February 10: More on Eavan Boland

SCROLL DOWN FOR INTRODUCTION TO SHEPHERD'S CENTER POETRY GROUP

A couple of notes gleaned from further reading on Eavan Boland, which may or may not advance the understandings of "The Blossom" we arrived at this morning. First, the suggestion that Boland's mother-daughter poems (this critic was writing specifically about two collections from the 1990's) relate to "two underlying myths--the Biblical story of Eden and the Fall, as well as the classical myth of Demeter and Persephone."

In another article, I saw the suggestion that "The Blossom" has to do with picking her daughter up from a party at 7:30 a.m.

Dave Smith's work is dense with imagery, and I especially enjoyed how we were able to pool insights and arrive, I think, at his perception of fathers and sons.

We heard fine poems this morning from Dave Upstill, Jenny Angyal and Sandra Redding. We will want to talk a little more about the titles of poems next week.

I hope you will enjoy Grace Paley and Jean Valentine.