tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post1313277621411287714..comments2024-02-05T00:16:13.698-05:00Comments on Banjo52: Sharon Olds, "On The Subway"Banjo52http://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-70740672791315670792010-03-09T09:23:23.838-05:002010-03-09T09:23:23.838-05:00Well, you've done it again--spoken so interest...Well, you've done it again--spoken so interestingly, thoughtfully here that you've forced me into another MishMash response post on March 9. And even it is grossly surface-scratchy. <br /><br />Thank you?Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-37051647388333977742010-03-07T13:28:41.443-05:002010-03-07T13:28:41.443-05:00Was he trying to kick us Sister Woman, just 'c...Was he trying to kick us Sister Woman, just 'cause we didn't like his ratty old poem?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-56130019908513896322010-03-06T22:58:10.622-05:002010-03-06T22:58:10.622-05:00I think she's channeling our typical assumptio...I think she's channeling our typical assumptions. For all we know, he could have been mugged himself before getting on the train. This leads me to a problem I have with being part of a mainstream church. Members feel that it's OK to harshly judge others outside our group - I can't say I'm entirely guilt free in this - because they feel safe to do so. It's insular and I think the poem is too.<br /><br />Also, why should he care about being a seedling, how many men/boys think like that? I think it's a fantasy piece.<br /><br />PS Right now I'm reading the "Virgin of Bennington" by Kathleen Norris. You might like it because of its historicity regarding the Academy of American Poets. If you can't get a copy I'll send you mine - if you like. It's pretty wonderful.<br /><br />PPS Be nice to the ladies.PJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12059415005282675289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-14148593492634578552010-03-06T17:49:36.538-05:002010-03-06T17:49:36.538-05:00"Separate" in what way? Do you mean the ..."Separate" in what way? Do you mean the poet is not and cannot be the person or people conveying the poem? Intrinsic or extrinsic text reading? "On The Subway" reads very personally, as if the artist (always present in all forms of art) is working something out and presenting something personal in a broad stroke so all the world can hopefully understand. An artist cannot remove his/her from the work, unless the artist is a cyborg.Jeff Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-47558105751045656802010-03-06T17:30:21.305-05:002010-03-06T17:30:21.305-05:00Yeah, that was entirely too vicious :)Yeah, that was entirely too vicious :)Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-74894972666797189612010-03-06T13:35:11.585-05:002010-03-06T13:35:11.585-05:00OUCH.OUCH.Brenda's Arizonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880225110712592548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-14663448662475861182010-03-05T18:20:57.317-05:002010-03-05T18:20:57.317-05:00So nobody's gonna touch the sexual motif?
By ...So nobody's gonna touch the sexual motif?<br /><br />By the way, it used to be, and still is, as far as I'm concerned, REQUIRED to separate the speaker from the poet. That might seem an artificial cop-out at times, but all too often it proves useful or necessary. That leaves us within an inch of the New Criticism again . . . <br /><br />I'll say more later, if you and the legions who follow you will just behave.Banjo52https://www.blogger.com/profile/04342397136888422440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-46064281994927866582010-03-05T14:26:42.072-05:002010-03-05T14:26:42.072-05:001. Is there a way to tell if Olds is the speaker? ...1. Is there a way to tell if Olds is the speaker? I would think this conclusion could only be drawn by someone who knew/knows her or by an interview she granted where she discussed such issues.<br /><br />2. The speaker could be racist - maybe we just jump to that conclusion. She certainly makes observations that we all would, followed by many that most of us would observe but never breathe out loud. And then she just plain old goes over the top.<br /><br />3. Her line breaks...hmmm. At first I thought it just flowed better, that her breaks allowed for inhaling. But upon reading it again, I found it much easier to read as a short essay. Then I didn't worry about the poetry part of the story.<br /><br />I felt some of her observations were common - the clothing differences and the skin tones, etc. She'd make a good witness in court (I must watch too much Law & Order). But then she starts speculating... and my resentment to her grows. I mean, I know it is human nature to speculate about people (by their appearance or where they are, etc.). She even speculates what he is speculating...<br /><br />Interesting, SisterWoman, that you don't care for this poem. When I read your comment, I went "hmmm". It was hard not to speculate on it.<br /><br />And one think I have found - speculation is EVIL. I wish we had 'off' switches for it. My workmates all are speculators - and I scream (inside my head) at their constant false assumptions!Brenda's Arizonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17880225110712592548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-25284156393297323972010-03-05T14:02:25.430-05:002010-03-05T14:02:25.430-05:00Yeah, the narrator certainly underestimates hersel...Yeah, the narrator certainly underestimates herself. Racist? A bit, but perhaps she is simply the conduit, the mouthpiece, for a conventional way of looking at people and things. Perhaps. Personally, I'm not impressed with this poem. No, not a bit.Jeff Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883979841111173610.post-23018173241708690082010-03-05T10:49:08.290-05:002010-03-05T10:49:08.290-05:00I don't care for this one particularly. The o...I don't care for this one particularly. The only thing it made me think is: how does she know he's poor and desparate? If it's because he's not well dressed, most kids aren't. (I was assuming this was the poet's voice, but maybe not. I don't really care.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com