LITR 5731: Seminar in American Minority Literature
University of Houston-Clear Lake, fall 2001
Poetry Presentation Index

Reader: Donnette Arnold

Recorder: Andrea Dunn

October 16, 2001

"Poem In Which I Refuse Contemplation"

by

Rita Dove

As we explore more contemporary African-American poets, the voice of Rita Dove is discovered as a strong pillar of what developed this facet of American literature. In her poem, "Poem In Which I Refuse Contemplation," she is the voice of mother, daughter, contemporary American poet. Her voice is conversational and fragmented, and conveys a strong sense of just how contemporary she is. Dove begins the poem by telling the reader that a letter from her mother is waiting for her, "A letter from my mother was waiting: read in standing, one a.m." The reader can recognize that the poem is written in contemporary society as she has traveled by car from Paris to Germany within six hours. These first words are choppy and fragmented, a style prevalent in much of literature today. This stylistic state-of-consciousness is typical in modern literature.

As Dove establishes her contemporary voice, she also hints at a conflict she experiences between the traditional and the contemporary. She wants to leave all responsibilities, but as a mother, she must stay where she is, "Bags to unpack." As she reads her mother’s letter she states, "I want to – as my daughter says, pretending to be ‘Papa’ – pull on boots and go for a long walk." As a contemporary woman she wants to come and go as she pleases, but the traditional world, one in which motherhood has heavy limitations, has tied her down to the home to complete motherly duties.

Not only does Dove convey conflict in her voice, she also conveys feelings of weariness. The travel has left her exhausted. She wants to feel nothing physically or emotionally - deal with nothing. She states, "I wish my body wouldn’t cramp and leak." Similarly, her mother avoids any true significant feelings. As her mother explains the death of Dove’s cousin, her mother shows no remorse or feeling of any sort, "Your cousin Ronnie in D.C. – remember him? – he was the one a few months younger than you, was strangulated at some chili joint." She provides no respect for the dead and no feeling for family in her letter. Her mother simply discusses occurrences, avoiding an empathetic respect or concern for life. Both Dove and her mother seem to avoid "contemplation." Perhaps it is their recognition of avoidance that they find a way to contemplate these unfortunate occurrences. Dove recognizes her avoidance simply through writing this poem and calling it "Avoidance" or "Poem In Which I Refuse Contemplation." We are left thinking that perhaps she will interpret her feelings and contemplate the situation once she has had the opportunity to gather herself.

Through her poem we see a love for language. She explains, "And German, with its patient, grunting building blocks, and for that matter, English, too." As much as she loves it, language becomes burdensome to her. Reading her mother’s letter is a burden, speaking (whether it is German or English) is a burden; these things are actions she wishes not to act upon at the moment. But Dove continues reading and continues to write - continues to communicate.

As Dove communicates with the reader she hopes that the reader experiences his or her own feelings in response to the poem. Dove explained in an interview that her goal is to get the reader to experience feeling or to convey an emotional state of mind. Rather than analyze the meaning of a poem, she wants the reader to feel the poem, "How does this poem make me feel?"

Poetry of Dove by Donnette (Andrea is recorder)

Donnette: Rita Dove was born in 1952 in Akron, Ohio; President Clinton made her poet laureate in 1993; youngest and first African American to be named such. Listen to her voice and think about how it differs from the poets we have read so far.

Donnette reads poem

Donnette: Her style is more contemporary – written in 1989 or so. I definitely hear 2 voices, her voice is so strong.

Rachel: Her mother’s language reminds me of my mother's language – she’s talking about these things and I'm trying to tell them something! (emphasis)

Jill: Her way of doing it is to mask more of what the problems are. She will complain about something minor - if you're good you'll pick up on it but maybe not. "Lettuce, lettuce, lettuce" says something else is wrong but she doesn’t want to say it - one voice is truly open and honest and other doesn’t want to burden anyone with her problems.

Donnette: The poem is named "The Poem in Which I Refuse to Contemplate" - she's dealing with it in a different way.

Jill: I don't know that the first voice wants to say these things...things the first thinker is thinking but would never say.

Pholonis: The first voice is a matriarch who doesn't show weakness. She’s the one that has to hold it all together for everybody else.

Rachel: She talks about tragedy in a round about way.

Dr. White: You’re not sure if you read it right.

Rachel: It's part of the ordinary almost.

Pholonis: Talking about it this way takes the sting out of the death.

Student: It’s funny how she spends as much time on garden as on death of cousin.

Student (Chris?): how does the language thing tie in? The reference to German and English?

Donnette: I think it speaks of German in a gentle way. She speaks German and is fluent in it. I wonder if she likes anything at this point.

Dr. White: And there's one moment of resentment - about Papa and how at this moment he would pull on his boots and walk alone - like she doesn't have the leisure to do so.

Student (the young woman who was sitting next to Dr. White Tuesday evening): I think it’s interesting that it's a letter and she can put it down but she doesn’t.

Michelle: I think she just wants to get through it and put it down.

Student: Like she's obligated to read it.

Dr. White: Perhaps it capsulates a moment – as if she’s saying "that's it, that's all for now - it's only going to haunt me so much."

Dr. White: Is there any sense of guilt for not fulfilling strong female role? (matriarchal role previously mentioned)

Dr. White: She was born in 1952. There is a lot of change from 1952 until the time she wrote the poem - the mother is in the traditional world...

Student: I see something really sad: "I can't feel his hand anymore"

Student: I took away the regular words and looked at the words in italics: Raccoons - "taken up residence in the crawl space" – maybe this refers to her mind…

Dr. White: I didn't know what to make of her lines.

Donnette: She has a poem called "5th Grade Autobiography" -- talks about her brother -- mentions his death and his hands.

Student: It evokes a feeling of loss.

Dr. White: There's something gothic about it - the raccoons in the crawl space - something repressed.

Student (sitting next to Dr. White): And something in nature sets it off.

Jill: Is that like having bats in the belfry?

David (?): I have to agree that we can separate italicized words. Maybe the crawl space is where she and the cousin did things - very romantic sounding.

Student: In the house I grew up in now my mom has raccoons in the crawl space.

David: But mom "skips" to the garden. This indicates she reverts to childhood.

Dr. White: You're right. "The memory of Ronnie" and then "skips to the garden" – that's the time shift.

Donnette: I read an interview with Rita Dove. In it she says she doesn't like being considered an African American poet. She says her writing is her own. It's individual. Also we're discussing the meaning of the poem -- in an interview she said don't look for the meaning in the poem – she wants people to get the feeling they get when they first read the poem. Her poems are fragmented. I like that. Her voice is very contemporary.

Dr. White: Keep this in mind when you read "The Lone Ranger and Tonto…" - his voice is fragmented and contemporary.