she died of alcoholism
wrapped in a blanket
on a deck chair
on an ocean
steamer.
all her books of
terrified loneliness
all her books about
the cruelty
of loveless love
were all that was left
of her
as the strolling vacationer
discovered her body
notified the captain
and she was quickly dispatched
to somewhere else
on the ship
as everything
continued just
as
she had written it
but I remember
she liked
the
back door.
5 comments:
I don't see what the back door comment has to do with the rest of the poem. The thing about Carson McCullers checking out when she was still sorta young is that how many of us had a similar impulse at that stage of the game? I mean whenever I read the stories written by Raymond Carver for example, my God the grimness, the grimmest of grimnesses. Which everyone goes through (admittedly to a greater or lesser extent) in the 20 something to 40 something period of their life...and then it lifts. I mean maybe if she had taken out the Parcheesi board instead of gazing into the abyss, she'd still be here. Think about that. Tomorrow's bluebook exam will be an essay question: what were the hermeneutics of the Panda-McCullers hookup as it relates to the strange Southerness of Mama M, Sixty and Windbag.
The backdoor comment was because she liked the backdoor. Allegedly.
Also it went with the photo.
I remembered the name, but had no idea what she had written or how she lived and died.
A quick check of Wiki "never wrong" pedia and there you go - I have seen her work performed on stage and in movies.
She certainly had a tough time in this life, and her health issues were severe. Not at all as described by the Chuckie. He might have been projecting a bit, eh?
Never order a salad at a bad café.
It'll depress the hell out of you.
I needed an assist with this one...the backdoor add-on put me off the scent.
Didn't know about eponymous either, as in: Charles Bukowski wrote an eponymous poem about her. But wiki lead the way.
With regard to the essay question, the following provides one answer:
Although McCullers's oeuvre is often described as "Southern Gothic," she produced her famous works after leaving the South. Her eccentric characters suffer from loneliness that is interpreted with deep empathy. In a discussion with the Irish critic and writer Terence de Vere White she said: "Writing, for me, is a search for God." Other critics have variously detected tragicomic or political elements in her writing.
Shorter version: Eccentric characters revealing tragicomic elements.
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