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

Discussion Leader: Jamie Grayson

Recorder: Donnette Arnold

Poem: "The Kilgore Rangerette Whose Life Was Ruined" by Cynthia MacDonald

About the author:

Poet Cynthia Macdonald is involved in a number of things, including founding and acting as the first director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston. She has accumulated a number of prestigious awards, including the Farfel Award, the highest honor a university can bestow on faculty members, three NEA Grants, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award, and a P.E.N Syndicated Fiction Award.

Her work has been collected into five volumes:

Transplants

Amputations
(W)holes
Alternate Means of Transport
Living Wills: New and Selected Poems

Her poetry regularly appears in periodicals such as The New Yorker, The New Republic, Shenandoah, Iowa Review, Nimrod, The Paris Review, American Poetry Review and elsewhere. Not only does she continue to work through the University of Houston as a faculty member of the Creative Writing Program, but she also publishes poetry, writes reviews, stories and personal essays, gives readings and talks, and has a small practice as a psychotherapist.

Points to note prior to reading of poem:

It is important to understand the reputation held of the Kilgore Rangerettes prior to listening to the poem because it gives the reader a better idea of the significance of the path taken by the subject of the poem.

The Kilgore Rangerettes are the elite of all dance teams, and are what all dance teams (whether high school or college) aspire to be. They embody grace, discipline, femininity, beauty, and perfection. The team is based on years of tradition and each member is mindful of who and what they stand for as a member of the Kilgore Rangerettes. For more information on the Rangerettes, they have their own website: http://www.rangerette.com/

          In the reading of the poem, visualize the events mentioned in the poem of the Rangerettes life as they would be plotted on a line graph.

Student poetry responses/discussion:

          Leader- As you can see, if you were to graph her accomplishments on a line graph, the line would go straight down.

Student- Their leg goes up and straight down.

Student- Beautiful line, but any little bump in that line ruins everything. The Rangerette line – any bump ruins it.

Leader- She is trying to live up to what is expected of her. There is a failure if someone makes up for her mistakes. This makes her weaker.

Andrea- Spoiling a middle child to overcome the middle child is less important, this feeds their idea that they are not worthy and therefore you give them more. You are not good enough so here is this gift – ties into the therapist's point of view.

Jennifer- "Rape yes but no mutilation." Skewed ideals. Rape ok but falling out of the line not ok. All the Rangerettes look the same. Like you cannot stand out must blend in. That contributes to her view of life.

Andrea- Private humiliation versus public humiliation. She can control the private humiliation.

David- Despite the adversity there is a great deal of optimism. Higher expectations for her child than for herself. Still wants to live life vicariously though child.

Leader- Lines of expectations: no one expects grace or precision so it is a relief to be a baglady. ---- gives herself gifts at this point.

Dr. White- Problems of appearances…hugging grandma too tight is not an appearance thing?

Student- Simple things are black marks on her appearance. As a performer everything is an appearance!! All public exposure is appearance. But as baglady she "disappears".

Student- She becomes something that people ignore = disappearance.

Leader- In trying to match up elements of the poem with class objectives, it was difficult because they are more racially based rather than gender-based.

But Objective 4 on assimilation and resistance, the subject of the poem had a choice to assimilate into normal society, yet she chose not to. She chose to resist the potential downfalls of a normal society in exchange for a life of no expectations as a bag lady.

Dr. White- "Ruined Life line" what is ruined? As a potential wife?

Jennifer- That means to me "oh yeah, she is the one that knocked the entire line." He is now associated with her mistakes.

Dr. White- Lost the poem at the ellipses moment at but I don’t know ?? What happened at Neimans???

Andrea- She is obsessive about the crystal breaking it…she gets lost in the obsession. Gets lost at the jack in the box? If she spilled something on someone she may storm out and cry but the person may not be that upset about it.

          Dr. White- I’m still lost at the "I don’t know…" Is it that she has a fear of her daughter expecting too much? Afraid of success?? What is the problem here?

Linda- Maybe she is afraid that her daughter will expect too much of her as a mother?

Dr. White- One concept called the Gaze – a woman in a patriarchal society. Not exclusive to feminism, but a way society controls its members. Everyone sensitive to I will be looked at. Feminists pick this up as all woman are being looked at – gazed at – the eyes of Texas are upon you…behave, look right, act right.

David- The "satin slip." Give someone the slip, but the satin slip is the smooth slip getting out of the relationship. Losing her virginity? Scrutiny of small town? Do we fill in this gap in the text?

Jennifer- People do not see your slip, only the intended would see the satin slip.

Student- Picture of Rangerette – not supposed to see the slip. She presents herself to be seen but not see all?

Student- Feel sorry for the little girl. Some girl kicks her boot off. Will this happen to the girl? (occupational hazard)

Leader- To be seen but they are all identical. Row of red white and blue. Nothing individualized. The bump in the line.

Student- 1^st stanza is perfect yet it all goes wrong.

Dr. White- Rangerettes: play with the word the Texas rangers. Symbol of Texas - masculine. Rangerettes the feminine form of the rangers. The expectations of them are formulated by men. The men are to protect and to be feared, so are the women for them?

Andrea- The title – she did not ruin her own life, the life "was" ruined. Kilgore Rangerette Baglady.

Leader- In regards to Objective 5 on the Subject/Object topic, the subject is supposed to be self-determining and active in "voice and choice." Yet she takes on more of the role of the "object" who is considered passive and acted upon and spoken for. It seems that this is what her family is doing by consoling her with gifts and telling her nothing is her fault. She doesn’t have to take responsibility for her actions – she is being pacified as though they are speaking for her. She does not stand for herself. She does not even accept role of ruining her life, as Andrea mentioned about the title. The Kilgore Rangerette whose life was ruined, not the Kilgore Rangerette who ruined her life. She takes a backseat role.

Dr. White- The gaze concept – the object of the gaze. The person watching is subjective.

Jennifer- To be gazed at – there used to be a weight limit based on height. Very unhealthy, I wonder if the Rangerettes were under the same requirements? That is not who you are inside because you are living the outside as someone you don’t want to be. Did she kick the wrong leg purposefully? That sometimes happens in minority literature. Non-assimilation.

Student- You either fumble or you are crushed under pressure.

Student- Almost had a hard time feeling sorry for her. Life of privilege. She gives up the life rather than losing it.

Student- Even when she loses the life she still discusses the life as if she has a part in it.

Philonius- If life is too hard, the just quit rather than persevere. They just quit school. Is it better to quit than to fail. Make the choice to quit. Choose not to do that work! That is why I failed. I made that choice.

Dr. White- In regards to the gaze…segue into Bastard out of Carolina…

Commentary concluded.