Observation Skills

Technorati Tags: Sylvia Plath,poetry,writing,life as a poet

  Saturday my wife and I took the dogs and went off to the dog park.  It was while traipsing around that rugged landscape that my knee went from bad to worse.  It was also during this outing that I explored the various trees and branches and sticks and water containers for the dogs.  The sky and the sun bursting through the leaves on the many trees that dot the landscape. Observation is such an important part of the poetry process.  Even when not writing I think there is something to be said for taking in what is around us and looking at it with an eye for detail. Not so much for the ability to recount specifics, though this can be a beneficial exercise, but more importantly looking for the extraordinary in the otherwise ordinary.

From reading biographical material on Sylvia Plath as well as her journals I was long ago struck with how she was constantly seeking the poem in everything she came into contact with. Even odd jobs she took while attending Smith College provided fodder for her writing.

I am not quite as tuned into everyday events in the way she apparently was, but I do make an effort to see the poetry around me. One cannot underestimate the benefits that come from sharpening the observation skills.  Mine are far from perfected. 

The Birth of Poets

A young Belarusian poet named Valzhyna Mort (Martynava) was featured in the recent issue of P&W. From that article came this great line... "Someone said we're born a poet from this wound inflicted on us by other poets' poetry."



In terms of my own experience, I feel a real kinship with this statement. There are a number of poets whose work has touched me in such fashion, but I suspect if I were to recall one single poem, from on poet that had this kind of impact upon me, strangely enough it would be The Blue Dress by Sharon Olds. Remarkably strange I suppose for a guy since it is written in the persona of a young girl and the main prop being a blue dress. Yet the poem speaks to relationships and lack of relationships and the very first time I read it there was a real visceral connection to this poem. This was not the first such instance, there are works particularly by Plath, and Sexton which impacted me, but perhaps the strongest I can attribute to a single poem was the Olds poem.



I wonder how many others writing poetry can point to a specific poem that profoundly inflicted a wound so great that did or could have been the birth of their own inclination to writing poetry?

Diane Middlebrook - Poet & biographer dies of cancer

Diane Middlebrook - perhaps best known for her book, Anne Sexton- a biography, died this weekend of cancer. Middlebrook was 68 and had taught in the English department at Stanford. She is also the author of Her Husband: Hughes and Plath, a Marriage a 2003 best selling biography.

Giving Up - a memoir

I've finished reading Giving Up - The Last Days of Sylvia Plath by Jillian Becker. This small memoir now joins the dozens of biographical books and essays I have read about Sylvia and Ted.

This book is quite small. It need not be extensive because Jillian's contact with Sylvia was indeed short and the book only relates to that short period of days prior to Sylvia's death, when she sought refuge for her children from her distressed state with Jillian and Gerry Becker.

Much of what I read is merely another historical account of those days. As far as new perspective, it provides little, but perhaps a tad closer look Sylvia from a first hand perspective.

The most interesting things are:

• Jillian's assessment that Dido Merwin truly could not stand Sylvia but was quite fond of Ted and saw him as an equal in stature to his husband Bill. This is not surprising, as the tone of this is set in the Anne Stevenson book "Better Fame." I suppose it was nice hearing someone else say what I believed I has surly not mistaken in reading Stevenson's biographical account.
• Jillian's view that Sylvia had perhaps lost her passion for poetry at the end. This based on the fact that she was critical of Sylvia's last poems and thought them to be doggerel rhythms that seemed to stamp on the grave of poetry. She may not have liked Sylvia's poems, but the ones on question are among Sylvia's most powerful and passionate works. Once she was finished with them, perhaps she might have been drained emotionally, but It is hard for me to consider them a sign of a loss of passion. They are full of it!
• Jillian Becker expressions about her own emotional response to Sylvia's life and death are expressed in heartfelt terms. She truly was in a unique position those final days, and some have perhaps suggested that she and Gerry (as well as others) could have and should have done more to save her. Her response to these suggestions is very reasonable. They may have kept Sylvia alive a few extra days, but they did not have the power to change the many external issues that added to Sylvia's issues. Jillian herself describes herself as a poet (though a humble one by the company she kept) and one addicted to poetry. She says she grew out of that addiction due at least in part to the painful involvement in the lives of poets. (Ted, Sylvia, Assia & her husband - perhaps others with which she was acquainted with)
• It was noted that Sylvia left no suicide note. Not new information, but she reminded readers that the final poems she left would have been painfully clear to Ted if no one else.
• The issue Jillian took with Ted's poem Dreamers, which she calls sickeningly anti-Semitic and the explanation she offered.
• The fact that while Jillian and Gerry were present at Sylvia's funeral, there is no mention of the mystery man (mentioned in other accounts) in her account of those in attendance.
• Taking issue with Sylvia's iconic stature by the feminist movement.

These are what I found most notable among pages (roughly 75) of the short memoir which is now a part of extensive Plath biographical reads.

Fall Colors

Autumn poetry is a dime a dozen. It is prolific I suppose because there are such quick and sharp changes in the images right before our eyes. It's easy material, but that is what makes autumn so hard to do well.
KATHLEEN JOHNSON writes in The Kansas City Star about poetry in the fall season, Midwestern autumn makes poetry resonate.

Johnson selects a few poets who have done autumn well. Marge Piercy, Sylvia Plath, Philip Miller (formerly from Kansas City), Clement Hoyt, and Ted Kooser. [click here]

The Legacy of Sylvia

It was 75 years ago today (27 October 1932) that Sylvia Plath was born to Otto Emil Plath and Aurelia Schober Plath in Boston, Massachusetts.

The 75 year figure seem almost unreal to me considering how significant and fresh her poetry remains today. Perhaps it is the manner in which the feminist movement attached itself to her life, death and poetry itself that has made her seem yet a contemporary figure even 44 years after her early death.

Her legacy is often debated. Was her story and poetry hijacked by the feminist movement or did she intend her work to be an early voice for feminism? Would she have escaped her tragic death if not for her split with Ted? How would her poetry stand today on its own merit without the notorious suicide in her London flat?

So many questions, so much speculation, but the fact remains that her work is that of a powerful voice in American literature and I cannot but help believe had she lived a normal lifespan she would have produced more work and that even without the attention brought to her in death, her writing would have found its way to the surface and surely have been recognized for what it was.

Her poetry today has admirers and detractors and in both instances I think it is the same powerful and edgy voice that contributes to both positions. Isn't that the thing about good poetry... how it brings out the feeling that get you right in your gut? That passion, be it positive or negative? Unquestionably she is among the great writers of our time, male or female.

Picked up three interesting books at the Library yesterday. They are:

• Breakfast Served Any Time of Day - by Donald Hall


• Your Own Sylvia - by Stephanie Hemphill


• Otherwise - New and Selected Poems - by Jane Kenyon

Another writer / poet friend of mine has started a blog - Scot Isom - you can check it out here.

Wow... Poet season baseball has been really incredible so far. Even without my Giants, I have been enjoying some exciting games. The Indians / Yankees series has been super! Go Tribe! What a nail bitter last night!

Arts diary: Revealed: Sylvia Plath's unseen art, discovered in the attic | Art & Architecture | Guardian Unlimited Arts

Arts diary: Revealed: Sylvia Plath's unseen art, discovered in the attic Art & Architecture Guardian Unlimited Arts: "Paintings and drawings by Sylvia Plath, many of which have never been seen before, are to be published in October to mark the 75th anniversary of the birth of the American poet and novelist."

Poetry Mecca

I read yesterday of a young writer who won a university sponsored fellowship to live and work at the Frost Place for most of the summer. In the article, the Frost Home at Franconia is referred to as being seen by many as kind of a holy ground, "poetry's Mecca."

The idea of a physical space being a source of inspiration to writers and poets is not at all new. Nor is the thought that writing in a place where the presence of other poet & writer greats have created works in the past. Young writers for instance are often excited to be fortunate enough to attend a fellowship at say MacDowell Colony or say, Yaddo. Each with it's rich litany of great artists that have previously graced these places and worked their creative talents.

Sylvia Plath was drawn to the London flat at 23 Fitzroy Road (photo above) - in part because it had once been home to W.B. Yeats. It was here she ultimately created some of her most profound work before taking her own life.

So what is, or where is your poetry Mecca?

Reading, Writing and Disc Golf

Sunday I was able to carve out some writing time that was very productive. Worked on some drafts and was happy with what was developing.

Sunday evening I play the disc golf course close to our home. It can be quite rugged in spots as evidenced in the picture here with this post.

It's a 54 par course and I shot a 70 on it in the first time I played it. I was happy with the score given my experience (or lack thereof) and the terrain of the course. From holes 4 through 11 you are playing really rough landscape with lots of trees and few clear shots. My wife and daughter played too. I think everyone had a good time. We're going to check out some of the other local courses.

Late last night a read a few Plath poems. I guess I should say that I reread them. They were not new to me. I like to read stuff over every so often because I believe no poetry is static. A year sometimes even a couple of months ca make a big difference in how one comes to view a poem or any other artwork for that matter. I was reading most stuff that Sylvia wrote in the 1957 - 58 years. Certainly pre-Ariel material.

Early Residence of Plath & Hughes For Sale

55 Eltisley Avenue, in Cambridge is for sale. The address was the home of poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes from October of 1956 to May of 1957. One of their especially creative and highly productive periods.The property also figures in poetry written by both poets at one time or another.

In the days when the famous couple made Eltisley Avenue their home, the property was divided into two flats.

Today the property is a specious four bedroom home
that is presently listed at $550,000 pounds or about $ 1,098,462.

long-haired sylvia looking for her ted....

What a gratifying way to start your Monday morning. You open you email and read:

"Thanks for submitting these. I'm happy to accept them. They will do nicely in the next issue... I hope these won't be the last I'll see from you"

I am so easily amused. I enjoy looking to see what kinds of searches bring people to this site. As I have reported in the past, there are some truly interesting things that pop up. Among the greats is this first timer that came up today:

• long-haired sylvia looking for her ted

followed by some others that often reoccur or at least come up in similar fashion...

• published superhero poem (multiple times)
• nude super heroes (multiple times)
• super hero poem
• i am a superhero quote
• superhero poems (multiple times)
• when life gets you down superhero quotes
• question of interview of super hero
• a superhero of kansas
• meaning of earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with god (don't ask me, I just report these)

So there are a few and I am sure you begin to realize as I have the common theme of superhero resurfacing over and over. In the past I've has some other interesting variations of Stick Poet. Thinks like beating poets with sticks, sticky poets, poet superheros, stick people poets... it goes on.

These searchers must be terribly disappointed not to find super hero poems here. I have never written one. Though I have been tempted, I have resisted. Perhaps feeling too close to the subject. So just for fun... ( remember I am easily amused) consider this a call for poems about a superhero. Not any superhero mind you, but "Stick Poet" superhero.

For the next week, e-mail me your best effort at a Stick Poet Superhero poem. I promise I'll post them all on here ( the good, the bad, and the ugly) and then you can all vote on the best one. In the end, those who keep coming here in search of super hero poems will at last feel there Google searches are not have been in vain.

A Kiss

A stone can masquerade where no heart is
And virgins rise where lustful Venus lay:
Never try to trick me with a kiss.

~Sylvia Plath from Never Try to Trick Me With A Kiss

Small Knots

Some time back, on one of my Wednesday Poet Series features, I highlighted a North Western poet by the name of Kelli Russell Agodon. This past week, I’ve been reading her book Small Knots published in 2004 by Cherry Grove Collections out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her poetry is intricately layered and stirring.

A few of my favorites from the book are:

Fifty-Six Knots, which touches me with iconic references to the Rosary and the way she has woven the lives of women together, and counting, and Hail Marys bleeding from the walls. Collection plates filling with broken rosaries and the suffered woman in the corner who unties each knot, allowing the beads to fall, baptizing the marble floors…. can you not hear that sound?

If you look closely at the poem on the page, it is constructed of 4 sever line stanzas. Each has a center justified fourth line creating a pattern as though it were strung together. Genius!

Vacationing With Sylvia Plath: Each of four stanzas begins by asking, Maybe if….
A poet’s contemplation that asks aloud and sort of comes back to me as an internalized echo. If the clouds didn’t look like tombstones… if the ocean didn’t seem so final… if I had a chocolate bar between breakdowns… these all grow in crescendo and the final stanza so strong that I won’t repeat it. You need to read it yourself.

It’s Easy to wake up in someone’s poem… (I love titles that become the first line)
Couplets that capture snippets of life around us. Real people you feel you must know being pulled into the page, their lives blots if ink… and in the same way you see how people awake one morning and presto! They become poems.

These are just three… The book is a real treat to read. Kelli is not so mundane as to write simply assessable work, but something that is just over the line and will likely appeal as well to those who like something just a bit more conceptual without going overboard.

Writing Routine

This weekend I did little writing. This is pretty unusual for me. I have often gone about my days somewhat in a parallel to the routine that Sylvia Plath employed. Even if I am not writing, I am consciously alert, trying to zone in on something that could become a part of my next piece. This can become pretty intense at times.

If and when I hit a brick wall, I sometimes feel overwhelmed. This past week I reached a point of being overwhelmed while still turning out material with relative ease. This was a new situation for me and I decided to allow myself a bit of a break from the writing mindset this weekend. Instead, I turned out some submissions thinking this was still productive. Besides, I as less into the administrative side of it and have to psych myself up for it. In the end, I think it was a good decision.

Christmas day and all is quiet.

Enjoyed Christmas Eve with our immediate family. My wife and I, as well as all but our oldest daughter (who lives is out of the area [sigh] gathered at my son's house. Had a very enjoyable evening - dinner was great. Among Cath's many creative skills, bread making is an art form for her.

My library grew by two books last night. One a book from my want list - The Cambridge Companion to Sylvia Plath and the other was one I was not aware of but looks to be equally as enticing.... Sylvia Plath - The Wound and the Cure of Words by Steven Gould Axelrod. These look to be especially insightful. I've read so many POVs on Plath it is hard to imagine there are still things to glean from others but that man never end.

Right now everyone is away but me and the house is so quiet. Even the dogs are off to the park. It's just me and the cats. I'm sure these moments of tranquility are extra special to them.

I am so not ready to go back to work tomorrow.