A few days ago I posted the following Anne Sexton quotation, "Even so, I must admire your skill. You are so gracefully insane." Lucindyl was curious about it asking if I knew in what context it was used and suggesting it must have a good story behind it.
The line is actually from a poem titled Eulogy In the Classroom by Sexton. I am imaging that it is a representation of the poet Robert Lowell who taught a class that Saxton, Plath and George Starbuck all were associated with. Given Sexton’s tendency to write Confessional Poetry it would not seem to be too far a reach to come to this conclusion. From everything else that I have read about Sexton and Lowell it would seem that she had quite a bit of respect for his brilliance even as she surely must have seen his decline in mental status.
Share
The line is actually from a poem titled Eulogy In the Classroom by Sexton. I am imaging that it is a representation of the poet Robert Lowell who taught a class that Saxton, Plath and George Starbuck all were associated with. Given Sexton’s tendency to write Confessional Poetry it would not seem to be too far a reach to come to this conclusion. From everything else that I have read about Sexton and Lowell it would seem that she had quite a bit of respect for his brilliance even as she surely must have seen his decline in mental status.
Share
Thank you for this, Michael. Very helpful and very interesting. Makes perfect sense, also.
ReplyDelete