1276: To Be Longing by Elizabeth Willis

Summary

Summary of "The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily"

Episode: 1276: To Be Longing by Elizabeth Willis
Host: Major Jackson
Release Date: January 20, 2025

Introduction

In Episode 1276 of The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily, hosted by Major Jackson, listeners are guided through a contemplative journey centered around Elizabeth Willis's poignant poem, "To Be Longing." The episode delves into the intricate relationship between language, identity, and belonging, offering profound insights into how words shape our perceptions and societal structures.

Host's Anecdote and Exploration of Language

[00:33] Major Jackson begins the episode with a personal anecdote about a conversation with his friend Lori, a fiction writer. He humorously recounts a pun Lori made when he confessed to reading her "corpus," highlighting the dual meaning of the word—both as a body of work and its Latin root implying "body." This leads Jackson to reflect on how language not only conveys an author's demeanor and thoughts but also how it can imprison or liberate meaning.

Notable Quote:
"Corpus is Latin for body. It is the root for many words, including corporeal, corporation, esprit de corps, habeas corpus, etc." [00:45]

Introduction to Elizabeth Willis's Poem

Jackson introduces Elizabeth Willis's poem, emphasizing its exploration of how language can both confine and empower individuals. He outlines the central theme of the poem: the struggle to break free from limiting labels and societal constructs through the power of writing and self-expression.

Key Themes Discussed:

• Secrecy vs. Revelation: The poem contrasts how secrecy can create in-groups and out-groups, while revelation fosters legal and social belonging.
• The Power of Writing: Writing transforms personal experiences into tangible forms, allowing individuals to assert their identities and resist restrictive definitions.
• Language as Law: Words can impose laws that delineate social boundaries, influencing both personal and civic realms.

Detailed Analysis of the Poem

Jackson provides an in-depth analysis of key excerpts from "To Be Longing," highlighting how Willis uses metaphors and imagery to convey complex emotions and societal critiques.

Notable Quotes and Analysis:

1. On Secrecy and Belonging:
   "Secrecy creates members and outsiders. Revelation turns belonging into law." [02:15]

   • Analysis: Willis illustrates how keeping aspects of identity secret can create exclusive groups, while openly revealing them can institutionalize belonging through legal frameworks.

2. On the Physicality of Words:
   "When you write it down, you give it a body and the body takes your name." [03:10]

   • Analysis: This line emphasizes the transformative power of writing, where abstract thoughts gain form and identity through the written word.

3. On Language's Dual Nature:
   "Bound by syntax, a word may yet contain boundlessness. Even God is a word, a gap in the text to show how distance can tear anything apart." [04:50]

   • Analysis: Willis explores the paradox of language being both restrictive and infinite, capable of expressing vast concepts yet limited by its structure.

4. On Societal Constructs:
   "A word like wife or marriage will linger in a courtroom, its legislation sending you to hell or to heaven." [05:40]

   • Analysis: Here, Willis critiques how certain words carry significant legal and moral weight, shaping societal norms and individual destinies.

Insights and Reflections

Jackson reflects on the poem's commentary on identity and the societal implications of language. He discusses how words not only describe but also shape our realities, often enforcing binary oppositions like yes/no or darkness/light. This duality can lead to oversimplified understandings of complex human experiences.

Notable Reflection:
"Like Adam, every writer falls. Word is saving a file called to be raw, infinitive, query, a signal into space. I want to survive. I want to outlast it." [05:25]

• Insight: Jackson interprets this as the universal struggle of writers to preserve their truths and resist the confines imposed by language and societal expectations.

Conclusion

Major Jackson wraps up the episode by reiterating the profound impact of poetry in illuminating the "world’s magnitude" and providing moments of reflection. He underscores the importance of engaging with literature to navigate and understand the complexities of human existence.

Closing Thoughts:
"Everything can be translated into yes and no, darkness and light... I want to survive. I want to outlast it." [05:50]

• Final Reflection: Jackson emphasizes the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring power of words to express and transcend our deepest longings.

Additional Information

Listeners are encouraged to explore The Slowdown's extensive back catalog, featuring episodes hosted by Tracy K. Smith, Ada Limón, and guest hosts like Jenny Xie and Amanda Gorman. The podcast is produced by APM Studios in partnership with The Poetry Foundation and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

For daily poetic reflections, visit slowdownshow.org, sign up for the newsletter, or follow The Slowdown on Instagram at @slowdownshow.

Transcript

[A]

Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can set up chores, automate allowance and keep an eye on your kids spending with real time notifications. Kids learn to earn, save and spend wisely. And parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place. Sign up for Greenlight [e-mail] podcast.

[B]

I'm Major Jackson and this is the Slowdown. My friend Lori is a fiction writer and she is very fun. I said as much to her at a favorite Pan Asian restaurant among a group of co workers. I confess, rather proudly, I am reading your corpus. Not missing a beat, Lori said, you're reading my corpse. A fitting pun. We typically talk about an author's collected works only after they die or no longer continue to write. Corpus is Latin for body. It is the root for many words, including corporeal corporation, esprit de corps, habeas corpus, etc. The zingers kept coming like that all night. The next morning I contemplated how words convey an author's demeanor, the texture of their unique thoughts. In this way, poems and stories, both fictional and personal, encased in books over time, emerge collectively as a portrait of the author. This presence of a self on the page is as real as the person's presence on earth. As writers, we invite scrutiny. We put ourselves in the position of being read by readers. And yet, as much as a poem renders us hyper visible, we also know language imprisons. We run the risk of being misread. Today's poem explores the situation of righting ourselves out of fixed meanings that confine us to labels, to disempowering social and political realities to belonging. By Elizabeth Willis Secrecy creates members and outsiders. Revelation turns belonging into law. If you are a member, what do you belong to? You belong to us, but you have to say so. You have to turn your life into a book. You have to make an effigy of your days. When you write it down, you give it a body and the body takes your name. A letter may stand in for a name that can't be said or a face that can't be seen, a space to carry all its meaning and what isn't said. Bound by syntax, a word may yet contain boundlessness. Even God is a word, a gap in the text to show how distance can tear anything apart. Put a fence around this feeling. A story takes shape fitfully in episodes. The eye that sees you is larger than the sun. Dear reader, she's looking for a way between the words to make of this chaos a forest, of the forest a house, and of this house a book. If the word is law, is it a question or a statement? It sneaks into the bedroom as the church climbs through the window. A word is being written in a book of creation. A body taken by the thigh is given the name of a nation. A word like wife or marriage will linger in a courtroom, its legislation sending you to hell or to heaven. It will draw an imaginary line between domestic and civic worlds. It will build a fence around the meadow of an American dream. A word like brother or sister can rearrange the world. Everything can be translated into yes and no, darkness and light. Like Adam, every writer falls. Word is saving a file called to be raw, infinitive, query, a signal into space. I want to survive. I want to outlast it. The Slowdown is a production of American Public Media in partnership with the Poetry Foundation. This project is also supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. On the [e-mail] to get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram lodownshow.

[C]

Latte, anyone? We all have those little everyday expenses, right? But what if you could get something really valuable for the cost of your daily coffee? Greenlight's Money app for families helps teach your kids about money, savings, chores and allowance, even investing. Starting at just $5.99 a month. That's even cheaper than coffee these days. Energize your whole family with a subscription that unlocks lifelong money lessons. Try Greenlight risk [e-mail] podcast that's greenlight.com podcast to try greenlight today.