Poem Identification
September 9, 2010 9:08 AM Subscribe
Poem Identification: Villanelle with lines from a Supremes song
I read this poem in 2002 or 2003, and it was not terribly old at the time I read it; it had probably been published within the previous ten years. I can't remember, but I think I read it in a collection by the poet (as opposed to a literary magazine or anthology).
It was by a female poet. It was a villanelle (99% sure it was a villanelle), with the repeating lines coming from a song--again, 99% sure it was a Supremes song (I'm thinking, Baby, Where Did Our Love Go). Here's what I recall the poem being about, but it could be misremembered, or misinterpreted: a child watches an adult party that her parents are throwing from the sidelines. As with all villanelles, the repeated lines change in meaning as the poem goes on, and become very sad.
I read this poem in 2002 or 2003, and it was not terribly old at the time I read it; it had probably been published within the previous ten years. I can't remember, but I think I read it in a collection by the poet (as opposed to a literary magazine or anthology).
It was by a female poet. It was a villanelle (99% sure it was a villanelle), with the repeating lines coming from a song--again, 99% sure it was a Supremes song (I'm thinking, Baby, Where Did Our Love Go). Here's what I recall the poem being about, but it could be misremembered, or misinterpreted: a child watches an adult party that her parents are throwing from the sidelines. As with all villanelles, the repeated lines change in meaning as the poem goes on, and become very sad.
Response by poster: I would say it was about a page long. I remember the stanzas being short, which is why I'm thinking villanelle, not sestina.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 9:36 AM on September 9, 2010
posted by Ideal Impulse at 9:36 AM on September 9, 2010
It's not Maxine Kumin, the Parents' Pantoum, is it?
posted by willbaude at 11:07 AM on September 9, 2010
posted by willbaude at 11:07 AM on September 9, 2010
Response by poster: Alas, no--I'm entirely confident it had song lyrics in it.
In fact, now I'm just wishing that I'd asked for recommendations for any poems with song lyrics in them. Well, in another week.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 11:25 AM on September 9, 2010
In fact, now I'm just wishing that I'd asked for recommendations for any poems with song lyrics in them. Well, in another week.
posted by Ideal Impulse at 11:25 AM on September 9, 2010
The Captain Of The 1964 Top of the Form Team by Carol Ann Duffy is full of song lyrics, and mentions the Supremes. I think it misses your other criteria, though.
posted by willbaude at 12:35 PM on September 9, 2010
posted by willbaude at 12:35 PM on September 9, 2010
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This sounds like the sort of thing Wendy Cope would write, but I'm not finding anything that matches.
posted by maryr at 9:31 AM on September 9, 2010