Deborah Landau, poet and director at NYU, discusses Anne Sexton's poem, 'Little Girl, My Stringbean, My Lovely Woman,' exploring themes of love, resistance, and female transformation. They also touch upon the role of poets in the political climate and the impact of love on societal challenges, emphasizing tenderness as a form of resistance.
Anne Sexton celebrates womanhood and resistance through vivid imagery in her poetry.
Deborah Landau explores aging, vulnerability, and existential anxieties in her work, reflecting on life's uncertainties.
Deep dives
A Mother's Poem to Her Daughter
An exploration of Anne Sexton's poem where a mother celebrates her daughter's growth and womanhood through vivid imagery of abundance and transformations. Sexton's anti-war stance shines through as she captures the essence of love as a form of resistance.
Navigating Female Vulnerability
Deborah Landau's poem 'Solitaire' delves into the vulnerability and fears associated with aging and mortality. Through fragmented musings on self-care practices and existential anxieties, the poem reflects on the inevitable changes in one's body and the constant search for a cure against life's uncertainties.
The Power of Political Poetry
The conversation highlights the evolving landscape of political poetry in the wake of contemporary challenges. Poets like Anne Sexton and Deborah Landau infuse political undertones in their work, using love and tenderness as tools of resistance amidst a tumultuous reality. Landau's upcoming collection, 'Soft Target', promises to explore vulnerability in a time of global crises, echoing the transformative power of poetry in addressing societal issues.
Deborah Landau joins Kevin Young to read and discuss Anne Sexton's poem "Little Girl, My Stringbean, My Lovely Woman" and her own poem "Solitaire." Landau's poetry collections include “The Uses of the Body” and “The Last Usable Hour,” both Lannan Literary Selections; the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Robert Dana Anhinga Prize for Poetry, she directs the creative writing program at New York University.