One Last Poem

As the semester draws to a close, I feel as if nothing is more appropriate than a poem in response to this class.


What I Learned in Lit 240

Lit 240 was a good class.
It wasn't as easy as I'd thought it would be.
I actually had to work off my ass.
All I know is I better make better than a C!

Reading short stories, poems, plays,
My favorite part of the class was discussing!
Writing essays, writing essays, writing essays
My least-favorite part of the class was re-fluffing.

My writing is better now.
I definitely learned a lot and grew.
I never blogged before, but now I know how.
Class ends, summer starts, woohoo!


Best poem I've ever written? No. But not too shabby.

Thank you all for a great class. Best of luck throughout the rest of your college career!

"The Sunset Limited" Article "Beyond the Border: Cormac McCarthy in the New Millennium"

The Cormac McCarthy Society has popped up again! That's so funny because I swear when I put that link to their homepage in my last blog post I didn't know one of the articles we'd be reading was from them. Furthermore, I am so interested in the fact that Cormac McCarthy has a society dedicated to him. Before this class I had never heard of him before. I'd heard of No Country for Old Men, but never Cormac McCarthy specifically.
Also on that note, I think this article ("Beyond the Border: Cormac McCarthy in the New Millennium") has to be taken with a grain of salt because it is very clearly biased. It has nothing but great things to say about Cormac McCarthy and his works, and I guess what else can you really expect from the cult - er, society - dedicated to him?
What I found most interesting about from this article is that the play was very successful in the theatre community, but had little recognition from the press (pg 9). I speculate that this is due to the play's touchy subjects. I don't think the press would have minded the suicidal aspect of the play, but I think maybe they minded the religious debate aspect of the play. Or maybe it simply was just that the press had bigger and better things to worry about at the time. I personally am very impressed that "The Sunset Limited" made it all the way to Ireland! I love Ireland.
Oh shit you guys! In looking for a video of somebody performing the play on Youtube, I found this: the Sunset Limited crashed! Ironic? I think so. (Sorry the video is so long.)
Anyway, this article was interesting, but I think the other two are way more helpful.

About "The Sunset Limited"

What a depressing play. It makes me wonder what sort of things Cormac McCarthy was grappling with himself when he wrote it. Maybe we can find out.
Here's the official website of the Cormac McCarthy Society: http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/. Interesting. I'm a little concerned for the society. I just don't know if there should be a society based on such a disturbed guy. Kinda sounds like a dangerous cult. The Wikipedia on him is much more informative. Still, it doesn't say much about McCarthy's mental health. Maybe it's none of our  business. And maybe I shouldn't judge him so harshly. Supposedly you're supposed to write about what you know, though.
Anyway, I am very interested in the theme of education in this play. I think I would like to write my paper on this theme. Something showing the other side of "Ignorance is bliss" which must be "knowledge is hell".
Another thing I thought about writing on is the motives of Black. Why is he so determined to "save" everybody. Just calm down and leave people alone. Damn. Moreover, I found it very comical when Black was trying to persuade the professor to Christianity with "everlasting life". Why would you offer a man who just attempted suicide everlasting life? Clearly the last thing he wants is everlasting life! He doesn't even want to finishing living out the life he's got! Stupid. I also thought it was interesting that Black thought attempting suicide was the worst thing the professor had ever done. I never understand why Christians think that suicide is the greatest sin. Obviously there was something wrong with whoever committed suicide. They were suffering and unhappy and obviously thought that God's gift of life was actually a curse.
McCarthy's play is soething easy to get heated up over.

Belated Bathanti Blog

For more information on Joseph Bathanti check out Wikipedia.

I really enjoyed hearing Bathanti speak. I like the way he reads his poems, and what he writes his poems about. I was impressed with him overall, mainly because he was the opposite of what I expected. For whatever reason I assumed he would be a snotty, stuck-up, entitled person. He did not come off that way at all though. (He did come off maybe a little sexist, though, talking about how awful it is that children can't see their imprisoned moms. Where's the program for children to visit their imprisoned fathers?)
His reading inspired me to write this poem:

Poet Laureate

Poet laureate, poet laureate, nice fantacy,
But let's be honest: something I could never be.

I don't have some awe-inspiring story.
I'm not living the American dream.
Not a big fan of North Carolina,
and I really, don't like, baseball.

My father's from New York,
got some Italian in him.
Must be some immigrants in
our family history somewhere.

My mother's a lesbian,
does that count?
Both are hard workers, as am I,
but really, none of us, like baseball.

I must be too young, maybe too wild.
It doesn't help I'm not a man.
But I do have one saving grace.
I've got one shining hope:

I really, do love, Chevies

Plays (namely "Trifles")

I love plays! I like the way they are written, all in dialouge with some notes on action and setting. Plays are like more straight-forward short stories. Reading plays is interesting and enjoyable because the way they are written keeps the reader involved and in the moment. The reader can either put herself in the play or in the audiance of the play. Either way, the action of the plot is happening first-hand to the reader, keeping her interested the whole way through.
On the other hand, plays can be hard to understand if they are set in unfamiliar times or places. "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell is a short play set in the ealy 1900s in some small rural town. There is a very interesting article about the play here. The play is very clever. As the article says, the theme of the play is that men do not appreciate women. This is can be seen in the way Mr. Wright was unkind to his wife as well as in the way the men ignore and make fun of the women while they investigate the house. I appreciate this play for its theme as well as its ability to prove a point so briefly. My mother always told me that the best way to communicate anything is short, sweet, simple, and to the point. She would like this play.
Turns out, though, that this play is more than just a short little play. This is another very informative article about Susan Glaspell and about the play. Turns out she rewrote the play into a short story titled "A Jury of Her Peers." You can read this short story here. I am very glad to know, actually, that there is a short story that elaborates on this plot because the play, while short and simple and to the point, leaves much to be desired! I want to know more about Minnie Foster and her story. I definitely want to know if she is found guilty or innocent. I am looking forward to reaing "A Jury of Her Peers."
Finally, here is a picture of the author:

Adultery, but by Who?

Spring

When daisies pied, and violets blue,
And lady-smocks all silver-white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
'Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!' O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.
When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men, for thus sings he:
'Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!' O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear.

William Shakespeare

I don't ofter find Shakespeare humorous, but this poem made me smile.

Here is the poem read by a man with a wonderful accent.

Originally, this poem humored me because I thought it was a commentary on marriage. I thought what Shakespeare meant by "The cuckoo ... mocks married men; for thus sings he/ Cuckoo;/ Cuckoo, cuckoo: Oh word of fear,/ unpleasing to a married ear!" was that the men felt stupid for getting married because in the spring, when everything is new and fresh and the natural thing to do is to procreate, the men want new, fresh, young women, not their old wives. Thus the cuckoo was mocking them, calling them cuckoo (coo-coo, crazy) for getting married in the first place. Upon further research, though, I learned it is actually the opposite. Apparently a cuckold is a man whose wife has cheated on him. In fact, Shakespeare isn't implying that the men are getting restless, but that the women are!

The way the man in the link above stresses the words "cuckoo" does make it seem more like a warning. In this reading, on the other hand, the words "cuckoo" do sound taunting, as if they are making fun of the married men for being married, like I thought. Maybe they're just making fun of them for being married to an adulterer. That is the thing about poetry. It's all about how you read it and how you interpret it. Every poem could have a million meanings.

On "Marks" by Linda Pastan

Marks
by
Linda Pastan

My husband gives me an A for last night’s supper, an incomplete for my ironing, a B plus in bed. My son says I am average, an average mother, but if I put my mind to it I could improve. My daughter believes in Pass/Fail and tells me I pass. Wait ‘til they learn I’m dropping out.

That's Linda Pastan. I love her! Well, I love her poetry.

Her poem Marks really speaks to me, and for me. I relate to how the speaker feels. Everyone is grading my life, and they take my hard work for granted. It gets old. I can only imagine how difficult being a wife and mother is, but being a daughter, friend, lover, student, employee, and general good person is already difficult. There is not enough gratitude in the world. People need to appreciate other people more.

While reading this poem, I understood the tone almost immediately when it started out by telling us that her husband graded her dinner. The tone is resentful, annoyed. By the fourth line, I was outraged. I don't care how good the speaker is in bed, her husband better give her an A+ simply for effort is nothing else.

The son sounds like a typical self-centered, angsty teenager who doesn't understand empathy. He represents the kind of people we have to just ignore. At least the daughter gives the speaker a pass instead of a fail. That's something. You can't please all the people all the time.

The last phrase really resonates with me. "Wait 'til they learn // I'm dropping out." I have felt that way countless times in my life. I want to be happy for the speaker, but at the same time, I am sad for the family. Being the kind of person that I am, while I understand and empathize with the speaker, I also just want to fix this family.