Thursday, April 03, 2008

Why Study Women's Poetry


On Saturday, I’ll be attending this fabulous conference at St. Francis College in Brooklyn on Why Study Women’s Poetry. In the afternoon, I’ll be presenting a paper, “Meeting Loving, and Losing the Beloved Muse: Thinking through Lesbian Relationships in the Poetry of May Sarton and Marilyn Hacker.”

If you can’t be there, you can take a peek at the paper here:

Why Study Women’s Poetry Paper

or at the handout here:

Why Study Women’s Poetry Handout

Take a look at the agenda, it looks to be a very stimulating day.

4 comments:

Kate Evans said...

Excellent paper, Julie. And you happened to write about two of my favorite writers--although I'm a bigger fan of Sarton's journals than her poetry. Love Death & the Changing of the Seasons was a seminal book for me. Thanks for bringing both these women to the table--and for reminding me why studying and bringing to light women's poetry (in everything from academia to blogs to general conversation) is crucial.

Julie R. Enszer said...

Kate,

Thank you so much for your comment. I agree with you about Sarton's journals. They are lovely. I was just reading Mary DeShazer, however, reading Sarton's poetry in conversation with Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing and her sensitive reading is really quite wonderful.

Marilyn Hacker is absolutely one of my favorite poets - any excuse to read her more and write about her I will take.

I hope that all is going well with you and your work.

Julie

A.H. said...

Interesting. May Sarton's poetry is sadly neglected. Her simplicity and her use of rhyme have not kept her alive as much as HD. Of course, HD is the more original poet, but Sarton has still much to rewared the reader...including the male reader...she has a distinctive, lyrical voice, like that of Townsend-Warner.

Julie R. Enszer said...

Eshuneutics,

Thanks for your comments. I actually discovered Sarton because her books were carried by the local Waldenbooks (a U.S. shopping mall chain) and read more of her because she was a Unitarian Universalist. I like Sarton's earlier poetry more as I have read more of her and I find the novels and journals really delightful. The biography of Sarton by Margot Peters is excellent and in addition to telling her life story does a nice critical appraisal as well.

Julie