[Alex Pepple]

Understated delivery, and good pacing that keeps drawing one in. Quite accomplished, but I wish the closing couplet wasn't as flat and did a bit more.

Cheers,
...Alex

[Wendy Sloan]

Ok -- I'm back in town.

Thanks, everyone who took the time to consider & comment on "Women's Work".

A debate having arisen as to what the poem is "about" ...

As Cathy explained very well, the poem is basically "about" woman's relationship to work & to art, and the narrow outlet for self-fulfillment/expression traditionally afforded her by society, and the undervaluation of her work, craft & art. So it's somewhat self-referential, e.g. most obviously, the title itself applies both to the linens and to the poem. The sonnet should be working, then, on several levels. It's a story about a bargain buy at auction -- but if it were only that, I wouldn't have bothered to write it & no one would bother to read it.

Unpacking, slowly looking over those antique pieces of domestic or decorative art bought on the cheap, N thinks about the woman who made them long ago ... and through that evocative experience (which many people have had, see: e.g., Terese's comments), through which that long-dead woman lives on, the textiles speak. They speak of time (of day-to-day domestic life & practical use & mortality), they speak of work & its function in our lives (self-fullfillment/creation of use & value), they speak of craft and of art (and the transcendance of time through art, and the relationship of decorative art to art), they speak of value, and how society values all of these things -- and of a woman's role in relation to it all. And they speak of the narrow scope of expression afforded her, the thwarting of her desire. Maybe they say something about repression, and a closing off of the self. Whatever. These are subjects I have thought a lot about literally all of my life -- in my work as a labor lawyer, in my pass-time as an appraiser of art & antiques, in my writing.

The poem was chosen by Andrew Hudgins as a finalist in the 2006 Nemerov competition and published in Measure (2007).

Cathy -- Thank you for your insightful comments. "A woman's work is never done", indeed. Or, as someone else said, "Disappointment is the lot of woman" (Lucy Stone). Sometimes I think we've come a long way, sometimes I think the French have got a point when they say, "The more things change, the more they stay the same".

Alicia -- Wow. Thanks so much for your suggestions. Everyone seems to want the hyphen, so ... I'd better put it in! Your idea of moving the
12th line to the end is something I'd never thought of & will keep in mind and consider over time -- after all, a poet's work is never done either! But I'd be pretty hesitant to make the change and not (I don't think, though time will tell) because I've gotten stuck in my ways. I was aiming for closure, actually, and to have the couplet bring the poem full circle and shut it like the chest. And I do like those implications you pointed out -- of a woman "shutting up something of herself" etc., as you put it so well, though they might not be blunted by the change ... That 12th line seems to be working as a hinge at the point where the poem is turning full circle heading into the couplet. In a way, the poem hinges on that line. No reason not to ratchet things up a notch now ... but ... something would be lost, too, in turning that line into a "punch" line instead. Psychologically, too, the poem is accurate as written: first the realization of L12, then the locking shut. Anyway, I'll think it over.

Tim -- Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the details and yes, I'll add that hyphen.

Janet -- Thank you for reflecting with me on "women's often underestimated artistic expression".

Dee -- Glad you enjoyed the growth of this sonnet. I tried to "exploit" the sonnet form in bringing out my story: the psychological movement/development, the turns, the closing couplet. Thinking about the "anonymous" woman and her painstaking work was the impetus to the poem -- moving beyond the woman-who-shops (and gets a good bargain!) to the melancholy contemplation of real loss.

David Anthony -- I'm very happy that you enjoyed and took time to comment on this poem. Thanks for picking up on the "circularity of the implication in the close".

Nemo -- Thanks for your time & close attention to the time/art tropes in the poem. My hope is that they are more eternal than time-worn and, anyway, are reexamined here in a new way in relation to the decorative/domestic arts and woman's social role.

Janice -- Your comments are appreciated, though I don't agree with them! "Trousseau" (emphasis on the second syllable -- after all, it's a French word) and "hand-done" are in common use here. "Hand-done" is heard very frequently in the auction context pretty much interchangeably with "hand-made", especially when giving or drawing attention to the actual work on a piece. I'm unclear as to what you don't understand about the ending but, as Cathy said, the reader may imagine "a variety of scenarios". Questions are raised, not wholly answered.

Michael -- I'm glad I made it look effortless. They say that's the mark of a pro ...

David Rosenthal -- Thanks for the kind words -- I do hope the details are hard at work in this poem and I did intend to keep the ideas communicated grounded in those narrative details. Maybe the enjambments of L4-6 do reflect the actual act of packing/unpacking -- they were drafted during the act of doing that (unlike the rest of the narrative which was, instead, remembered or recreated or imagined).

Petra -- Thanks. Yes, you've picked up on the sad aspects of the story, which becomes bitter-sweet.

Terese, my fellow-traveler. Your comments ably describe the central event here: the highly evocative handling of an antique (in some cases, ancient) handmade textile and the thrill of connection with that long-ago person who put so much into it.

Kevin -- Thanks. I think I will add that hyphen.

Rose, you wild woman -- what can I say? I was surprised, too -- and taken aback -- by the dismissive comments of a couple of the readers. Could be some irony there ...

Chris -- Much appreciation for your careful reading of this and for your detailed and thoughtful comments. I was, of course, attempting to use the intense "specificity of focus" and "quiet attention to detail" to pierce the veil of the everday and bring on some deeper realizations. "Doubleness" was layered into the poem -- hey, it really wasn't just slapped together by accident, guys. I attempted, too, to use the craft of the sonnet to parallel the craft of the linens and to trace the movement of N's mind as she thinks about the exquisite and time-consuming work of the long-dead woman who made them.

Deborah -- Thanks! Yes, the "too-good-to-use" line is a pivotal one, and it was meant to raise philosophical (as well as practical) questions.

Alex -- Thank you, too, for considering this. I'm happy that you were drawn into it and appreciate your thoughtful comments & suggestions.

Mr. Cassity -- thank you for your time and attention. I'm sorry you didn't appreciate my attempt a bit more, but I guess that's what makes horse racing. And I'm really glad you weren't the first one who ever read it!

So thanks again, all. I'll be considering & reconsidering everyone's comments over time. The poem was a lot of work, but a lot came together for me while unpacking those lovely old linens and ... hey, I got 'em for a song.