has stuck with me all these years.  It reminds me of Kathryn Byer's poem "Vanity," which I've posted about before.  Another shout out to Pablo Neruda: here's one of my favorite lines from his Book of Questions,

"Is there anything in the world sadder than a train standing in the rain?"

6) What frustrates you about poetry or the way we talk about poetry?

I get frustrated when people over-analyze poetry.  Sometimes a tree is just a tree, a word is just a word, and a poem is just a poem.  Sometimes it's beautiful because it is.  To rip a part a poem so nothing but bare bones are left can ruin the essence of the piece and destroy the intangible thing that made the poem powerful.  As an English major, I have witnessed this more times than I care to remember.

7) Tell us something about yourself that has nothing to do with poetry!

Me and Chloe reading at the creek

I have a beautiful 1 1/2 year old Jack Russell Terrier/Beagle mix that my sister rescued.  Her name is Chloe, and she is the light of my life.  She is also whining at my feet as I write this because she wants to go for a walk, and I am ignoring her.

Tricks with Mirrors

Margaret Atwood

i.
It's no coincidence
this is a used
furniture warehouse.

I enter with you
and become a mirror.

Mirrors
are the perfect lovers,

that's it, carry me up the stairs
by the edges, don't drop me,

that would be bad luck,
throw me on the bed

reflecting side up,
fall into me,

it will be your own
mouth you hit, firm and glassy,

your own eyes you find you
are up against closed closed


ii.
There is more to a mirror
than you looking at

your full-length body
flawless but reversed,

there is more than this dead blue
oblong eye turned outwards to you.

Think about the frame.
The frame is carved, it is important,

it exists, it does not reflect you,
it does not recede and recede, it has limits

and reflections of its own.
There's a nail in the back

to hang it with; there are several nails,
think about the nails,

pay attention to the nail
marks in the wood,

they are important too.

iii.
Don't assume it is passive
or easy, this clarity

with which I give you yourself.
Consider what restraint it

takes: breath withheld, no anger
or joy disturbing the surface

of the ice.
You are suspended in me

beautiful and frozen, I
preserve you, in me you are safe.

It is not a trick either,
it is a craft:

mirrors are crafty.


iv.
I wanted to stop this,
this life flattened against the wall,

mute and devoid of colour,
built of pure light,

this life of vision only, split
and remote, a lucid impasse.

I confess: this is not a mirror,
it is a door

I am trapped behind.
I wanted you to see me here,


say the releasing word, whatever
that may be, open the wall.

Instead you stand in front of me
combing your hair.


v.
You don't like these metaphors.
All right:

Perhaps I am not a mirror.
Perhaps I am a pool.


Think about pools.

Process Analysis of a Process Analysis

I haven't been blogging lately, but I've been reading - a lot.  I've got posts upcoming on Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles (preview: loved) and Syrie James' The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte, which made me want to re-read Jane Eyre, Villette, Wuthering Heights, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall IMMEDIATELY.  I resisted and instead devoured A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (what have I been missing all this time?!), Cut by Patricia McCormick, and Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher.  Detailed posts to come.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am an English teacher at a community college.  It's hard, but when everything comes together, it's awesome.  I had one of those moments yesterday when my students gave their Process Analysis Presentation.  This project has matured a lot over the past two years, and I'm just so damn pleased about how it all went down yesterday that I wanted to share with someone other than my husband, who listened politely and then changed the subject. 

I teach ENG 111: Expository Writing.  What began as an unsavory challenge while I was a teaching assistant at N. C. State is now my baby.  I love this class, and I am constantly tweaking it to (I hope) make it better.  We teach the modes at my current college, and I have always assigned some form of a process analysis.  At first, it was just an essay, but I allowed students to pick topics they are experts at (with my approval!! I learned that lesson the hard way...) and design the document as if it were going in a magazine - color, bullets, photos, etc.  It was generally well received, and at the request of my students, who wanted to share their essays with the class, I added an oral presentation component.  In keeping with the visual interest of the project, I stated they had to have a visual aid of some sort - poster, PowerPoint, demonstration, etc. (but NOT the essay).  I've had students come in and wow us with their musical skills or baked goods, but while the project showed promise, students were not demonstrating the oral communication skills I wanted.  Instead students couldn't understand what their presentation should be about or put tons of energy into the essay and minimal thought into the presentation.  The presentations themselves, conducted in traditional one-to-twenty format, were excruciating - not because the topics were boring but because the students lacked finesse in their delivery.  They continued to indulge in the same presentation pitfalls:

• minimal eye contact,
• no practice/confidence resulting in stumbling, stuttering, umms, and general awkwardness for all,
• hiding behind technology with little to no knowledge as to how to actually use it,
• reading off of slides or posters with no room or desire for improvisation.

You get the idea.  I knew something had to give, and in a bold move for an English teacher, I let go of the essay.  I reasoned that a well-thought presentation required written and organizational skills of some sort, the final product would just be different.  I also addressed two of the main issues listed above head on.  I banned technology and required old school posters ONLY.  I also implemented a strategy I learned as a teaching assistant, perfected by my friend and fellow teacher Erika, the gallery walk.  On presentation day, instead of suffering through one dry, uncomfortable presentation after another (again not because of topics but because of nerves on the part of the presenter), I split the class in half and station the presenters with their posters at various points around the room.  The other half of the class acts as audience and must visit each presenter.  Therefore, each presenter has to deliver his or her presentation multiple times, allowing for a growth of confidence in delivery and the ability to revise for better content on the spot.  The first semester I implemented the gallery walk it was well-received; the only real complaint was that the presenters didn't get to visit the presentations of the other students in their group - a surprising problem!

Still, I was having problems with students practicing and reading straight off their poster and plagiarism was rampant because I was still requiring an essay.  This summer I made drastic changes including the following:

• no essay, but a formal outline,
• a clear no research (not even Google) mandate,
• 20 word maximum on the poster (just enough for the main points - thanks Erika!),
• pre-presentation conferences in which students deliver the outline, poster, and presentation to me one-on-one, and I give them feedback to incorporate into their final in-class delivery.

And the results were outstanding!  The requirement of the outline and poster ahead of time meant everyone was prepared on the final presentation day and encouraged the drafting and prewriting that most students neglect.  Every one delivered original work, and not one student even read off of his/her poster, outline, or notecards when delivering his/her presentation.  Also, as an added workload benefit, since I had already heard their presentations during conferences, I merely observed students as they interacted with each other and graded on the spot - done! 

The more I teach the more I am enjoying this hands-off, activities based approach.  In this day and age, I think students need to learn by doing.  I am only too happy to answer questions and assist.  I will provide all the tools, but it is up to the student to learn how to use them. 

Any good activity suggestions out there I haven't considered?

Review: How They Met and Other Stories by David Levithan

I am not usually a fan of short story series.  A well-crafted stand-alone short story is one thing, but I tend to find short story collections to be obscure, unrelated, and uninteresting.  However, David Levithan's collection How They Met and Other Stories was entertaining and engrossing.  This collection of stories, some penned by Levithan in high school, about lovers from all walks of life and in all stages of their respective relationships was touching and most importantly honest.  Although the protagonists are not related nor do the stories overlap, I couldn't help but imagine the characters as all members of the same high school class or community - not friends, but acquaintances - and the reader gets to glimpse their private flirtations and frustrations reminding us of the common need we all have to be desired and cherished.

Although most of the stories are told from a teenager's point of view, my favorite of the bunch, "The Number of People Who Meet on Airplanes," follows a couple from their first meeting (on an airplane) to their celebration of ten years together.  That kind of longevity is merely wished for nowadays, but Levithan demonstrates in simple prose how the unlikeliest of meeting places and people can come together to create a lifetime of shared memories.  This theme is apparent in another of my favorite pieces in the series, the title story "How They Met," that details the blossoming of relationships between the narrator's grandparents and parents that ultimately led to the existence of the narrator.  Levithan's interest in family dynamics is precluded by "What a Song Can Do," which begins with a struggle to balance a love of music with a lover's differing interests but ends as a meditation on the accepting love between mother and son.  Each story demonstrates in one way or another that true love is about the courage to be yourself in every relationship - faults and all - and that's a lesson worth learning.

Best matched with anyone who has ever fallen in (or out) of love...and hopes to do it again.