Author Archives: Dorothy Allen

On the first day of ninth grade my biology teacher told us that Joni Mitchell’s lyrics “We are stardust” are scientifically accurate as well as poetic. From the calcium in our bones to the iron in our blood , every … Continue reading →

Oppen’s unadorned writing style yields poetry in which absolutely every word is vital and in possession of great meaning. “World, World-” is a relatively short poem but I had to read it numerous times before I even began to grasp … Continue reading →

Allen Ginsberg’s poem “A Supermarket in California” is both a haunting reflection on the hollow commercialism of the 1950s and an ode to Walt Whitman. The poem describes the empty comforts of a supermarket filled with superfluous domestic products and … Continue reading →

The writer Elizabeth Gilbert gave an interesting speech for TED, a non-profit organization that brings together entertainers, inventors, writers, and politicians for conferences at which they all speak and share ideas. Elizabeth Gilbert’s idea was that we should nurture the … Continue reading →

Of all the Whitman I have enjoyed this week, his poem “Facing West From California’s Shores” has intrigued me the most. He creates such an interesting dichotomy by combining youthful and aged components. In the same breath Whitman describes himself … Continue reading →