Questions that arise from a poem

The intelligence of lament

Dear friends, 

Many thanks for your replies last week — I loved reading about which poems from this most recent season of Poetry Unbound found you. This week, I’ve been thinking about the opening poem of Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic (Graywolf Press, 2019). Born in 1977, he moved with his family to the United States as a refugee from Ukraine in his teens. Deaf Republic is his second volume of poetry, although he’s also renowned as a translator, editor, and author of criticism (this gorgeous essay on Paul Celan is a favourite of mine).

Deaf Republic functions like a play, with a cast of characters in its opening pages. Set in a fictional town, the poems depict a community’s response to an invading army who shoot a Deaf child; all the townspeople stop listening as a result. Coming from his own experience of seeking refuge, his own experience of hearing loss, and the brilliance and precision of his writing, Deaf Republic is a book I have read many times. 

The opening poem “We Lived Happily During the War” functions like something of a preamble. It’s in a voice that is learning — too late, it seems — that the time for speech and courage is gone, that the greed that was so guiding a motivation is empty now, and that forgiveness may be impossible to gain, seeing as all the ones who could give it are probably dead. We made a Poetry Unbound episode about this poem a few years ago. 

We Lived Happily during the War

And when they bombed other people’s houses, we

protested
but not enough, we opposed them but not

enough. I was
in my bed, around my bed America

was falling: invisible house by invisible house by invisible house—
I took a chair outside and watched the sun.

In the sixth month
of a disastrous reign in the house of money

in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)

lived happily during the war.

The book was published in 2019 to great acclaim, and Ilya had been reciting poems from this collection for a number of years as the manuscript was finalised. So the opening poem — and all the ones contained in the pages — are about a pattern that repeats. 

A poem is rarely a manifesto. A poem is a poem and does strange things with silence, ache, yearning. It always seems to me that “We Lived Happily During the War” is challenging the question of “But will the little I can do make any difference” with one of witness: “What are you doing?” To be sure, there are many shapes for action; the field of peace is populated by some who protest, some who write, some who research, some who offer refuge, and so on. Not all advocacy looks the same, and oppressors thrive when allies fight among each other. 

This week I’m curious to learn: What questions does this poem raise in you? Any community the size of ours contains diverging political beginning points or ending points. Hence poetry: it’s not a manifesto — it doesn’t tell you how to vote, it poses complicated questions. Rather than evoking questions as barbs to trap others, I’m most interested in hearing the questions that the poem asks in you. Sharp, pointed, challenging questions, I’m sure. 

For me, the question is about lament. Ilya’s poem reads — on one level, at least — about a lament: one that has realised, too late, that it is too late. I’m curious about the intelligence of lament, and the things I do to delay lament, and the consequences of that for me and us. And, alongside that: What is the what of this lament? Is it mourning the choice to avoid acting on moral courage? The unnecessary limitation of the borders of care? 

I’ll see you in the comments, friends — from a small Scottish island, Iona. I’ll be there for a few weeks leading some retreats. Oh the grey skies and salty winds of the Atlantic in early spring. 

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The Latest from Poetry Unbound

Episode 14

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Poetry in the World

A list of events: Online and in Australia (Melbourne, Queenscliff, Sydney), Ireland (Cork, Dublin, Listowel), Scotland (the island of Iona, St. Andrews), and the US (Indianapolis, Memphis, Seattle)

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March 10–15 and March 18–23 2025, Isle of Iona, Scotland

I’m holding two Poetry Unbound retreats on the gorgeous Scottish island of Iona; each retreat is the same. Both retreats are booked up, but you can get on the waiting list by contacting the folks at the St. Columba here.

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March 16, St. Andrews, Scotland

I’ll be taking part in the annual StAnza Poetry Festival. Tickets and info here.

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April 3, Seattle, Washington, US, and online

I’ll be giving an evening talk at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. Registration is needed, and you can find information here.

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April 7, Indianapolis, Indiana, US

I’ll be at Butler University as part of its visiting writers series. No need to register, and you can find the details here.

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April 10 & 11, Memphis, Tennessee, US, and online

I’ll be back at Calvary Episcopal Church for two events: an evening interview on the first day and a midday sermon on the second day (the sermon will also be live-streamed). Both events are free to attend, and you can find details here.

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April 26–27, Melbourne, Australia

I’m giving a two-day retreat on “Poems on Being with Each Other,” with the Small Giants Academy lovelies. Registration here.

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May 2–4, Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia

I’ll be speaking at the delicious sacrededge festival. More info here.

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May 7, Sydney, Australia

The marvelous Miriam of Poetica is organising a poetry reading in the evening. Get tickets here.

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May 8, Sydney, Australia

I’ll be speaking in the morning at the Welcoming Cities Symposium. Registration here.

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May 8–11, Melbourne, Australia

I’ll be speaking on the Saturday (May 10) of the Melbourne Writers Festival. Festival info here.

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May 13–17, Cork, Ireland

I’ll be reading and conducting an interview at the Cork International Poetry Festival. Details here.

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May 20, Dublin, Ireland

I’ll be reading at the International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD). Information here.

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May 29, Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland

I’ll be reading at Listowel Writers’ Week. Information here.