Geography III

I think this has to be the first work during the course of the class that I just did not like. In fact the first 25 pages or so I just kept thinking 'what am I reading?' and 'I am so lost.' It's not that I am not a fan of poetry; I love poetry. However, Elizabeth Bishop's brand just did not appeal to me. Most of the poems read like a story and yet they were a terribly boring read for me. For instance, the poem Crusoe in England went on for the longest time about "islands" and the life found on the islands. She wrote about the clouds and lava and the land and I already hold distaste for scenes written in detail in books much less in poetry. Not to mention that everything felt so confusing to me and I almost felt like she was writing in a language and making references to a culture that I was completely ignorant of. How does one go from talking about islands to speaking about home-brewed berry tea to talking about their lack of knowledge and expect it all to make sense anyway? Her poems, especially this one, are all just chopped up sentences that make a story and yet almost rob themselves of all rhythm. It was so frustrating for me. I will say though that the part about dreaming about slitting a baby's throat while thinking it was a baby goat was funny and by far the best part of that poem. It really just came out of no where.

I know I should be more tolerant and open-minded; we did just go over close readings after all. When I look deeper at the poems I do find symbolism, and there certainly were a couple of poems at the end that I liked (Poem among them). If I looked even closer at the poems I could find deeper meanings in every line, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to take that kind of time. I just have an adverse reaction to sentences like "Lose something every day" (One Art) and "No foot could endure it, shoes are too thin" (Night City) . On that note I will end this entry with saying this: what's the deal with her obsession with lava and dogs that only bark once?!