Essay Questions

Why did the author travel to Austin?

In the poem Scout, the protagonist packs her things and lets everything behind just to go and visit Austin, a place she had never seen before. The poet mentions how she heard people talking about Austin on various occasions and how she made the trip there on foot. Austin is considered by many as being a highly literary place, the birthplace of many famous writers and the place that inspired many writers in time. By traveling to Austin, the poet may suggest that she started her journey as a writer and that she was bent on reaching the end of the road no matter what.

Why is one of the poems entitled Scout?

The term scout, according to the Cambridge dictionary, is a person, generally a soldier from the army, sent out ‘ahead of the main force as to gather information about the enemy’s position, strength or movements’ or a person searching for something in a various location. The poem Scout is one of the most important in the collection and also one of the poems published in the New Yorker. The poem is entitled Scout because in this poem, the author explains her journey while searching for literary inspiration and her journey in finding the place that will offer her the inspiration she needed.

Who was Sergei, and why did the poet never dust the piano after he left?

The name Sergei appears in the poem Bridget Sprouls and the author mentions him when talking about a piano that has never been dusted. The name Sergei may refer to various famous pianists such as Sergei Babayan. Sergei lived in the USA and was appreciated for his talent. By claiming that she never dusted the piano after Sergei entered her house, the poet wanted to transmit the idea that she never dared to play the piano because she could never compare to the legends that came before her.