And What If I Spoke
of Despair
Ellen Bass’s “And What If I Spoke of Despair” was
first published in the Missouri Reviewin 2001, al-
though it experienced a wider distribution with its
2002 publication in Bass’s latest poetry collection,
Mules of Love. Bass’s poem discusses her despair
over the actions of modern humans, including the
destruction of the environment and genetic engi-
neering, two factors that make her lose hope in the
sanctity of humanity as a whole. In her poem, Bass
cautions her readers to do their part to fight these
issues. Bass wrote her poem at a time when envi-
ronmentalism and genetic engineering were both
hot topics in the media, often leading to polarized
debates. Unlike most of Bass’s nonfiction works,
likeThe Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Sur-
vivors of Child Sexual Abuse(1988), this poem
does not deal with the issue of child abuse. The
poem does, however, address negative issues, like
much of Bass’s poetry and nonfiction. A current
copy of the poem can be found in Mules of Love,
which was published by BOA Editions, Ltd., as part
of the American Poets Continuum Series, in 2002.Author Biography
Bass was born on June 16, 1947, in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Bass attended Goucher College,
where she graduated magna cum laude in 1968 with
her bachelor’s degree. She pursued a master’s de-
gree at Boston University and graduated in 1970.Ellen Bass
2001
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