A Review of Turtle, Swan
“Turtle, Swan” is the title poem in Mark Doty’s first collection of poems Turtle, Swan, published in 1987. Fourteen stanzas, each six lines long, weave together the lives of a swan, a turtle, the narrator, and his partner. While Doty shifts from descriptions of various creatures and experiences, his use of enjambment carries the reader from one thought to the next fluidly and without pause. The first nine stanzas recount two occasions in which weather conditions or chance caused first a swan, and then a turtle to cross the path of the poet and his partner on their way home from work. The final stanzas relate these animals to the poet’s feelings towards his partner, and his fears of losing him to death.
Doty makes beautiful use of metaphors and similes throughout his poem, and particularly in reference to the turtle and the swan. The swan, for example, was “white architecture/ rippling like a pond’s rain-pocked skin” while the turtle lumbered “head up like a missionary moving certainly/ into the country of his hopes.” These metaphors, providing specific images that magnify the small but beautiful qualities of the creatures, become more layered as the poet relates his deep adoration for his lover by comparing his beauty and strength to that of the turtle and the swan. Thus, the title “Turtle, Swan” refers to his lover and all that he embodies.
Neither the reader nor the speaker knows what became of either the turtle or the swan. The swan receives no further mention after it lets out an authoritative hiss. The turtle may or may not have become a stain on the pavement in a nearby town. Both appearances were fleeting. The poet’s attention to these brief encounters reflects their power and the attachment that can arise from such encounters. The poet’s uncertainty about whether or not the stain marks the death of the turtle reveals an anxiety about death associated with a loved one.
Another way “Turtle, Swan” is organized is beginning with the poet and his partners’ identity as a single unit, and closing with the poet's individual journey and fears. The beginning of the poem reads, “Because the road to our house/ is a back road,” and it goes on to speak primarily of “we” and “us”. Together, the two men encounter what life throws at them, and they very comfortably work together. When the snapping turtle takes a chunk out of his lover’s shoe but leaves him otherwise unharmed, the poet is as relieved as if it is he who has escaped a trip to the emergency room. At the end of the day, the two of them head for the same home, talking together about what they experienced. Beginning in the tenth stanza, the narrator relates another story about being apart from his lover at a movie theater, unable to find him. In this section, the narrator is no longer part of a unit, and this causes him to feel vulnerable and afraid that some day he will be on his own.
Doty's greatest fear at this time was that his partner, Wally Roberts would die from AIDS. This was written during the late 80s, when the AIDS epidemic was becoming a painful reality for more and more gay men in the United States. Roberts tested positive for HIV two years after “Turtle, Swan” was published. He died in 1994, and this was known to be an extraordinarily difficult time for Doty (Contemporary Authors).
The one phrase that is repeated four times in “Turtle, Swan” is I don’t know. Some literature is written to persuade its audience to think or act a certain way. Sometimes it is written to speak truths that need to be heard. “Try To Praise the Mutilated World” by Adam Zagajewski, written following the terrorist attacks of September 11th, was a source of comfort for the many people troubled and confused about how to go on with their lives as bad things happened. It asserted that the profound, beautiful acts of creation and love that occur everyday should be enough to make the world livable. Sometimes poetry like this is needed. However, Doty’s questions and doubts are extremely powerful because they do not offer any kind of comfort to the reader. Instead of offering answers, he presents his darkest, most intimate worries, and in doing so he creates art that all readers should be able to understand and empathize with. It is an example of how poetry can help one individual identify with another on a deep level.
“Turtle, Swan” remains a poignant piece because Doty’s fears were far from irrational. When Roberts died, Doty was left alone, no longer part of a unit. Of course, all humans come into the world and leave it alone. It is a universal truth. Ultimately, everyone is responsible only for himself, but Doty’s wish was for the man he loved not “ever to die.” He was terrified to lose his partner. He uses the example of being in a dark movie theater, alone and confused. He imagines that being one person, without a companion, will be like being in a dark place, unable to find the right way to proceed.
Even though Doty was enormously shaken following the death of his greatest love, he was able to conquer his fear of being completely lost. He went on to write a highly acclaimed memoir, and continues to compose poetry that embraces the pain he experienced, even transcending that pain to write about beauty and hope. “Turtle, Swan” is a snapshot of Mark Doty’s life in a time in which he was happy, but far from naïve. He recognized that to love deeply means to risk losing everything and having to start over. “Turtle, Swan,” read in the context of Mark Doty’s life thus far, is a bittersweet testament to powerful and frightening love.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Mark Doty's Unexpected Teacher
A Review of Sideshow
Mark Doty’s poem “Sideshow” from his first collection of poetry, Turtle, Swan, appears contained and safe on the page, though it is written in an open form. It is not broken into stanzas, but contains thirty continuous lines, none of which are more than eight words long. The entire poem elaborates on a memory the poet has of an experience at a circus sideshow. This idea of a single thought process continued across the poem is highlighted by the poet’s use of enjambment. He never ends a line with a period, but continues the thought onto the next line. There are only six periods in the poem, and besides final period, they all fall in the middle of a line.
Doty’s use of vivid imagery and provocative language is what makes his poem affecting. He uses no rhymes, and actually much of the poem could be read is if it were prose. But some key qualities of the language make the difference. First is the inclusion of assonance. There is not much, but when read aloud, certain phrases stand out like little gems. An earless goat “coughs softly.” An ewe drags a “hooved bundle.” Doty also utilizes similes and metaphors in his descriptions of the horse. Its face looks out “as if/ through a foot of lake water” as he stands there, “lone star of squalor.” These images leave a haunting impression on the reader’s mind.
The poem is lyrical, told in the voice of Doty and expressing his own emotions. The reader is drawn into his head through his use of imagery and his accessible language. The tone is reflective, melancholy, and morbid. Regardless of how the reader chooses to interpret the message, the fact is that Doty is relating to a dead, deformed animal filled with taxidermy chemicals and cotton.
The description of the stuffed horse- “cotton batting pushes/ the iridescent glass eyes slightly askew,/ his mouth sewn up into that crooked…smile” -is not very much unlike what someone may see looking down at the painted, rearranged face of a loved one in a coffin. It never looks quite right; the cheeks are a little too plump, the coloring is off. In the horse’s case, his mouth is stitched up in a lopsided smile. Is the smile ironic, or is it supposed to be poignant? The poet concludes that the horse knew that his life was sub-par. He could never run and play. He was most likely lonely; what other horse would want him? But none of this matters anymore. He is a celebrity. In death he cannot rest, but is placed where all can see and admire him.
Following a wake, guests at a funeral find themselves sitting through a service that, more often that not, glorifies the departed individual. Sometimes these praises are well deserved, sometimes they are long overdue, but sometimes the desire for comfort distorts the memory of those left on Earth. Fiction takes the place of true memories, and ordinary, flawed individuals become legends. Doty literally provides an illustration, a painting of a horse “shorter than daisies” frolicking weightlessly across an impossibly green meadow. In reality, this had never been the case.
The poem is entitled “Sideshow.” Likely, thousands of people laid eyes on the WORLD’S SMALLEST HORSE in that miserable tent, but none came all the way there to admire him. The circus flyers made sure they advertised the shows and the glitz! The tent holding a few pitiable farm animals mostly existed to give mothers and sons something to do while they waited between shows and ate their cotton candy. On one hand, a funeral is a serious, memorable event. But no one can dwell too much on a funeral or on a death. It’s not healthy, and it is not realistic. The world spins on every day as hundreds of thousands of souls make their exit. Therefore, a funeral is not so different from a sideshow at the carnival that is life.
It is noteworthy that Doty makes no mention of a “me” until the final line of his poem. Up to the last two words, the poet only pays attention to the animals in the sideshow, and particularly to the small horse. The reader of the poem is drawn into this horse’s life, commiserating with it, but at the end, one is invited to consider that the horse has something to offer him or her. It is such a tragic character that one may not want to realize he and it are not so different. Everyone has shortcomings and unrealized dreams. Everyone will someday die. If they are lucky, they will be released to the hands of death and will not be held captive in a “miserable tent” forever. Doty invites the reader to consider being like the horse, but unlike its captors, forgiving and accepting life as it was, not clinging to the dream of what it might have been.
Mark Doty’s poem “Sideshow” from his first collection of poetry, Turtle, Swan, appears contained and safe on the page, though it is written in an open form. It is not broken into stanzas, but contains thirty continuous lines, none of which are more than eight words long. The entire poem elaborates on a memory the poet has of an experience at a circus sideshow. This idea of a single thought process continued across the poem is highlighted by the poet’s use of enjambment. He never ends a line with a period, but continues the thought onto the next line. There are only six periods in the poem, and besides final period, they all fall in the middle of a line.
Doty’s use of vivid imagery and provocative language is what makes his poem affecting. He uses no rhymes, and actually much of the poem could be read is if it were prose. But some key qualities of the language make the difference. First is the inclusion of assonance. There is not much, but when read aloud, certain phrases stand out like little gems. An earless goat “coughs softly.” An ewe drags a “hooved bundle.” Doty also utilizes similes and metaphors in his descriptions of the horse. Its face looks out “as if/ through a foot of lake water” as he stands there, “lone star of squalor.” These images leave a haunting impression on the reader’s mind.
The poem is lyrical, told in the voice of Doty and expressing his own emotions. The reader is drawn into his head through his use of imagery and his accessible language. The tone is reflective, melancholy, and morbid. Regardless of how the reader chooses to interpret the message, the fact is that Doty is relating to a dead, deformed animal filled with taxidermy chemicals and cotton.
The description of the stuffed horse- “cotton batting pushes/ the iridescent glass eyes slightly askew,/ his mouth sewn up into that crooked…smile” -is not very much unlike what someone may see looking down at the painted, rearranged face of a loved one in a coffin. It never looks quite right; the cheeks are a little too plump, the coloring is off. In the horse’s case, his mouth is stitched up in a lopsided smile. Is the smile ironic, or is it supposed to be poignant? The poet concludes that the horse knew that his life was sub-par. He could never run and play. He was most likely lonely; what other horse would want him? But none of this matters anymore. He is a celebrity. In death he cannot rest, but is placed where all can see and admire him.
Following a wake, guests at a funeral find themselves sitting through a service that, more often that not, glorifies the departed individual. Sometimes these praises are well deserved, sometimes they are long overdue, but sometimes the desire for comfort distorts the memory of those left on Earth. Fiction takes the place of true memories, and ordinary, flawed individuals become legends. Doty literally provides an illustration, a painting of a horse “shorter than daisies” frolicking weightlessly across an impossibly green meadow. In reality, this had never been the case.
The poem is entitled “Sideshow.” Likely, thousands of people laid eyes on the WORLD’S SMALLEST HORSE in that miserable tent, but none came all the way there to admire him. The circus flyers made sure they advertised the shows and the glitz! The tent holding a few pitiable farm animals mostly existed to give mothers and sons something to do while they waited between shows and ate their cotton candy. On one hand, a funeral is a serious, memorable event. But no one can dwell too much on a funeral or on a death. It’s not healthy, and it is not realistic. The world spins on every day as hundreds of thousands of souls make their exit. Therefore, a funeral is not so different from a sideshow at the carnival that is life.
It is noteworthy that Doty makes no mention of a “me” until the final line of his poem. Up to the last two words, the poet only pays attention to the animals in the sideshow, and particularly to the small horse. The reader of the poem is drawn into this horse’s life, commiserating with it, but at the end, one is invited to consider that the horse has something to offer him or her. It is such a tragic character that one may not want to realize he and it are not so different. Everyone has shortcomings and unrealized dreams. Everyone will someday die. If they are lucky, they will be released to the hands of death and will not be held captive in a “miserable tent” forever. Doty invites the reader to consider being like the horse, but unlike its captors, forgiving and accepting life as it was, not clinging to the dream of what it might have been.
The Life and Works of Mark Doty
Mark Doty, considered one of the most accomplished living American poets, was born on August 10, 1953 in Maryville, Tennessee. As his father was an army engineer, Doty’s childhood was marked by frequent moves between Tennessee, Arizona, California, and Florida. Largely attributable to his fears of being a gay man in the 1970s, Doty was married at 18 to Ruth Doty with whom the union lasted for nine years. The two divorced after he graduated from Drake University in 1978 (Drake).
Doty received his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Goddard College in Vermont in 1980 (Goddard). During this time he fell in love with Wally Roberts and the two lived together for twelve years. During this time, Doty wrote his first book of poetry. Published in 1987, Turtle, Swan received glowing reviews. The free verse poems were mostly anecdotal and reflected Doty’s experience as a gay man. Booklist commended Doty for making his experience “an example of how we live, how we suffer and transcend suffering” (Contemporary Poets). The collection is also distinguishable from his more recent works because of its attention to his early youth and coming-of-age. The reader can expect to find somewhat lighter subject matter in this first collection.
When Wally tested positive for HIV in 1989, the tone of Doty’s work became darker. His next books of poems, Bethlehem in Broad Daylight (1991) and My Alexandria (1993) both reflected his suffering, and were widely acclaimed. After the release of My Alexandria, Doty became the first American to win the T.S. Eliot Prize for best book of poetry published in the United Kingdom. In an interview, Doty described My Alexandria as “a real change… I was casting about for what would come next. And what came next for me was looking around at the present and adult life” (Poetry Foundation).
Wally Roberts died from AIDS in 1994. The loss was so difficult for Doty to deal with that he found himself unable to write for a period of time. Through his memoir, Heaven’s Coast, he was able to come to grips with the event. This book of prose also established him as a skilled memoirist, and since its publication he has continued to attain success through his memoirs as well as poetry. His writing is so unique because it does not contain “poisonous anger or grief” (Contemporary Poets) and fills the reader with a feeling of beauty.
Though Doty often writes about gay issues, his poetry has gone beyond that of an exclusively gay poet. He explains that he often writes to other gay men because their experience “often overlaps with mine.” Furthermore, he writes as an advocate of the gay experience because he has found it to be misrepresented or completely erased in current culture (Contemporary Poets).
Doty’s purpose in writing appears to be to express his own thoughts and experiences in the context of broader American life. He currently has eleven volumes of published poetry, the most recent of which is Theories and Apparitions (2008). Doty has received numerous prestigious awards including The Whiting Writer’s Award, The National Book Critic’s Circle Award, and The National Poetry Series publication. He resides in Provincetown, Massachusetts and Houston, Texas. He has been a faculty member at several colleges and universities and is currently the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of English in the graduate program at the University of Houston.
Bibliography of Mark Doty’s Individual Poetry Books
• Turtle, Swan (also see below), David R. Godine (Boston, MA), 1987.
• Bethlehem in Broad Daylight (also see below), Godine (Lincoln, MA), 1991.
• My Alexandria, University of Illinois Press (Urbana, IL), 1993.
• Atlantis, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.
• Sweet Machine: Poems, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.
• Island Sheaf, Dim Gray Bar Press (New York, NY), 1998.
• Turtle, Swan [and] Bethlehem in Broad Daylight: Poetry, University of Illinois Press (Urbana, IL), 2000.
• Source, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.
• School of the Arts, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.
• Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2008.
• Theories and Apparitions, Jonathan Cape (London, England), 2008.
Works Consulted
"Experience Literature - Poetry." Bedford St. Martin's. Web. 07 Feb. 2011.
“Goddard Alum Mark Doty Wins 2008 National Book Award.” Goddard College. Feb. 2011. Web.
“Mark (A.) Doty.” Contemporary Poets. Gale, 2001. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.
"Mark A. Doty." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 7 Mar. 2011.
"Mark Doty." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Web. 05 Feb. 2011.
"Mark Doty." The Poetry Foundation : Find Poems and Poets. Discover Poetry. Poetry Foundation, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
Olson, Tory. “Drake alumnus Mark Doty honored with National Book Award for poetry.” Drake University. Feb. 2011. Web. Nov. 2008.
Doty received his Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Goddard College in Vermont in 1980 (Goddard). During this time he fell in love with Wally Roberts and the two lived together for twelve years. During this time, Doty wrote his first book of poetry. Published in 1987, Turtle, Swan received glowing reviews. The free verse poems were mostly anecdotal and reflected Doty’s experience as a gay man. Booklist commended Doty for making his experience “an example of how we live, how we suffer and transcend suffering” (Contemporary Poets). The collection is also distinguishable from his more recent works because of its attention to his early youth and coming-of-age. The reader can expect to find somewhat lighter subject matter in this first collection.
When Wally tested positive for HIV in 1989, the tone of Doty’s work became darker. His next books of poems, Bethlehem in Broad Daylight (1991) and My Alexandria (1993) both reflected his suffering, and were widely acclaimed. After the release of My Alexandria, Doty became the first American to win the T.S. Eliot Prize for best book of poetry published in the United Kingdom. In an interview, Doty described My Alexandria as “a real change… I was casting about for what would come next. And what came next for me was looking around at the present and adult life” (Poetry Foundation).
Wally Roberts died from AIDS in 1994. The loss was so difficult for Doty to deal with that he found himself unable to write for a period of time. Through his memoir, Heaven’s Coast, he was able to come to grips with the event. This book of prose also established him as a skilled memoirist, and since its publication he has continued to attain success through his memoirs as well as poetry. His writing is so unique because it does not contain “poisonous anger or grief” (Contemporary Poets) and fills the reader with a feeling of beauty.
Though Doty often writes about gay issues, his poetry has gone beyond that of an exclusively gay poet. He explains that he often writes to other gay men because their experience “often overlaps with mine.” Furthermore, he writes as an advocate of the gay experience because he has found it to be misrepresented or completely erased in current culture (Contemporary Poets).
Doty’s purpose in writing appears to be to express his own thoughts and experiences in the context of broader American life. He currently has eleven volumes of published poetry, the most recent of which is Theories and Apparitions (2008). Doty has received numerous prestigious awards including The Whiting Writer’s Award, The National Book Critic’s Circle Award, and The National Poetry Series publication. He resides in Provincetown, Massachusetts and Houston, Texas. He has been a faculty member at several colleges and universities and is currently the John and Rebecca Moores Professor of English in the graduate program at the University of Houston.
Bibliography of Mark Doty’s Individual Poetry Books
• Turtle, Swan (also see below), David R. Godine (Boston, MA), 1987.
• Bethlehem in Broad Daylight (also see below), Godine (Lincoln, MA), 1991.
• My Alexandria, University of Illinois Press (Urbana, IL), 1993.
• Atlantis, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.
• Sweet Machine: Poems, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.
• Island Sheaf, Dim Gray Bar Press (New York, NY), 1998.
• Turtle, Swan [and] Bethlehem in Broad Daylight: Poetry, University of Illinois Press (Urbana, IL), 2000.
• Source, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.
• School of the Arts, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.
• Fire to Fire: New and Selected Poems, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2008.
• Theories and Apparitions, Jonathan Cape (London, England), 2008.
Works Consulted
"Experience Literature - Poetry." Bedford St. Martin's. Web. 07 Feb. 2011.
“Goddard Alum Mark Doty Wins 2008 National Book Award.” Goddard College. Feb. 2011. Web.
“Mark (A.) Doty.” Contemporary Poets. Gale, 2001. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 7 Feb. 2011.
"Mark A. Doty." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 7 Mar. 2011.
"Mark Doty." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. Web. 05 Feb. 2011.
"Mark Doty." The Poetry Foundation : Find Poems and Poets. Discover Poetry. Poetry Foundation, 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
Olson, Tory. “Drake alumnus Mark Doty honored with National Book Award for poetry.” Drake University. Feb. 2011. Web. Nov. 2008.
Mark Doty: The Poet and the Person
Last spring, while visiting Earlham College, I had my first encounter with Mark Doty. I found myself sitting in their theater for convocation and, after being introduced, this really gentle looking guy with blue eyes came out and started sharing his poetry with us. As I've stated before, I never really "got" poetry, but coming out of his mouth, the poetry actually made sense to me! It was anecdotal; I learned his story as he read, and I enjoyed the little light, funny stories he recounted through verse. It was clear he had been through a lot and was still hurting, but there was a softness about him and beauty in his words.
On the way to the airport, I was telling the admissions councilor how much I liked hearing Mark Doty speak. I didn't realize at the time what a well-known poet he is. A few days after I arrived home I received a book and a note in the mail: "Hi Maddie!... Here is the Mark Doty book (Fire to Fire)... Perhaps you will 'hear' his voice as you read his work."
A year later, I have finally found an excuse to learn more about Doty and read his first collection of poetry, Turtle, Swan. I have indeed been able to hear his voice as I have read his poetry, and I've also learned a lot about his life through reading Turtle Swan and other information on the internet. My next three posts are papers I wrote for class, and I'm sorry if they overlap quite dramatically. One is a biography and the others focus and two poems of his I've really liked. There is no distinct line of where his personal life ends and his poetry begins, so I have really enjoyed getting to know Mark Doty: the poet and the person!
Image found:
http://www.robwilliams.org/2008/11/21/mark-doty-wins-national-book-award-for-poetry/
On the way to the airport, I was telling the admissions councilor how much I liked hearing Mark Doty speak. I didn't realize at the time what a well-known poet he is. A few days after I arrived home I received a book and a note in the mail: "Hi Maddie!... Here is the Mark Doty book (Fire to Fire)... Perhaps you will 'hear' his voice as you read his work."
A year later, I have finally found an excuse to learn more about Doty and read his first collection of poetry, Turtle, Swan. I have indeed been able to hear his voice as I have read his poetry, and I've also learned a lot about his life through reading Turtle Swan and other information on the internet. My next three posts are papers I wrote for class, and I'm sorry if they overlap quite dramatically. One is a biography and the others focus and two poems of his I've really liked. There is no distinct line of where his personal life ends and his poetry begins, so I have really enjoyed getting to know Mark Doty: the poet and the person!
Image found:
http://www.robwilliams.org/2008/11/21/mark-doty-wins-national-book-award-for-poetry/
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