By: Sharon Olds Publisher: Knopf Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Knopf Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 96 Publication Date: February 12, 1984 Release Date: February 12, 1984
Olds is a fine writer when she doesn't let the message get in the way of the poem. Sharon Olds, The Dead and the Living (Knopf, 1984)
Sometimes I wonder why I keep trying Sharon Olds books. I generally know what I'm going to get, and it's quite often political screed broken into short lines to resemble poetry:
"You are speaking of Chile, of the woman who was arrested with her husband and their five-year-old son. You tell how the guards tortured the woman, the man, the child, in front of each other, 'as they like to do.'" ("Things That Are Worse Than Death")
I fail to see what's poetic about it. If you took out the line breaks and read it as prose, there would be no difference whatsoever. Worse, in this volume, Olds also turns the same lack of poetic effect to the confessional poem:
"My bad grandfather wouldn't feed us. He turned the lights out when we tried to read. He sat alone in the invisible room in front of the hearth, and drank." ("The Eye")
To offer a more concrete criticism here, why on earth was the word "bad" not excised in the first line? Did she not think it was obvious? (This may seem a minor criticism to you; rest assured most poets will, when faced with a more difficult decision than this one, agonize over such a thing for days, if not weeks.)
Every once in a while, though, this book does offer up a flash that makes me remember why, in fact, I do keep trying Sharon Olds books: because when she's on her game, the woman can really write. It is unfortunate that she's not often on her game; she lets the message get in the way of the medium on a frequent basis. But there's always just enough of the great writing to balance out the awful writing, and thus I remain trapped in this indecision as to whether I should read yet another Sharon Olds book. This one hasn't pushed me one way or the other. ** ½
Gutsy Olds If you are reading this you have probably already read Sharon Olds, and liked her enough to go back and look at some of her earlier works, but are fighting a tinge of reservation. Olds can be admired for the sheer raw guts she puts into her poems, the brutal way she expresses her internalized truths. Her honesty is alarming and alluring. But there can be a pariah quality to her, as well. I want to say she has a touch of Madonna in her ethos. At times she can seem to be sneering. This would be insulting, except her writing is so good we want to forgive her, and do - mostly. I find it frustrating when this tone creeps in, as it does here in one or two places. Another disquieting aspect of her writing is the inclusion of some very intimate aspects of her children at various ages and phases. I appreciate her words for their beauty but wonder if her children resent so much exposure. Fortunately, most of the poems in this book are full of clear, blunt prose that revoke the layers of artificiality that can come to accompany our memories of ourselves and the more painful aspects of our personal histories. I find her poems refreshing for this quality (even though thank God I don't have her history). So, although not all poems in this book avoid a self-aggrandizing, mock horror edge, and a few may upset tender sensibilities about what information we need to know about her children in order to understand her as a mother/writer, I enjoyed this book and would even recommend it to readers who have already formed some apprehension toward her work.
THE DEAD AND THE LIVING I would give this book 0 stars if that were listed on your chart.
Based on this book, titled THE LIVING AND THE DEAD I believe that Sharon Olds is a very much in need of professional help.
I have read other poetry of hers, as well, and have the same opinion of it. Frankly, I don't see why Knopf published it. Maybe they need help too.
Do not recommend this book to anyone.
Go see a therapist Sharon Olds needs to stop writing poetry and instead she needs to go see a therapist; at least the therapist will get paid to hear her whine.
This book made me feel dirty Due to Sharon Olds' ambiguous subjects, it is difficult to know if she is talking about a child or a lover. I was assigned this book in college, and my classmates and I jokingly referred to it as "kiddie porn." Half of the class thought she was sensually admiring her lover's genitals, while the other half insisted she was lovingly watching her children grow. I am not sure if she intentionally created a vague subject, but I felt dirty after reading this book.
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