EditorialPoets have never shied away from controversial subject matter (the traditional function of the limerick form, for example, is the breaking of taboos), but perhaps it was the emergence of the ‘confessional’ school of Lowell, Plath, Sexton et al. in the mid-20th century that saw poetry become a medium where our deepest and darkest can be addressed.
Though he was certainly not the first poet to write ‘confessionally’, the term ‘confessional poetry’ was first used in a review of Robert Lowell’s collection Life Studies (1959). Lowell’s exploration of his struggles with mental health and a troubled marriage captured the attention of the reading public, and soon other poets (including Lowell’s students Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton) began to write about previously-unspoken elements of their private lives. Although the poems were written through an autobiographical lens, these experiences with abuse, trauma and depression were not unique to these poets, and so this self-revelatory ‘confessional’ verse in turn also gave voice to readers who had lived through similar ordeals. Emily Blewitt, our featured poet for Issue 9, is the daughter of a survivor of sexual abuse. The story of this historical abuse, and the subsequent family fallout, was briefly touched upon in Emily’s first collection This is Not a Rescue, published by Seren in 2017. Her second poetry collection is currently in an early stage of development, but the intention is to return to this narrative and explore it in more detail. However, although Emily was affected by the resulting estrangement, she acknowledges that this is her mother’s story first and foremost. In this issue’s accompanying podcast, Emily reveals she wants to share that story, but without appropriating the experience: “The point is to capture something that’s important for people to know about. I’m very careful to run [the poems] past the actual people who were affected, and I do have my mum’s blessing.” In Emily’s experience, disclosure always breeds disclosure, and her and her mother feel it’s important for Emily to use her voice as a published poet to tell this story, and encourage conversation: “Because I have a voice, it’s time for me to write about [this story]...and make sure that the conspiracy of silence that surrounds this issue is broken down.” ‘Brave’ is a word that’s potentially now overused when talking about poets and their poetry, but we can’t think of a more appropriate word to describe confessional poets like Emily Blewitt, who bring their private lives into the public domain and, in doing so, help to give a voice to those who have been silenced. As Emily says on the podcast: “I’ve always known that I wanted to write about [this story], but it took me a long time to find the words.” We’d like to thank Emily for featuring in this issue of The Crunch, and for speaking to us about this subject in such a frank and generous way. The Crunch
August 2018 |
Featured Poet
EMILY BLEWITT was born in Carmarthen, Wales. She read English Language and Literature at St Hilda’s College, Oxford (2004-2007), and has an MA in Film and Literature from the University of York (2009). She recently completed a PhD at Cardiff University, where her doctoral research explored the poetic representations of pregnancy by women writers from the nineteenth century to the present day.
Emily has published poetry in The Rialto, Ambit and Poetry Wales. The title poem from her debut collection This Is Not a Rescue, (Seren, 2017) was included as a highly commended poem in the Forward Book of Poetry 2017. Emily recently became the poetry editor of New Welsh Review. |
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