It isn't that we, in America, have not seen horror. It is that the maturity to write it has been muffled, infantilized, truncated. When such a young woman writes the near-ineffable, there is something in the culture that nourished the skill of her expression, as well as her own individuated soul. What woman--or the feminine in a sentient man--anywhere of any age, does not feel herself in these horrific lines.
Constance Walsh replied on Wed, 02/18/2009 - 02:49pm
Knee jerk reaction: "That poem does not belong with that face." The fact that it does should change the way people think—and live! Of course, it won't; but it should!
Question: Would this be a better world if more people listened to the poets? Some of the poets? Perhaps. Valzhyna Mort has a powerful voice!
Harriet Guthrie replied on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 05:21pm
Your sharing what takes place outside of our incomparably insulated world provides a wealth of appreciation for the little that I own. I'm grateful for the moments spent reading your words.
Marcoantonio Arellano replied on Sat, 10/31/2009 - 10:39am
The bleak remoteness of the victum whose soul must poke through the heavy weight of apathy. If I stood upon Pluto would my light be visible on Earth? If I departed my home at midnight would anyone know? Only the gymnast in my dreams will still dance when all else is dark.
It isn't that we, in America, have not seen horror. It is that the maturity to write it has been muffled, infantilized, truncated. When such a young woman writes the near-ineffable, there is something in the culture that nourished the skill of her expression, as well as her own individuated soul. What woman--or the feminine in a sentient man--anywhere of any age, does not feel herself in these horrific lines.
Knee jerk reaction: "That poem does not belong with that face." The fact that it does should change the way people think—and live! Of course, it won't; but it should!
Question: Would this be a better world if more people listened to the poets? Some of the poets? Perhaps. Valzhyna Mort has a powerful voice!
Your sharing what takes place outside of our incomparably insulated world provides a wealth of appreciation for the little that I own. I'm grateful for the moments spent reading your words.
How sad a reality but how beautifully written.
The bleak remoteness of the victum whose soul must poke through the heavy weight of apathy. If I stood upon Pluto would my light be visible on Earth? If I departed my home at midnight would anyone know? Only the gymnast in my dreams will still dance when all else is dark.