Before I continue with the second half of my essay, I would like to thank Managing Editor, Stacy Harwood-Lehman for giving me the opportunity as a guest blogger this week on BAP. I cannot express what pleasure it is to focus on a single poet during the course of a week. Thank you! Also, thank you to Stephanie Brown for spending so much time responding to my interview questions, and giving me permission to reprint “Stacks” in it’s entirety later in this post. Finally, thank you to Dr. Heather Treseler at Worcester State University for recognizing my sincere love of Stephanie’s work.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to write my first look at Stephanie Brown’s poem “Stacks”. I began with identifying the anaphoric inversion in her poetic line, which continues throughout her list-style poem from beginning to end and expresses the absolute philosophical resilience revealed in specific social and political situations. Librarians are not mere ‘keepers of books’ but represent a connection to community. The long-standing traditional perception that a librarian is a woman who checks books out at a desk is an antiquated image still conceived by members of the public. A librarian, like any other position, is not identified by gender, nor are they only responsible for printed words; a librarian, of which there are many different positions and roles, is involved with the community both in and outside the doors of Stephanie Brown’s “Ancient house” (line 7). Brown clearly states in her litanical verse the role and provisions of the public library:
Place to hide from bullies the
Opinion piece the
Children meet the
Service dog the
Fire the
Proper and calm welcome the (lines 16-21)
The library is a sanctuary, a place “to hide” and a place for conjecture whether others like it or not. It is a place for children to grow and experience programs, usually free, that they may not otherwise experience. It is a congenial atmosphere, sometimes quiet and calm and sometimes not so much when “Angry crazy shirtless the” (line 15). Brown’s poem pays homage to the history to the institution, both current and past. Her reference to “Librarian casanova Philip Larkin the” (line 23) is the longest line in the poem with the anaphoric “the” hanging like a cliff. Much like the determiner as the surface holding the anvil, here, “the” acts as the edge of influence. Larkin was not only recognized for his poetry and novels, but he was employed as a librarian for over forty years. The dedication to the profession and the public is not always recognized the way it should be. Following the Larkin line, Brown takes us on a rhythmic departure:
Cemetery plot dug open the
Ideas inside the
Spine broken the
Conversation the
Preservation the
Interpretation the
Empty station the (lines 24-30)
The nine-syllable line “Cemetery plot dug open the” has a quiet, simple tone that suddenly breaks into two lines opening with long i vowel sounds, followed by four lines opening with anapestic pentameter or hexameter (“Interpretation the”). At this segment of the poem the litany gets louder with Brown’s use of internal rhyme and “the” connects each active noun from one line to the next. Yes, “the” connects each line from beginning to end in her poem, but at this moment, and it is an important one, “the” drives the exaltation of political speech back to antiquity: “Rosetta Stone the” (line 31). Brown does not let us forget where the institution originates; the Rosetta Stone is a symbol of knowledge, language, and war. Napoleon once had possession of the Rosetta Stone, but it was taken from him after he was defeated by the British. The claim of ownership on knowledge, the desire to fight and steal for the sake of knowledge is the
Moment between thoughts the
Information beyond the
Beyond the
Limitless the
Sky (lines 35-39)
These final lines in Brown’s poem address the idea of possibility, the ‘if only’ we chose to recognize the weight of possibility in our individual lives and outer community, all is “Limitless the”. Brown’s “Stacks” allows us to peruse the shelves of past and present, reconsider the gravity of choice and experience. The public library, the stacks, provides an opportunity to be forged as expansive as the heavens. Shouldn’t we take it?
Stacks
by Stephanie Brown
Democracy is the
Library is the
Temple of learning the
Dangerous the
People’s university the
Cradle of civilization the
Ancient house the
Keeping of knowledge the
Private breakthrough the
Tall glass windows the
Moment of eureka the
Truth the
Bad conduct the
Upskirt photos the
Angry crazy shirtless the
Place to hide from bullies the
Opinion piece the
Children meet the
Service dog the
Fire the
Proper and calm welcome the
Chairperson the
Librarian Casanova Phillip Larkin the
Cemetery plot dug open the
Ideas inside the
Spine broken the
Conversation the
Preservation the
Interpretation the
Empty station the
Rosetta Stone the
Tablet and phone the
Doors open the
Rest the energy the time the
Moment between thoughts the
Information beyond the
Beyond the
Limitless the
Sky