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Classic Program
Senior Focus
Crossing Borders
Volume 7, Number 2 - Spring 2009
Paul
Muldoon—native of Northern Ireland, Pulitzer Prize winning poet,
Princeton University professor, author of over twenty books, lyricist,
performer, and recipient of many distinguished awards— sat facing a
group of fifteen men in transition from incarceration at the Trenton
Rescue Mission. With his Irish lilt, soft and low-key, so foreign to the
experience of the men around the table whose lives were beginning to
emerge from the depths of society, this world-famous poet began to read.
The bridge was built. “Anseo” is
a poem that tells the story of Joseph Mary Plunkett Ward, a young
student in Northern Ireland, who is sent by the Master “to weigh up for
himself and cut /A stick with which he would be beaten” as punishment.
Muldoon’s explanation of “anseo” (the Irish version of “here” at roll
call) prompted questions about words and phrases unfamiliar to the
participants: “Why does he call Joseph ‘our little Ward-of-Court’?”
asked Elliot. “What does ‘salley-rod’ mean?” Once
comfortable with the unusual terms, the men entered the Irish world
presented by the poem, recalling times when they were in school and were
punished for wrongdoing. Bruce, however, had a more personal connection
to the story. He told of being sent out to find a stick with which his
father could beat him and, on returning with one that was small and
thin, being sent back to find a thicker, more potentially damaging one.
Bruce’s experience, he said, allowed him to realize the humiliation as
well as the physical pain suffered by Joseph of the poem. A lively
discussion followed about the poem’s ending and how Joseph would behave
as an adult who gains a position of power. Is he powerful because of his
strict upbringing? The men shared personal stories related to this idea.
However, John suggested that perhaps Joseph would become an abuser
himself, as sometimes occurs when abused children become adults. By now,
all fifteen participants were engaged, challenged, encouraged, and
connected to this piece of literature written about an incident in a
foreign land, involving characters unknown to them. The poem,
“Why Brownlee Left,” which tells the story of a farmer who simply
disappears while plowing a field, posed a question that truly interested
the participants. Charles said, “It seems like he’s the type of person
who had it all. Why did he leave?” Gregory added, “Having wealth doesn’t
mean that you have happiness.” Most agreed. They were intrigued by the
image of the two horses left tethered together, “as man and wife,” and
suggested many ideas about why they seem to be “gazing into the future”
at the end of the poem. Could the horses know what happened to Brownlee?
One participant asked Muldoon about how he
writes his poetry. Muldoon said that the name “Brownlee” came from the
wall of a men’s room he frequented. It simply captured his interest, he
said.
At the end of the session, the men broke into
applause; one participant recited a poem he had written. Clearly,
Muldoon stimulated imagination, invited the participants to explore
ideas, and demonstrated how words and the images they create allow all
humans, no matter their background or life experience, to find
connections.
Prize-Winning Poet Inspires Readers
at Rescue Mission
by Diane Wilfrid