1323: The Ways of Remembering Women by Lynne Thompson

Summary

**Podcast Summary: "The Ways of Remembering Women" by Lynne Thompson
Podcast: The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily
Host: Major Jackson
Episode: 1323
Release Date: April 1, 2025

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Introduction: Exploring Forgotten Narratives

In Episode 1323 of The Slowdown: Poetry & Reflection Daily, host Major Jackson delves into the poignant themes of memory, history, and the often-overlooked stories of women through Lynne Thompson's evocative poem, "The Ways of Remembering Women." This episode, recorded during the 2025 Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) conference in Los Angeles, sets the stage for a deep reflection on how women's narratives are preserved or forgotten over time.

Unveiling the Black Dahlia Myth

The poem opens with a reference to the infamous Black Dahlia case, inviting listeners to reconsider the true story behind Elizabeth Short. Thompson challenges the romanticized and sensationalized versions that have overshadowed the real, tragic events:

• Lynne Thompson [01:12]: "Do you want to know about the Black Dahlia, or do you want the truth about Elizabeth Short?"

• Unknown Speaker 1 [01:18]: "You may not be aware there is no such dahlia. And yet lovers of crime focus on the dark of it, the mystery connecting Ms. Short to its rare essence, which some say means enduring grace."

Thompson underscores the disparity between myth and reality, emphasizing the need to honor Elizabeth Short's actual story rather than the myths perpetuated by media sensationalism.

The Role of Media and Memory

The poem critiques how media representation shapes collective memory, often at the expense of nuanced truths:

• Unknown Speaker 2 [01:32]: "I thought it was the newspapers who coined it eager to make a buck, featuring the brutality of that January 1947."

Thompson elaborates on this by revealing the true origin of the moniker "Black Dahlia," attributing it to sailor men rather than the press, thereby reclaiming a piece of history that was commodified:

• Lynne Thompson [01:39]: "But no. It was the sailor men who frequented the waterfront along the Long Beach Pier who gave the raven-haired Betty her final moniker."

A Glimpse into Los Angeles' Forgotten Women

Transitioning from the Black Dahlia, the poem shifts focus to another woman, Betty nee Nunez, highlighting how certain narratives are overshadowed or forgotten:

• Unknown Speaker 3 [02:56]: "Although there are reasons that you forget she was, it is said, a pachuca who hung out along Sleepy Lagoon, listened to Central Avenue jazz and junked old folks tales of docile Mexicanas who sported plucked eyebrows, darkened lips, and an updo held in place by rats."

Thompson emphasizes the erasure of diverse female identities in Los Angeles' history, particularly those of Mexican heritage and the cultural complexities they embody.

Cultural Hybridity and Identity Struggles

The poem delves into the complexities of cultural hybridity, addressing how women like C. Nunez navigated and were often misrepresented within societal narratives:

• Unknown Speaker 4 [03:30]: "Many were just girls who were forced to testify against friends or face detention or worse."

• Lynne Thompson [04:15]: "What can they ever say about what it is we all say about them? To paraphrase an old African until the lioness becomes a historian, some vengeful animal."

Through these lines, the poem critiques the limited and often hostile portrayals of women who defied societal norms, highlighting the struggle to retain agency over their own stories.

Reclaiming Women's Stories through Poetry

Major Jackson facilitates the episode by contextualizing the poem within broader discussions from the AWP conference, emphasizing the importance of poetry in reclaiming and preserving women's narratives:

• Major Jackson [00:05]: "In sharing poems, we take a moment to pause and acknowledge the world’s magnitude, and how poets illuminate that mystery."

By selecting Thompson's work, Jackson underscores the role of poetry as a medium for historical reflection and emotional resonance, inviting listeners to engage deeply with the often-overlooked aspects of women's lives.

Conclusion: Honoring and Remembering

"The Ways of Remembering Women" serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of remembering and honoring the true stories of women who have been marginalized or forgotten. Through vivid imagery and poignant reflections, Lynne Thompson calls listeners to re-examine historical narratives and recognize the enduring grace and resilience of these women.

By the episode's end, listeners are left with a profound appreciation for the role of poetry in shaping collective memory and the ongoing effort to ensure that all women's stories are told with authenticity and respect.

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Notable Quotes:

• Lynne Thompson [01:12]: "Do you want to know about the Black Dahlia, or do you want the truth about Elizabeth Short?"

• Unknown Speaker 1 [02:14]: "Did you know she was pregnant, her fetus removed post mortem by her killer?"

• Lynne Thompson [04:15]: "What can they ever say about what it is we all say about them?"

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This episode of The Slowdown not only presents a moving piece of poetry but also encourages listeners to reflect on the power of storytelling and the imperative to remember and honor the multifaceted lives of women throughout history.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Foreign.

[Major Jackson]

I'm Major Jackson, and this is the Slowdown. Last week our team attended the 2025 AWP conference in Los Angeles. AWP is the association of Writers and Writing Programs. The conference is an annual moment to gather together colleagues across the writer world. This week's episodes include audio we recorded on site, bringing together many voices. Slow down Style Today's poem by the most recent Poet laureate of Los Angeles begins with one of the city's most famous mysteries and goes on to consider reclaiming the stories of women in this land of reinvention.

[Narrator]

The Ways of Remembering women By Lynn Thompson 1.

[Lynn Thompson]

Do you want to know about the Black Dahlia, or do you want the truth about Elizabeth Short?

[Unknown Speaker 1]

You may not be aware there is no such dahlia. And yet lovers of crime focus on the dark of it, the mystery connecting Ms. Short to its rare essence, which some say means enduring grace.

[Unknown Speaker 2]

I thought it was the newspapers who coined it eager to make a buck, featuring the brutality of that January 1947.

[Lynn Thompson]

But no. It was the sailor men who frequented the waterfront along the Long Beach Pier who gave the raven haired Betty her final moniker.

[Narrator]

They could have called her Rose for the tattoo on her left calf, could have called her Star, for those who said she was an actress, well behaved and sweet despite the hideous tableau she.

[Lynn Thompson]

Was found in her torso, head and legs savagely detached each from the other, her body drained of blood, her mouth slashed from one ear to the other, skull pulp like as it roiled in the tall grass of Leimert Park.

[Unknown Speaker 1]

Did you know she was pregnant, her fetus removed post mortem by her killer? That a Chandler? Yes, one of those Chandlers was rumored to be the daddy. And still we can't get enough of her, of anything that made her a macabre.

[Lynn Thompson]

See Time Magazine 2015, describing many confessors to her murder, everyone looking for their mainline to notoriety. See how even now you want to know who did it as well as the horrific facts.

[Unknown Speaker 2]

Short was alive when a butcher's knife scrolled Calyx to Corolla.

[Lynn Thompson]

2. See how you don't remember. Just four years before the Lady Dahlia there had been another Betty nee Nunez.

[Unknown Speaker 3]

Although there are reasons that you forget she was, it is said, a pachuca who hung out along Sleepy Lagoon, listened to Central Avenue jazz and junked old folks tales of docile Mexicanas who sported plucked eyebrows, darkened lips, and an updo held in place by rats.

[Unknown Speaker 4]

How many of you remember those 10 days in June 1943 if not reread Newsweek's piece not so subtly making judgments about loose girls in LA's Mexican quarter.

[Lynn Thompson]

Indicting them as delinquents, waylaying so called innocent servicemen with hip swaying and jitterbugging.

[Unknown Speaker 3]

The girl companions of zoot suitors so dubbed, whether or not it's true, by the media and by whites with their own style.

[Lynn Thompson]

Many were just girls who were forced to testify against friends or face detention or worse.

[Unknown Speaker 4]

Yet we only remember them if we recall them at all as mestizas, cultural hybrids, traders, slaves, sellouts.

[Unknown Speaker 3]

Like many women who came to la.

[Unknown Speaker 4]

C. Nunez, in short, defined different identities and found them as virgin or whore in someone's film or play, or as.

[Unknown Speaker 3]

The unremembered to the rest of us.

[Lynn Thompson]

What can they ever say about what it is we all say about them? To paraphrase an old African until the lioness becomes a historian, some vengeful animal.

[Unknown Speaker 4]

Will always tell her story.

[Major Jackson]

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 web at Arts. To get a poem delivered to you daily, go to slowdownshow.org and sign up for our newsletter and find us on Instagram at slowdown show and bluescotlowdownshow.org Special.

[Unknown Speaker 2]

Thanks to Dean Rader, September Woods Garland.

[Lynn Thompson]

Charlotte Trever, Sean Felix, Heather Brown A.

[Unknown Speaker 1]

Binet.

[Unknown Speaker 5]

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