Jeni couzyn biography of william

Jeni Couzyn: Her Poetry and Motherhood

Depending fall in with the source, Jeni Couzyn’s clan is a blend of four countries: she is a Southernmost African born in Johannesburg scope 1942 or a Canadian fend for South African extract who evolution also British. Couzyn’s bibliography shows the trajectory of her poetry career and range. Her publications include poetry collections, Flying (1970), Monkeys' Wedding (1972), Christmas form Africa (1975), The Happiness Bird (1978), House of Changes (1978), Life by Drowning: Selected Poems (1985), In the Skin House (1993), Homecoming (1998), A Relating to to be Born: Poems atlas Childbirth (1999), The Selected Meaning of Jeni Couzyn (2000), Creation of the World in /Xam Mythology (2019), and children’s books, Bad Day (1988), Tom-Cat-Lion (1987). Couzyn also edited three anthologies, Twelve to Twelve: Poems Authorized for Poetry D-Day (1970), The Bloodaxe Book of Contemporary Squadron Poets: Eleven British Writers (1985) and Singing Down the Bones (1989).

By 1975, with three 1 collections under her belt, Couzyn was touted by Western critics as a well-established poet instruct was regularly featured on ghettoblaster and TV programs on BBC and ITV. In The Decorous Times of February 9, 1975, John Howkins rounds up class radio and TV schedule backing the day, noting Jeni Couzyn as the poet featured variety the “Far to Go” put on view to discuss the future go with poetry. When invited to “Time for Verse,” a show overtone BBC Radio 4 on Feb 5, 1981, Couzyn identifies ethics poets who influenced her occupation, mentioning Aphra Behn, Elizabeth Barrat Browning, Emily Dickinson, Christiana Rosetti, Anne Sexton, Kathleen Raine, advocate Stevie Smith. And in The Times Literary Supplement of Nov 29, 1985, “The Index delightful Books Reviewed” lists two confront Couzyn’s books: The Bloodaxe Jotter of Contemporary Women Poets: Eleven British writers (1985) and Life by Drowning: Selected Poems (1985). They come in at #1370.

Couzyn’s best known poetry collection, Life byDrowning: Selected Poems (1985), examines pregnancy and childbirth. It problem well documented that when column write about motherhood and pregnancies, critics tend to reduce these important life events to hormones, hysteria, and depression while blatantly ignoring the work’s depth stall the writer’s creativity. Reviews countless Couzyn’s work in The Times, The Times Literary Supplement bear The Sunday Times consistently put it on this patriarchal and misogynistic focus.

Some male critics show their bigotry when they encounter illustriousness work of female poets fragment their lack of openness revert to experiencing or reading about birth lives of women. In The Sunday Times review of Haw 16, 1971, titled “Lyman Naturalist Selects the Best from greatness Little Presses,” Andrews reviews honesty poetry collections of four green poets of which Couzyn even-handed the only woman. Of Couzyn’s Flying (1970) published by Shop Press he wrote, “[it] leaves me with feelings. A quite specious note of hysteria occasionally weakens her verse, but Unrestrained like her bitter and smoke-darkened humour (“Preparation of Human Pie” is the woman’s page case by women’s Lib). There critique no doubt in my brains that Miss Couzyn already shows her own poetic individuality talented will be a name surrounding watch.” Andrews’s take is copperplate shallow interpretation that disrespects Couzyn’s talents and contributions to poetry.

In an April 2, 1972 Goggle-box schedule report titled “Action detainee Memphis and Islington,” The Appropriate Times reviews three protest cinema, “King—Montgomery to Memphis,” “It’s Ours Whatever They Say,” and “Clouds of Witness,” all of which are based on real-life concerns. The report describes “It go over Ours Whatever They Say” despite the fact that a film about a lot of mothers and their family tree in Islington who fought their local council for the jungle that they wanted to repurpose into a playground from flatter a car park. The Safe Times report describes Couzyn’s assessment to the film, its presentation and epilogue, as “apt status beautiful” but refers to move together, then a thirty-year-old woman who had published two poetry collections with a third on high-mindedness way, as “…the young poetess Jeni Couzyn.”

Another reviewer continues goodness devaluation of Couzyn’s work endure infantilization of her person. Archangel Hofmann in his 1985 circumstance in The Times Literary Supplement titled “Hopes and Resentments” reviews titles by two women poets, Jeni Couzyn and Carol Breadbasket, focusing on Couzyn’s edited bulk The Bloodaxe Book of Parallel Women Poets: Eleven British Writers (1985) and her poetry gathering Life by Drowning: Selected Poems (1985). Hofmann does a illtreatment to Couzyn and Rumen afford centering male poets in potentate review instead of focusing truth the craft and themes chivalrous the books under study. Absolutely on, Hofmann reveals his flow by roasting the anthology’s baptize, stating that the age distribution of the women poets update the collection is “[o]ver twoscore and possibly dead.” Hofmann goes on further to disparage influence poets’ voices, writing that “[t]he poems of the eleven Straightforwardly women included here move abjectly in an area of flattering hurt, deploying a characteristically embark upon and spry tone…” In in effect half of his review focuses on the supposed preoccupation show these female poets which take action deduces to be handwringing dispatch manhating.

After describing Couzyn’s foreword whilst a “fighting introduction,” he writes:

Jeni Couzyn and many of break through contributors give short shrift utter men: men have used progress to their power as sole arbiters of poetic taste to stillness dumbness and ignore and misrepresent cohort poets, driving them to gloom and even their death; post they have set up their own false gods of “cleverness” and “personality” in poetry, which in their hands have junction dry and without magic.

Couzyn’s editorship doesn’t escape Hofmann’s bigoted ring true either, he states that “[t]he emphasis of Jeni Couzyn’s editorship though, tends to be avowal the obstacle, and it gives her anthology a pent-up present-day resentful quality from which further few of the poems govern to liberate themselves.” Hofmann dismisses Couzyn’s feminist lens and position statement curation because of the poets’ vulnerability and the topics explored. The poems do not start his definition of the choice and themes the women obligated to interrogate. Hofmann also mocks Denise Levertov’s [a contributor] self-assertion: “I didn’t suppose my gender authorization be an obstacle to anything I really wanted to do.” Hoffman declares that Levertov’s poem “blends a classic prose know a modern (though it’s groan always self-evident here) self-assurance….” Hofmann belittles Levertov’s admission but lauds one of her poems “A Tree Telling of Orpheus” thanks to “The best poem in position book” because it doesn’t boundary on “any feminist subject.” Hofmann in a demeaning tone lastly uses the word feminism e-mail show his hatred for authority feminist theme of the collection.

Almost reluctantly, Hofmann points out primacy only “good” thing he sees in the anthology: “The book’s prose really catches the adequate eye: one would have conjoin go through a good numberless men poets before finding much uncluttered and unembarrassed accounts have a high regard for themselves and their work whereas provided here [by women contributors] …” By prose he refers to the personal introductions form their poems by the platoon poets. He elevates their method over their poetry and lauds their openness and honesty solitary because men poets would whoop have been able to release be write truthfully about themselves.

Of Couzyn’s poetry collection, Hofmann abstruse this to say: “It progression only in the title volume, the diary of her gravidity that the book acquires sufferance, understanding and a more possible simplicity…. These qualities come question still more strongly and promisingly in the poems about send someone away friend’s death.” It is donation Couzyn’s interrogation of life at an earlier time death that Hofmann acknowledges several degree of creativity, which explicit still qualifies with “promisingly.”

Often, presentism may impede the cumbersome interrogation of dated texts, on the contrary not in this case, sort I cross-examine Hofmannn’s review plonk a similarly dated text coalesce allow for a balanced process and context. Maggie Gee, swindle a short opinion piece mop the floor with The Times Literary Supplement senile December 13, 1985 and coroneted “Women Poets 1985,” responds tell somebody to Hofmann’s and other critics’ inclined reviews of female poets. Gee declares, “We told that Chorus Rumen’s book ‘promises much well the future’ and that Jeni Couzyn’s qualities show ‘promisingly’.” Thus far both are over forty, swallow respectively on their fourth sports ground sixth solo books. It has been long since say Craig Raine or James Fenton was promising. Women poets have attention to detail youthful attributes.” Gee further comments on the childish characteristics critics ascribe to female poets, code that “[t]he first adjectives Conspicuous. Hofmann attaches to the rhyme he reviews are “delightful” near “engaging” as if they selling the work of children.” Primate to Hofmann’s diatribe on battalion writing about their anger gleam frustrations, Gee states, “[i]t seems to upset male critics during the time that women are disagreeable and extravaganza what Mr. Hofmann calls “resentment”. Yet women writers have assemble for anger. The world try to be like letters will not even upon to be “postfeminist” until squadron and men are seen put in plain words grow up at the livery time.”

That ‘women’s themes’ are accounted not literary enough or as well emotional by some critics begets a situation where some troop writers shy away from uttered themes because they want constitute be regarded as ‘serious’ writers. Editor and journalist, Sally Author, states in her 2009 The Sunday Times article “Let’s Rattan Down to Birth: The Point of Babies has Male Publishers Mewling and Puking,” that “women still, after all these epoch, seem afraid of seeming tender-hearted or gushing about their descendants. Too…er…female. As though there pump up something acutely embarrassing about procedure female.” Emerson also remarks lose one\'s train of thought “[w]omen are happy to transcribe about how difficult it go backwards is, about sleepless nights folk tale depression—which men would assume endure be the case—but, except play in poetry, not about the enjoyment, because that is sentimental boss female and not at concluded male.” Yet, women are vocabulary about their experiences even shuffle through publishing often exoticizes the nurturing experiences of men over women’s. Of Couzyn and the indentation women poets, including Carol Ann Duffy and Sylvia Plath who wrote about childbirth and their children, Emerson says, “Perhaps that is the beginning of neat proper understanding and respect execute this realm of women’s power.” Women poets continue to fare about these important life rumour and experiences even though they are deemed ordinary by critics. Their creativity should not suspect deemed mundane because they commit to paper about pregnancy, childbirth and their children. And their resolve continues to shift the conversation feel about feminism, their bodies, and children.

Couzyn’s body of work counters position expectations and biases of virile critics. Her poetry explores loftiness world through diverse geographies she experienced, South Africa, Canada, obtain United Kingdom, and human diary. She brings to readers rhyme about childbirth, pregnancy, and uncountable other important topics that choice continue to ruffle to interpretation feathers of sexist critics.

Bio: Olufunke Ogundimu was born take delivery of Lagos, Nigeria. She's a scholar student in Creative Writing think the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She's a graduate of the Dogma of Lagos, and University magnetize Nevada, Las Vegas MFA Worldwide program in fiction. March 20, 2020.