The Mother/Child Papers
The Mother/Child Papers: With a new preface by the author
ALICIA SUSKIN OSTRIKER
Series: Pitt Poetry Series
Copyright Date: 2009
Published by: University of Pittsburgh Press
https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt
Pages: 64
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7zwbrt
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Book Info
The Mother/Child Papers
Book Description:

In 1970, as the war in Vietnam was heating up, Ostriker was awaiting the birth of her son. On April 30, President Nixon announced the bombing of Cambodia. On May 14, four students were shot and killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State University. The poems in this collection confront Ostriker's personal tumult as she considered the world she had brought her son into.

eISBN: 978-0-8229-7826-8
Subjects: Language & Literature
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Table of Contents
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. I-VI)
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.1
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. VII-VIII)
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.2
  3. PREFACE
    PREFACE (pp. IX-XII)
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.3
  4. I: CAMBODIA
    I: CAMBODIA (pp. 1-6)
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.4

    My son Gabriel was born on May 14, 1970, during the Vietnam War, a few days after the United States invaded Cambodia, and a few days after four students had been shot by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio during a protest demonstration.

    On May 1, President Nixon announced Operation Total Victory, sending 5,000 American troops into Cambodia to destroy North Vietnamese military sanctuaries, in a test of “our will and character,” so that America would not seem “a pitiful helpless giant” or “accept the first defeat in its proud 190-year history.”

    He wanted his own war.

    The...

  5. II: MOTHER/CHILD
    II: MOTHER/CHILD (pp. 7-30)
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.5
  6. III. THE SPACES
    • LETTER TO M.
      LETTER TO M. (pp. 33-33)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.6
    • SONG OF THE ABANDONED ONE
      SONG OF THE ABANDONED ONE (pp. 34-34)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.7
    • MACBETH AND THE KIDS IN THE CABIN AT CHESTER
      MACBETH AND THE KIDS IN THE CABIN AT CHESTER (pp. 35-35)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.8
    • THINGS TO REMEMBER OF EVE
      THINGS TO REMEMBER OF EVE (pp. 36-36)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.9
    • IN THE AUTUMN OF MY THIRTY-SEVENTH BIRTHDAY
      IN THE AUTUMN OF MY THIRTY-SEVENTH BIRTHDAY (pp. 37-39)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.10
    • EXILE
      EXILE (pp. 40-40)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.11
    • THE SPACES
      THE SPACES (pp. 41-42)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.12
    • PROPAGANDA POEM: MAYBE FOR SOME YOUNG MAMAS
      PROPAGANDA POEM: MAYBE FOR SOME YOUNG MAMAS (pp. 43-49)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.13
    • THE LEAF PILE
      THE LEAF PILE (pp. 50-51)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.14
    • THE SEVEN SAMURAI, THE DOLLY, AND MARY CASSATT
      THE SEVEN SAMURAI, THE DOLLY, AND MARY CASSATT (pp. 52-52)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.15
    • THE CHANGE
      THE CHANGE (pp. 53-54)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.16
    • ONE, TO FLY
      ONE, TO FLY (pp. 55-55)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.17
    • IN THE DUST
      IN THE DUST (pp. 56-57)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.18
    • HIS SPEED AND STRENGTH
      HIS SPEED AND STRENGTH (pp. 58-58)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.19
  7. IV: THIS POWER
    • ONE MARRIES
      ONE MARRIES (pp. 61-63)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.20
    • THIS POWER
      THIS POWER (pp. 64-64)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.21
    • DREAM
      DREAM (pp. 65-65)
      https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7zwbrt.22