Poetics of the Body 8 0 3- 0 1- 1 0 2 ct - e n n o C e v a gr al P e - o s m o Tr et i k e ot bli bi s et sit er v ni U o d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o al fr eri at m ht g yri p o C 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella ppaall--ccuucciinneellllaa--0000ffmm..iinndddd ii 22//2266//1100 1122::2233 PPMM 8 0 3- 0 1- 1 0 2 This page intentionally left blank ct - e n n o C e v a gr al P e - o s m o Tr et i k e ot bli bi s et sit er v ni U o d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o al fr eri at m ht g yri p o C 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella Poetics of the Body 8 0 3- 0 Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1- 1 0 2 Elizabeth Bishop, Marilyn Chin, ct - e n n and Marilyn Hacker o C e v a gr al P e - o s Catherine Cucinella m o Tr et i k e ot bli bi s et sit er v ni U o d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o al fr eri at m ht g yri p o C 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella ppaall--ccuucciinneellllaa--0000ffmm..iinndddd iiiiii 22//2266//1100 1122::2233 PPMM poetics of the body Copyright © Catherine Cucinella, 2010. All rights reserved. First published in 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New 8 York, NY 10010 3-0 0 1- Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of 1 0 2 tPhueb wlisohreldrs, Lthimis iitse bdy, rPeagligsrtaevreed M ina cEmniglllaann,d a, cdoivmispioann yo nf uMmabcmeri l7la8n5 998, ect - n of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. on C e v Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above a gr companies and has companies and representatives throughout the al P world. e - o s Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United m o States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. et i Tr k ISBN: 978-0-230-62088-9 ote bli Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data bi s et Cucinella, Catherine. sit er Poetics of the body : Edna St. Vincent Millay, Elizabeth Bishop, v ni Marilyn Chin, and Marilyn Hacker / Catherine Cucinella. o U p. cm. d t e Includes bibliographical references and index. ns e I1S. B ANm 9e7ri8c-a0n- 2p3o0et-r6y2—08W8o-9m (eanlk a.u ptahpoerrs)—History and criticism. m - lic o 2. American poetry—20th century—History and criticism. 3. c Human body in literature 4. Women in literature. 5. Millay, Edna ect. n St. Vincent, 1892-1950—Criticism and interpretation. 6. Bishop, on c Elizabeth, 1911-1979—Criticism and interpretation. 7. Chin, ve a Marilyn—Criticism and interpretation. 8. Hacker, Marilyn, 1942— gr al Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. w.p w PS151.C83 2010 m w 811'.5099287—dc22 2009036126 al fro A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. eri at m Design by Scribe Inc. ht g First edition: April 2010 pyri o C 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella ppaall--ccuucciinneellllaa--0000ffmm..iinndddd iivv 22//2266//1100 1122::2233 PPMM To my daughters, Carrie Fiocco Chacon and Nicki Fiocco Mizer, who teach me about the power of bodies and to my granddaughters, 8 0 Toni Marie Fiocco Mizer and Isabella Fione Chacon, who 03- 1- teach me about the possibilities of bodies. 01 2 ct - To Marcella LaGamma Williams (1922–2005), whose e n n body gave me life and who shared her dying with me. o C e v a gr al P e - o s m o Tr et i k e ot bli bi s et sit er v ni U o d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o al fr eri at m ht g yri p o C 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella ppaall--ccuucciinneellllaa--0000ffmm..iinndddd vv 22//2266//1100 1122::2233 PPMM 8 0 3- 0 1- 1 0 2 This page intentionally left blank ct - e n n o C e v a gr al P e - o s m o Tr et i k e ot bli bi s et sit er v ni U o d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o al fr eri at m ht g yri p o C 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella Contents 8 0 3- 0 1- 1 0 2 ct - e n n o C e Acknowledgments ix av gr al P Introduction 1 e - o s m 1 Theorizing the Body 13 o Tr et i 2 Textual and Corporeal Convergence: Edna St. Vincent Millay 27 ek ot bli 3 “Dress Up! Dress Up and Dance at Carnival!”: bi s et Elizabeth Bishop’s Poetic Bodies 55 sit er v 4 Writing the Body Palimpsest: Marilyn Chin 81 Uni o d t 5 Narrative and Desire on and through the Body: se n e Marilyn Hacker 107 c m - li 6 Interview with Marilyn Chin 129 co ct. e n Conclusion 145 on c e v a Notes 155 gr al p w. Works Cited 165 w w m o Index 171 al fr eri at m ht g yri p o C 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella ppaall--ccuucciinneellllaa--0000ffmm..iinndddd vviiii 22//2266//1100 1122::2233 PPMM Copyright Acknowledgments From The Phoenix Gone, The Terrace Empty by Marilyn Chin (Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 1994). Copyright © by Marilyn Chin. Reprinted with permission from Milkweed Editions (www .milkweed.org). 8 From Dwarf Bamboo. The Greenfield Review Press, 2 Middle Grove Rd., P.O. Box 3-0 308, Greenfield Center, NY 12833. 1-0 1 0 2 Cedoitpeydr igbhy tN ©o r1m95a 6M firlolamy Ethlleis v, oalnudm ©e o1f9 C52ol lfercotmed LPeotetmerss bofy EEddnnaa SStt.. VVinincceennt tM Milillalayy,, ect - n edited by Allan Ross Macdougall. Reprinted by permission of Elizabeth Barnett, on C Literary Executor, The Millay Society. ve a gr Portions of Chapter 3: “‘Dress up! Dress up and Dance at Carnival’: Elizabeth al P Bishop’s Poetic Bodies” first published in the Rocky Mountain Review 56.1 (2002): e - o 73–83. s m o Tr et i k e ot bli bi s et sit er v ni U o d t e s n e c m - li o c ct. e n n o c e v a gr al p w. w w m o al fr eri at m ht g yri p o C 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella ppaall--ccuucciinneellllaa--0000ffmm..iinndddd vviiiiii 22//2266//1100 1122::2233 PPMM Acknowledgments 8 0 3- 0 1- 1 0 2 ct - e n n o The writing of this book has been an incredible journey, and many eC v a people have helped and inspired me along the way. I give my thanks to gr al two incredible teachers and scholars, Renée Curry and Steven Gould e - P Axelrod. Renée’s mentorship and friendship helped me develop the o s m skills and confidence necessary to undertake this project, and her o Tr strength and intellect offered a model that sustained me over the years. et i k Steve’s support provided me a solid base from which to launch all my ote endeavors, and his generosity and kindness strengthened my resolve bibli s to write this book. In addition, I offer sincere thanks to Anke Gleber et sit for our hours of conversations about the female body and other things er v and our excursions to Extraordinary Desserts; to Dawn Formo for Uni o her willingness to talk theory and pedagogy and for her infectious d t e laughter; to Kwakiutl Dreher for her insights regarding body, spirit, ns e c and place; to Marilyn Chin for the shared lunches and laughter and m - li for her willingness to talk about her craft; and to Camille Roman for o c her careful reading of my manuscript and for her helpful suggestions. ct. e n Without the support of my sister, Leslie DeFrancesco, I could not on c e have found the emotional space to complete this program. I thank v a her for the closeness we share. I also wish to acknowledge the impor- algr p tance of the unwavering belief of my nephews and nieces, Bill Burton, w. w w Patrick Burton, Betsy Burton, and Noel Hathaway—because they m o believed, so did I. My son-in-laws, Armando Chacon and Michael al fr Mizer, along with my grandsons, Brandon Mizer and Austin Chacon, eri at all kept me both sane and distracted when I needed both sanity and m ht distraction. My cousins Karen Nowakowski and Christine Bocza- g yri nowski have each contributed to this project in ways they will never op C know. I thank them for “always being there.” I cannot over estimate the value of friends; therefore, I thank two very special women, Barbara Bloodhart and Anita Nix. My life would be poor without each of them. I offer my deepest appreciation to Brigitte Shull, editor, and Lee Norton, editorial assistant, at Palgrave. Brigitte’s support and advice 10.1057/9780230106512 - Poetics of the Body, Catherine Cucinella ppaall--ccuucciinneellllaa--0000ffmm..iinndddd iixx 22//2266//1100 1122::2233 PPMM