Posts Tagged ‘England’
Carol Ann Duffy Continues a Royal Tradition in England
For the first time in 341 years, England awarded the post of national poet laureate to a woman: Carol Ann Duffy. Her accessible poems are much more assertive than those of previous poet laureates, including William Wordsworth and Alfred Lord Tennyson. And after centuries of trying to prove that Shakespeare was a homosexual, we don’t have to guess about Carol Ann Duffy’s sexuality. She is the first openly gay poet laureate in England. Did Obama make this change possible, too? Then again, the U.S. has had an openly gay poet laureate since 2008: Kay Ryan. So apparently it didn’t take a black president to make everyone realize that women could write. As the monarchy has decreased in its political role and has evolved into a shining symbol of tradition, Carol Ann Duffy is also modernizing the role of the poet laureate. She says she doesn’t feel pressured to provide a piece of poetry for every royal occasion, but if one comes up that provokes or inspires her to write, she’d contribute. (Way to make the queen work for it, Carol Ann Duffy.)
Here’s my favorite poem by her:
Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy
Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.
Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.
I am trying to be truthful.
Not a cute card or a kissogram.
I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.
Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring,
if you like.
Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.
Still need convincing of women’s ability to write? Check out the poem “Mirage Oases” by our own poet laureate Kay Ryan. Imagine the wedding vows if these two poet laureates were to get married.
Also, check out the song American Dream by Rapper Steph: lesbian poet laureate at Boston University? She’s a tiny girl with a powerful voice and political lyrics and she’s on Base Trip Records.
