Virginia Woolf, “A Simple Poem for Virginia Woolf”
Virginia Woolf is, of course, one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. She was at the forefront of Modernism and a key figure in the development of the stream-of-consciousness technique which attempts to present the fragmentary nature of unconscious thought in literary form. The poem several times references one of Woolf’s defining works, “A Room of One’s Own.” Nicole Kidman won an Oscar for portraying Woolf in the film The Hours.
Ruth, “Intervals”
Ruth is one of the victims of the domestic abuse that populates much of the author’s verse. She was a leader at the forefront of the MeToo movement before people even know how to use e-mail, much less social media. The poem begins with Ruth showing up at the emergency room in the company of the police called to investigate the domestic abuse which leaves her with swollen eyes, a broken jaw and stitches. What brought this assault on? Ruth forget the rule against talking during the evening news.
“The Man with the Single Miracle”
Although mostly known for writing about women, Wallace breaks with the tradition in this fascinating narrative. Though the title character’s name is never mentioned, much is known about him: he lives in a city by a lake, is happily married with happy kids and is haunted by a story he tells often about the time he was eight years old and went into the house of that woman in his neighborhood whom all the kids thought was a witch. And yet, despite this comprehensive knowledge, he is a mystery wrapped in the enigmatic miraculous art of storytelling.
The Policeman, “Thinking with the Heart”
The singular miracle man receives—and is deserving of—the type of empathy and understanding that the poet typically reserves for her sisterhood of characters. The policeman in this poem is actually given credit for the title as he is quoted—again not by name—with observing: “The problem with you women is, you think with your hearts.” Not quite to the length of Ruth, she is the recipient of good old-fashioned masculine domination complete with bruises and a cut over her eye. The police offers little in the way of solace or—hardly surprising—felicitous legal assistance, telling the victim that law enforcement is basically useless to help her unless she file charges. Much of the poem is a description of what the policeman is thinking and it isn’t worth mentioning as it barely qualifies as thinking at all, whether with the heart or the head.
