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Created by Ashley Warner
Kim Addonizio: Explorer of the
Average Women’s Ego
Biography
List of
works
Sample
Poems
Inspired
poems
Original
Poems
Bibliography
“The sheer pleasure these poems make of language, both in turns of
phrase and in swathes of extended metaphor, animates and makes
convincing what could become simply fashionable cynicism and street-smart
bravado” (“Kim Addonizio” Poetry Foundation 2).
These are the words of Poetry reviewer Leslie Ullman who
speaks of Kim Addonizio’s self-motivated skepticism and boldness
intended to impress the reader through her lengthy metaphors (“Kim
Addonizio” Poetry Foundation 2). Kim Addie was born to Bob and
Pauline Addie on July 31, 1954 in Bethesda, Maryland (“Kim Addonizio”
Poetry Out Loud 1). Kim’s mother was a U.S. Tennis champion in the
1940s and gave her an excellent sense of women’s empowerment that
would later show up in her poems. When she was 17, Kim Addie changed
her name to Kim Addonizio because she found out her grandparents had
shortened their last name when they came to America from Italy.
At age 18, she moved to San Francisco, California and worked several
odd jobs such as a secretary, waitress, and office clerk (“Kim
Addonizio” Poetry Out Loud 1). It is said she moved to San Francisco
to live in the more free and accepting atmosphere of California. When
she was 28, Addonizio gave birth to a daughter, Aya Cash (“Kim
Addonizio” Red Room 1).
(Biography cont.)
Biography
List of
works
Sample
Poems
Inspired
poems
Original
Poems
Bibliography
Kim has lived in the Bay Area for most of her life and currently teaches
workshops in Oakland, California (“Kim Addonizio” Poetry Foundation 1).
Her environment may have been her inspiration for her poetry
throughout her life.
In the late seventies, Kim Addonizio found a love for poetry.
She started her sharing her poetry through open mics throughout the
San Francisco area; utilizing any chance to read her works to other
people (“Kim Addonizio” Red Room 1). In 1982, with a Bachelor’s Art
degree, Addonizio graduated from San Francisco State University (“Kim
Addonizio” Poetry Foundation 1). After earning her Bachelor’s degree,
Kim wanted her Master’s degree. Because she had her daughter,
Addonizio had to take part–time classes for four years to achieve her
goal (“Kim Addonizio” Poetry Foundation 1). So far throughout her life,
Kim Addonizio has published five collections: Lucifer at the Starlight,
What is this Thing Called Love, Tell Me, Jimmy and Rita, and The
Philosopher’s Club. Along with her poetry books, Addonizio has written
three books: In the Box Called Pleasure, Little Beauties, and My Dreams
out in the Street (“Kim Addonizio” Red Room 1). Almost as her civil
duty to the poetry world, Kim also wrote two “how to” books on
poetry that help inspired writers achieve her mentality and feeling for
poetry. Kim was a poetry pioneer through her works and has been
flooded with writing awards because of it. Addonizio’s book, In the Box
Called Pleasure, was a finalist for the National Book Award and Little
Beauties was voted “Book of the Month” by the Book of the Month
Club (“Kim Addonizio”Red Room).
Biography
List of
works
Sample
Poems
Inspired
poems
Original
Poems
Bibliography
As for her Poetry works, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a
Commonwealth Club Poetry Medal, two National Endowment for the Arts
Fellowships, and the John Ciardi Lifetime Achievement Award (“Kim
Addonizio” Red Room 1). Addonizio self-proclaims one of her main
inspirations is the singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen. Many reviewers
say Kim Addonizio has won many awards and she became so famous because
she was a “breakthrough” poet for her time.
Kim Addonizio is seen as a breakthrough poet because she was
the first to use women characters that were wild, lustful, alcoholics, and
full of vengeance (“Kim Addonizio” Schabe 1). Addonizio wrote like this
not because she thought all women were like this, but to show women too
are complicated, varied, intelligent and as bizarre as any other creature.
This was contradictory to her time period of writing because then women
were not quite fully seen as independent thinkers or able to achieve their
own inner emotions when it came to controversial topics and behaviors.
Through her poetry, Kim does not use allusions to get her point across;
she instead uses honesty and force and isn’t afraid to use “dirty” language
(“Kim Addonizio” Schabe 1). The characters in Addonizio’s works are often
much damaged, but she does not blame this damage on men but instead
says that it is because the women’s psyches is the cause. Addonizio uses
the common theme of desire in her characters and often has progressive or
recurring stories throughout (“Kim Addonizio” Schabe 1). Overall, the
mouth to Addonizio’s river of poetry is something called “post feminism”.
Post feminism is based on the theory that a women’s psyche develops
completely inwardly, rather than being influenced by the social forces of
the outside world (“Kim Addonizio” Schabe 1).
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A lasting effect Kim Addonizio has left on the poetic world is she
wasn’t afraid to do something most other poets of her time avoided:
she touched the often dark and very deep places of the feminine soul.
Patrick Schabe explains the brilliance of Kim Addonizio’s poetry when
he said, “Beauty is a simple thing; ugliness is an exceptional thing. And
fiery imaginations, no doubt, always prefer the extraordinary thing to
the simple thing” (“Kim Addonizio” Schabe 1).
Biography
List of
works
Sample
Poems
Inspired
poems
Original
Poems
Bibliography
“What Do Women Want”
“Eating Together”
“Scary Movies”
“The First Line is the Deepest”
“Weaponry”
“Lucifer at the Starlight”
What is this Thing Called Love?
Tell Me
Jimmy and Rita
The Philosophers Club
Little Beauties
My Dreams Out in the Street
In the Box Called Pleasures: Stories
Biography
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for Aya at fifteen
Damp-haired from the bath, you drape
yourself
upside down across the sofa, reading,
one hand idly sunk into a bowl
of crackers, goldfish with smiles
stamped on.
I think they are growing gills, swimming
up the sweet air to reach you. Small
girl,
my slim miracle, they multiply.
In the black hours when I lie sleepless,
near drowning, dread-heavy, your face
is the bright lure I look for, love's hook
piercing me, hauling me cleanly up.
Analysis
on
“Mermaid
Song”
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The poem “Mermaid Song” by Kim Addonizio is an excellent use of both
literal and figurative imagery of how Kim sees her daughter, Aya, at age
15. This poem is Kim Addonizio’s admiration for her daughter especially
when she is just sitting their reading a book and eating goldfish crackers.
Imagery is a description that creates a vivid sensory experience for the
reader. The lines “Damp-haired from the bath, you drape yourself/ upside
down across the sofa reading”, is a visual Addonizio uses that is very easy
to picture for the reader and sets the tone of the poem; almost like the
reader walked into the room and saw that very image of a 15 year old girl
reading limberly across a sofa just after she has taken a bath. It paints an
image of an innocent and carefree person. Another place where Kim
Addonizio uses imagery is “Swimming / up to the sweet air to reach you”.
This particular phrase appeals to the reader’s sense of smell and also reveals
that Aya, Kim Addonizio’s daughter, has a sweet character that surrounds
her all the time. A great metaphor Addonizio uses is, “Your face/is the
bright lure I look for”. This metaphor shows that when Addonizio thinks
she is in trouble, she finds her daughter’s face that shining light at the
end of a tunnel and finds it irresistible. Not only are physical senses
appealed to in this poem, “Mermaid Song”, but also the image Kim
Addonizio sees herself when she looks at her daughter and how that image
is enhanced by everyday sensory details that surround her daughter at the
most average times.
Biography
List of
works
The poem “Eating Together” by Kim Addonizio is about a woman eating with a good friend
who is dying of cancer and both of them are avoiding the topic as they eat. I chose this
poem because highlights a beautiful friendship by emphasizing how two friends could have the
biggest elephant in the room between them, but understand each other completely. A line
that stands out to me is, “she lowers/her eyes to the food pretending/ not to know what
I know/ she’s going. And we go on eating.” These lines really make me appreciate my good
friends and be grateful for good health. Another reason I chose “Eating Together” was Kim
Addonizio never really says her friend has cancer and I like how she used that to heighten
the extremeness of the secret between them, by incorporating her friend’s sickly appearance
into their dinner. “Eating Together “by Kim Addonizio is a very powerful poem that is not
only sad, but also exhibits bravery and makes the reader feel thankful.
Sample
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Original
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Bibliography
“Eating Together”
By Kim Addonizio
I know my friend is going,
though she still sits there
across from me in the restaurant,
and leans over the table to dip
her bread in the oil on my plate; I
know
how thick her hair used to be,
and what it takes for her to discard
her man’s cap partway through our
meal,
to look straight at the young
waiter
and smile when he asks
how we are liking it. She eats
as though starving—chicken, dolmata,
the buttery flakes of filo—
and what’s killing her
eats, too. I watch her lift
a glistening black olive and peel
the meat from the pit, watch
her fine long fingers, and her face,
puffy from medication. She lowers
her eyes to the food, pretending
not to know what I know. She’s going.
And we go on eating
Biography
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“In Dreams” by Kim Addonizio portrays the journey of Kim looking back on
her feelings toward her father who she barely knew. Then she talks about how
she doesn’t understand death and how she no longer mourns him. I chose “In
Dreams” because Addonizio uses a beautiful metaphor of a piece of paper as
the memories between herself and her father. A line I like is’ “I don’t know
why/ the paper’s so important, or if anything/ is even written there.” This
poem by Kim Addonizio really uses imagery well and makes the reader explore
to infer their own special meaning to it.
“In Dreams” by Kim Addonizio
After eighteen years there’s no real grief left
for the man who was my father.
I hardly think of him anymore,
and those dreams I used to have,
in which he’d be standing in a room of people
I didn’t know—maybe his new friends,
if the dead have friendships—
those dreams no longer trouble my sleep.
He’s not in the crooked houses I wander through
or in the field by the highway
where I’m running, chasing down
some important piece of paper,
desperate to reach it
as it’s lifted in the wake of trucks
or flattened and marked by passing cars,
as it’s lifted again to swirl over
a broken wood fence. I don’t know why
the paper’s so important, or if anything
is even written there.
I don’t know where the dead go,
or why it’s good to forget them,
not to see them if they come crowding
the windows or trying to lay themselves down
and press along our bodies at night
and ask that we love them again,
that our sorrows include them once more.
This morning I couldn’t get up.
I slept late, I dreamed of the single
sheet of paper, which I never managed to reach
as it stuttered and soared over the grass
and a few flowers, so that I woke
with a sense of loss, wondering who
or what I had to mourn besides
my father, whom I no longer mourn,
father buried in the earth beneath grass,
beneath flowers I trample as I run.
“What Women Want”
By Kim Addonizio
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I want a red dress.
I want it flimsy and cheap,
I want it too tight, I want to wear it
until someone tears it off me.
I want it sleeveless and backless,
this dress, so no one has to guess
what's underneath. I want to walk down
the street past Thrifty's and the hardware store
with all those keys glittering in the window,
past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old
donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers
slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,
hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.
I want to walk like I'm the only
woman on earth and I can have my pick.
I want that red dress bad.
I want it to confirm
your worst fears about me,
to show you how little I care about you
or anything except what
I want. When I find it, I'll pull that garment
from its hanger like I'm choosing a body
to carry me into this world, through
the birth-cries and the love-cries too,
and I'll wear it like bones, like skin,
it'll be the goddamned
dress they bury me in.
Poem
inspired by
“What
Women
Want”
“Dress of Memories”
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by Ashley Warner
I want the impeccable day.
I want it stretched and stress-free.
I want the sunrise casting off the lake,
like it’s planning the most radiant day.
With warm air toasting my back
as I stroll onto the dock.
I wan to spend it with my best friends
basking on the pontoon for hours.
Like an oasis, secluded,
and unblemished bliss for those present
I want to eat til we burst.
No guilt,
just physical and emotional nourishment
I want that day real bad.
I want the heat from the fire to stroke my face,
as we exchange priceless tales.
Roasting dessert,
while gazing up to the stars
Like I’m waiting to rise up to them.
Because I am wearing a sparkling dress,
a dress glittered with unforgettable memories.
It can be the goddamned
dress they bury me in.
“My Heart”
By Kim Addonizio
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That Mississippi chicken shack.
That initial-scarred tabletop,
that tiny little dance floor to the left of the band.
That kiosk at the mall selling caramels and kitsch.
That tollbooth with its white-plastic-gloved worker
handing you your change.
That phone booth with the receiver ripped out.
That dressing room in the fetish boutique,
those curtains and mirrors.
That funhouse, that horror, that soundtrack of screams.
That putti-filled heaven raining gilt from the ceiling.
That haven for truckers, that bottomless cup.
That biome.
Poem
That wilderness preserve.
inspired
That landing strip with no runway lights
by “My
where you are aiming your plane,
Heart”
imagining a voice in the tower,
imagining a tower.
Blinding Fear
by Ashley Warner
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That hesitation
That peer pressure
That sight of my biggest fear
That very reluctant phrase,
fine I’ll go.
That queasy feeling through
that perpetual line
this could be the end.
That last escape attempt
That prayer to God
please spare me.
That calming storm
as I sit down
Only to be aroused again
That Click…Click
Like the Jaw’s theme song
quickly intensifying
That peek
That period of no remembrance
Fear does that.
That rush of exhilaration
That minute of pure joy
why was I scared of this?
“Saturday Morning”
by Ashley Warner
She arises with the sun,
like a daylily in the summer.
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She pitter-patters down the hall,
her favorite blankie in tow.
Complete with that stuffed animal
and footie pajamas.
A walking advertisement for
those Saturday morning cartoons.
At a commercial,
she dumps out some Cheerios.
Half on the floor
and half in the bowl.
She sits munching,
wrapped in her blankie.
Eyes glued to the TV,
refueling her imagination.
“The Kind of People Who…
by Ashley Warner
The kind of people who…
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Pick you up when your down,
and take you higher when your up
Give you that drive to finish,
and aren’t jealous when you prevail
You consider “Brothers”
even though you have different mothers
Tell you had a great game,
but you both know it was one of your worst
Share the punishment with you,
because they know you’d do the same
Be your best friend on
and off the court
Teamates
Biography:
•http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems/poet.html?id=47
•http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/kim-addonizio
•http://www.redroom.com/author/kim-addonizio/bio
•www.popmatters.com/pm/review/in-the-box-called-pleasure
Biography
List of
works
Sample
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Inspired
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Bibliography
Poems:
•http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/22047
•http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/182823
Pictures:
•Red Dress
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TLjNOk91uOI/AAAAAAAADyg/6N7OcjVCfc/s1600/Lobby%2BRed%2BDress.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.seattlegayscene.co
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arch%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=390&page=4&ndsp=29&ved=1t:4
29,r:4,s:96&tx=106&ty=91
•Kim Addonizio http://www.outimpact.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/02/4PRINTkimheadbw_300.jpg
•Salmon http://imagineart.com/images_products/fish002%20Atlantic%20Salmon%2016x20%20C2.jpg
•Mermaid http://www.zmescience.com/wpcontent/uploads/2009/08/mermaid111.bmp
•Girl in grass http://fallforward.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/girl-in-grass.jpg
•Two women holding hands http://www.momlogic.com/images/two-womanholding-hands-together-hp-thumb-250x250.jpg
•Roller Coaster http://www.coasternet.com/pics/valleyfair/wildthing16_coasterclint.jpg
•Heart
http://th06.deviantart.net/fs50/300W/i/2009/329/7/f/Heart_shaped_memories_by
_najt93.jpg