Poet Republik-Alice Notley
Alice Notley may resist categorization, but she has done more for women’s poetics than possibly any other poet alive. If you don’t believe me, please read, The Descent of Alette. Who is a woman who has inspired you?
THAT I MAY LIVE
I step across and can no longer make myself understood.
Listen to Torna a Sorrento concentratedly
I don’t understand Italian I understand the song.
I’m here. You can’t return because
a former life is not available; they read dis-
sertations there now. The clean glass of sparkling
water is for my mother.
Who will I write
for, alive? Into the air of you. This sadness,
rather than gotten rid of, is become another;
a quality both thicker and lighter
You still don’t understand that you too must
change; you value phantoms: I’m talking
to you — but my phantoms are real. You all
value material comfort over knowing a thing–
who is speaking?
I have none; the counterclock stops; though
it’s late where you are.
Alice Notley is the author of over twenty-five books of poetry, including 165 Meeting House Lane (1971), Phoebe Light (1973), Incidentals in the Day World (1973), For Frank O’Hara’s Birthday (1976), Alice Ordered Me to Be Made: Poems 1975 (1976), Dr. Williams’ Heiresses (1980), How Spring Comes (1981), which received the San Francisco Poetry Award, Waltzing Matilda (1981), Margaret & Dusty (1985), From a Work in Progress (1988), Homer’s Art (1990), To Say You (1993), Selected Poems of Alice Notley (1993), The Descent of Alette (1996), among many others. Mysteries of Small Houses (1998) won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and her collection Disobedience (2001) was awarded the Griffin International Poetry Prize. Notley’s recent work includes From the Beginning (2004), Alma, or the Dead Women (2006), Grave of Light: New and Selected Poems 1970-2005), which received the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, In the Pines (2007), Culture of One (2011), and Songs and Stories of the Ghouls (2011).
Poem used with permission.
originally published in Ping-Pong 2014
My mother is and will always be my inspiration. We can fight all day, but at the end it’s her who motivates me to be someone in life. Without out her constant reminder of how hard life is for a field worker I would of probably already dropped out of college, but I want to continue not only for me but for her, so one day I can buy her house and she can live the rest of her life peacefully with no worries about money or food.
I women I admire the most is my mother. She is very strong, loving and wise. She is a huge influence in my life. She has guided me and believed in me through out my life. I turn to her when I need advise or a friend
Oprah Winfrey is a hero.
There was a powerful documentary I watched where Oprah took us on her journey in South Africa were there is a lot of unprivileged kids, most specifically, girls. In this documentary she was able to build a school with her money for girls and give them the opportunity to be somebody educational wise. The girls were so emotional to even have their own bed, something they did not have back at home.
My female hero has to be Rosa Parks. She had the will to stand up for what she believed. She didn’t give up her seat and fought like a warrior.
My hero is not only a Hollywood actress but underneath all of the glamour she is a woman of intelligence. Angelina Jolie is a public figure noted for her humanitarian efforts as well as promoting various causes including conservation, education, and woman’s rights where she urges people to step forward and be apart of a great cause.
First, I want to acknowledge and applause women all over the world regardless of their socioeconomic status. One of the most influential woman in this world has been by far Mother Teresa. Thus, Mother Teresa was a woman with a great heart, kindness, and willingness to listen. Consequently, Mother Teresa was dedicated to help the less fortunate.
My main hero is my mother. She is what inspires me and pushes me to succeed in life. Aside from my mother, taking in consideration women figures who have made heroic acts, I would say Rosa Parks was definitely a heroic women. She stood her ground like many women do. She demonstrated everyone the importance of standing up for what we truly believe.
Maya Angelou was an inspirational author and spoke out about female empowerment and civil rights: “Still, like air, I rise.”