Volume 24 175
“Living room”
The window’s old & paint-stuck in its frame. If we
force it open the glass may break. Broken windows
cut, and let in the cold
to sharpen house-warm air with outside cold that
aches to buckle every saving frame & let the wind
drive ice in through the break
till chair cupboard walls stormhit all goods break.
The family picture, wrecked, soaked in cold, would
slip wet & dangling out of its frame.
Framed, it’s a wind-break. It averts the worst
cold.
What makes a poem in so tight and elaborate
a form transcend the sense of exercise? The res-
olute plainness of the language helps to justify the
densely packed repetitions. Perhaps also the inti-
mation that a lapse in the performance, like the
imagined crack in the pane, would “buckle every
saving frame,” adds to the urgency of the word-
smith’s work. With anti-Romantic sentiment, this
poem casually props no wind harp (Aeolian lyre)
to await inspiration and let in the destructive wet.
Far better, the poem suggests, to stick with a tight
container, a form that acts as a windbreak and
preserves home and family, averting “the worst
cold.” Like Elizabeth Bishop, another poet who
conjured up the elemental from the homeliest
of subjects, Marie Ponsot uses demanding forms
without making the reader feel the strain of
artfulness.
Source:Suzanne Keen, Review of The Bird Catcher: Po-
ems, in Commonweal, Vol. 125, No. 16, September 25,
1998, pp. 23–24.
Sources
Brainard, Dulcy, Review of The Bird Catcher, in Publish-
ers Weekly, Vol. 245, No. 4, January 26, 1998, p. 88.
Hacker, Marilyn, “The Poet at 80: A Tribute to the Aging
Poet Marie Ponsot Is Full of the Imagery of Vigor and
Growth,” in Women’s Review of Books, Vol. 20, No. 10–11,
July 2003, pp. 12–13.
Hoffert, Barbara, Review of The Bird Catcher, in Library
Journal, Vol. 124, No. 6, April 1, 1999, p. 96.
Keen, Suzanne, “Words Take Flight,” in Commonweal,
Vol. 125, No. 16, September 25, 1998, pp. 23–24.
McKee, Louis, Review of The Bird Catcher, in Library
Journal, Vol. 123, No. 2, February 1, 1998, p. 89.
Oser, Lee, Review of The Bird Catcher, in World Literature
Today, Vol. 73, No. 1, Winter 1999, pp. 155–56.
Seaman, Donna, Review of The Bird Catcher, in Booklist,
Vol. 94, No. 11, February 1, 1998, p. 894.
Smith, Dinitia, “Recognition at Last for a Poet of Elegant
Complexity,” in the New York Times, April 13, 1999,
Section E, p. 1.Further Reading
Ciuraru, Carmela, ed., Beat Poets, Everyman’s Library, 2002.
Ponsot published her first book of poems in the same
year and through the same small publishing house
(City Lights) that Allen Ginsberg’s book Howl
(1956) was published. The publishing house fostered
many of the beat poets; for this reason, Ponsot is of-
ten considered one of the beat poets herself. To find
out about these poets, this collection is a good place
to start. The poems of Kerouac, Ferlinghetti, and Di-
ane di Prima are featured in this collection.
Gardner, Helen, ed., The Metaphysical Poets, Penguin Clas-
sics, 1960.
Ponsot is often referred to as a metaphysical poet.
This book is a good introduction to some of the meta-
physical poets. There is an excellent introduction as
well as copious footnotes to help readers gain insight
into this form of poetry.
Hirsch, Edward, How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with
Poetry, Harvest Books, 2000.
This book is a journey into poetry, including not only
the poems of famous poets but also a glimpse into
the poets’ lives. Although he is a scholar, Hirsch
makes his material very accessible as he describes
his own love of poetry.
Knorr, Jeff, An Introduction to Poetry: The River Sings,
Prentice Hall, 2003.
Knorr not only teaches his readers how to love poetry,
he also breaks down the basic elements of the poetic
form and thus informs his readers how a poem is put
together, what devices poets employ, and how literary
theory is used to understand poetry. This introduction
to poetic literature is easy to read and understand.
Schneider, Pat, Writing Alone and with Others, Oxford
University Press, 2003.
Schneider has taught people to write from the ele-
mentary school level to the college level. In this book,
she describes some of the challenges writers must
face, including the loneliness of having to work alone.
In other parts of the book, she portrays the joys of en-
couraging one’s creativity and learning to express it.One Is One