September 8

 XIII (Dedications)  by Adrienne Rich[1]

Which Side Are You On?  by Janine Pommy Vega[2]

Nostalgia by Joyce Carol Oates

Rain by Don Paterson

For What Binds Us  by Jane Hirshfield

As Long as We Are Not Alone by Israel Emiot translated by Leah Zazulyer

Crazy!  Someone drove into a power line connection.  At 11:20, the lights went off... we were able to read in the rather gray light of a rainy day... but no internet connection, so the 12:30 zoom-hybrid was cancelled.   Apologies!  Since Barb and Elaine came in person, Paul, Marna and I continued the discussion but without our zoom compatriots for the "hybrid session."

Nutshell discussion:

XIII:  Hopefully everyone read Jane Hirshfield's commentary about this poem... https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/audio-recordings/poetry-of-america/item/poetry-00000855/jane-hirshfield-adrienne-rich/

It clarifies about the number 13... the idea of dedications as the final 13th poem in “An Atlas of the Difficult World.”  We could imagine that Adrienne had been in these 13 places, knew the 13 people mentioned... and imagined what motivated them to read whatever "this poem" is/was, which curiously feels that it must be the entire collection of poems in "An Atlas".  What a novel way to dedicate a poem... 

For  us today, it was an invitation to see if we could identify with any of the people.

Who would you pick?  Martin identified with the one by the tv screen watching the news, as he does...(Western Europe, Japan and other world news stations!)

Barb and Maura identified with the one pacing beside the stove, book in hand; Paul identified with the one in the room where too much has happened... and the open valise speaks of flight... 

Marna identified with listening for hope... and that task she could never refuse of teaching her beloved students... Mary found it an uplifting picture of humanity... 

The struggles... rush-hour, snow, intifada, the thirst, stripped as you are... are offset by the running up the stairs toward a new kind of love, the knowledge that each letter of an alphabet is precious, the persistence of reading inspire of thick lenses or a foreign tongue... 

It brought us to discuss the news, our delight when an uplifting piece is included... 

We tried different "tones" to the repeated "I know you are reading this poem"... agreed it was not said with arrogance, but rather with the sense of the thread that binds us.

We went out of order because of that idea.  (see next to last poem)

For What Binds Us:   see comments May 19/24... although we did not mention the word "keloid", Paul wanted a different word for "Proud Flesh".   In May, we thought perhaps paradox was the intention of the poem.  Today, we did not talk about the black cord... or what makes connections between people... I love the possibilities that allow a poem to  have an entirely different  discussion — Later at 12:30 when Barb and Elaine showed up in person, we read the poem again. It felt like an ode -- in the sense of a poem dedicated to examining  what “binding” means.   “Being bound” is not usually a desirable thing… I suppose like carrying a wound…  (related, but unconnected:  Paul mentioned the importance of German fraternities displaying an intentional scar...)

The examples in stanza one are strange… a spontaneous skin that forms (without mentioning milk) in a cup… the long process of joinery…   Her leaps to "proud flesh" then to memory of love are  large… maybe as Martin said, she is showing the creative process… If the subject is about wounds,  the ending is the exact opposite.  We were struck by a "binding" that nothing can tear -- or mend... truly bound no matter what... 

Rain: and that leads to the final line of this poem (only discussed in the second group).  What matters and why?  Marna shared the idea of tragic opera -- it opens and ends with gorgeous music... opens with "all is well" -- like the opening stanzas-- stressing the importance of beginnings... observations... and finally 3 1/2 stanzas later the sentence arrives at a period.  The "fatal watercourse" might be part of the tragedy (girl walks off overpass) or that only unrhymed line in the first stanza: (rain) streaming down her upturned face.  Does nothing matter because it is a film?  This poem analysis sheds a little more light from another point of view -- rain as equalizing force capable of washing away concern of the past. https://poemanalysis.com/don-paterson/rain-analysis/

THREE poems from Poets Walk:

Which Side are you On:  With a title like that... repeated in the final line, I think of Pete Seeger and miner strikes... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XEnTxlBuGo

It helps to know that Janine wrote this point while working with women at the Eastern Correctional  Facility... 

The question "are you in or outside" comes to mind as well as other types of sides.   Are you going to be the flower that opens... inspire others?   If you throw down coins in dirt... is that with disdain?  How can she say they spell integrity?  It reminded Marna of tossing the I-Ching...  

Starting with questions,  the poem delves beyond the surface, the excavating, digging deep  in your own soul and crux of the matter.  "Every time you visit yourself without respect, you lose.  Without love, Also.  ".  Adding a touch of Kabir and miracle  that  is in all of us gives hope... and whatever those obstacles, their reduction to wind... disappearance... begs the repeat of the question.

Nostalgia: We agreed... sometimes you need to say things... as in the last two lines... What happens with automatic obedience training? How does nostalgia work on us?  I loved the line, "The flagless pole, what a relief!" and promptly was disturbed by

the idea of placing a hand over a heart, "as if I had one."  Powerful poem... not bitter, but reflective... 

As Long As We are Not Alone :  see notes... His writing is like a prayer... Maura mentioned she made a sculpture inspired by this poem.  Look at the four times "we shall rejoice" is said.  Not with an exclamation point, but  after "Perhaps a stone also hears;" first, followed by a comma, repeated followed by a semi-colon. We understand and feel the poem, but can't explain the magic of silence in space... silence of God...  and then the final lines as answer to the question, "perhaps the stone also hears?"

Simply stated.  Does the stone hear it first?  "We shall rejoice"?  And the second time, how do you hear it?

 “We" is capitalized.  “rejoice” as last word receives a confirmatory period, round and hard as a stone... present and real.

Mary remembered the Richard Hugo poem we discussed a long time ago: I cite the first stanza and link: 

Green Stone

All stones have luck built in. Some
a lucky line that curves a weak green back
into some age prehuman. If stones
could talk they’d tell us how they’ve survived.
They’ve been used in beautiful fences,
been weapons hurled.

http://carolpeters.blogspot.com/2006/02/richard-hugo.html

[1] At the Dodge Festival in April 2021, Edward Hirsch read this poem as part of the program of poets paying hommage to other poets. This led me to Jane Hirschfield’s reading and commentary: https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/audio-recordings/poetry-of-america/item/poetry-00000855/jane-hirshfield-adrienne-rich/

[2] The Vega and Oates and Emiot  are three  of the poems on Poets Walk, located on University Avenue in front of  the Memorial Art Gallery. For a listing of the 114 poems, the poets and prompts. https://mag.rochester.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/PoetsWalk-Alpha.pdf

For an alphabetical  list of the poem tiles:  https://mag.oncell.com/en/poets-walk-78374.html

 

 

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[1] At the Dodge Festival in April 2021, Edward Hirsch read this poem as part of the program of poets paying hommage to other poets. This led me to Jane Hirschfield’s reading and commentary: https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/audio-recordings/poetry-of-america/item/poetry-00000855/jane-hirshfield-adrienne-rich/

[2] The Vega and Oates and Emiot  are three  of the poems on Poets Walk, located on University Avenue in front of  the Memorial Art Gallery. For a listing of the 114 poems, the poets and prompts. https://mag.rochester.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/PoetsWalk-Alpha.pdf

For an alphabetical  list of the poem tiles:  https://mag.oncell.com/en/poets-walk-78374.html