THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY

THE LAST FIFTH GRADE OF EMERSON ELEMENTARY
April 12, 2016

Friday, July 10, 2009

Poetry Friday Question

It was sitting on the table in a cozy log cabin -- rainy day in the mountains. A temptingly fat book. The cover photo was an extreme close-up of a woman's eye .
The title, The Host, and the ring of metallic sheen around the woman's iris whispered Sci Fi. Ahh, this was exactly how I wanted to spend the day. Then I noticed the author...Stephenie Meyer. Ugh.
I only read the first Twilight book. It was a page turner, but it seriously pissed off my inner feminist. (Find some posts/discussion about Twilight here.)
My fingers itched for the book. I read the jacket. Maybe Meyer's better for adults. The storyline was close enough to one of my favorite Star Trek characters, the symbiont Jadzia Dax, that I decided to give The Host a chance.
Part of what hooked me...facing the prologue of the novel was this haunting poem by May Swenson:
Question
Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
When Body my good
bright dog is dead
By the end of the poem, I was hooked. Absolutely loved The Host's combination of sci fi, psychological thriller and survival story. Okay -- didn't love it enough to go back and read more Twilight, but enough to hope Meyer is writing more SF for adults.
How would you answer May Swenson's question? Are you as attached to your body as The Host's Melanie Stryder?
Our lovely Poetry Friday host this week is the always delicious Jama Rattigan. She's sure to have some delectable poetry & recipes.

4 comments:

jama said...

I can see why the poem intrigued you! I've yet to read Stephenie Meyer . . .

Author Amok said...

Intriguing is a great word for it. I love the metaphors Swenson uses to take up the soul/body duality question. So powerful.

Anonymous said...

My 14-year-old just finished The Host yesterday. She got it from her best friend, and the two of them keep saying, "It's So Good!" (They also loved the Twilight series, btw)

I like when books start with poems!
Tabatha

Author Amok said...

Hey, Tabatha. Thanks for the comment. Don't you love this poem? I thought The Host had a great mix of psychology, post-apocolyptic survival story, and sci fi. Meyer is amazing at pacing (even in Twilight).