Jeffrey McDaniel Li-Young Lee & Elizabeth Bishop Poetry Handout -Branson Thiele

Jeffrey McDaniel Born- 1967 in Philadelphia Education- University of Pittsburg Jeffrey got nominated as the Best American Poet in 1994 and 2010 and he teaches at Sarah Lawrence College He has written multiple poetry books, his mosst popular being Endarkenment, Chapel of Inadvertent Joy, The Splinter Factory, and Alibi School. Summary- His poem “The Quiet World” talks about how technology has taken control of the world and how people no longer have sentimental value. It goes into more detail by illustrating how humans barley talk to each other as if they limited words to say per day. It even shows how love has faded.

Li-Young Lee Born- LI was born August 19th 1957 in Jakarta, Indonesia Education- Li went to the College of Brockport, State University of New York, University of Pittsburg, and University of Arizona. Li won the James Laughlin Award, and the American Book Award. Summary-Li-Young’s poem “Eating Alone” is about him remembering his father and how he misses his father. He looks back at his fathers grave thinking he saw him but it was only a shovel. He describes the meal he makes for himself and how he must eat alone without his father’s Presence.

Elizabeth Bishop Born- Elizabeth was born February 8th 1911, in Worcester Massachusetts. Education- Did not have any Bishop won National Book Award for Poetry, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and some others. Summary- Elizabeth’s Poem “At the Fishhouses” seems to be just describing and old man fishing while this poem seems to have a deeper meaning. It seems as if she is talking about the relationship between nature and humans, and how humans perceive nature, yet she doesn’t completely state how.

My Thoughts The deepest poem of these three was “The Quiet World”. It perfectly illustrates how technology has consumed human interaction. Li-Young’s poem is heartbreaking because we imagine a sense of loss and how cruelly it can effect our lives in every day activities. It intrigues me how every poem has so much meaning behind them.