Original Poems

1. Kim Addonizio Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography Created by Ashley Warner

2. Biography Kim Addonizio: Explorer of the Average Women’s Ego “The sheer pleasure these poems make of language, both in turns of phrase and in swathes of extended metaphor, animates and makes convincing what could become simply fashionable cynicism and street-smart bravado” (“Kim Addonizio” Poetry Foundation 2). Biography List of works These are the words of Poetry reviewer Leslie Ullman who speaks of Kim Addonizio’s self-motivated skepticism and boldness intended to impress the reader through her lengthy metaphors (“Kim Addonizio” Poetry Foundation 2). Kim Addie was born to Bob and Pauline Addie on July 31, 1954 in Bethesda, Maryland (“Kim Addonizio”Poetry Out Loud 1). Kim’s mother was a U.S. Tennis champion in the 1940s and gave her an excellent sense of women’s empowerment that would later show up in her poems. When she was 17, Kim Addie changed her name to Kim Addonizio because she found out her grandparents had shortened their last name when they came to America from Italy. Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography At age 18, she moved to San Francisco, California and worked several odd jobs such as a secretary, waitress, and office clerk (“Kim Addonizio” Poetry Out Loud 1). It is said she moved to San Francisco to live in the more free and accepting atmosphere of California. When she was 28, Addonizio gave birth to a daughter, Aya Cash (“Kim Addonizio” Red Room 1).

3. (Biography cont.) Kim has lived in the Bay Area for most of her life and currently teaches workshops in Oakland, California (“Kim Addonizio” Poetry Foundation 1). Her environment may have been her inspiration for her poetry throughout her life. In the late seventies, Kim Addonizio found a love for poetry. She started her sharing her poetry through open mics throughout the San Francisco area; utilizing any chance to read her works to other people (“Kim Addonizio” Red Room 1). In 1982, with a Bachelor’s Art degree, Addonizio graduated from San Francisco State University (“Kim Addonizio”Poetry Foundation 1). After earning her Bachelor’s degree, Kim wanted her Master’s degree. Because she had her daughter, Addonizio had to take part–time classes for four years to achieve her goal (“Kim Addonizio”Poetry Foundation 1). So far throughout her life, Kim Addonizio has published five collections: Lucifer at the Starlight, What is this Thing Called Love, Tell Me, Jimmy and Rita, and The Philosopher’s Club.Along with her poetry books, Addonizio has written three books: In the Box Called Pleasure, Little Beauties, and My Dreams out in the Street (“Kim Addonizio”Red Room 1). Almost as her civil duty to the poetry world, Kim also wrote two “how to” books on poetry that help inspired writers achieve her mentality and feeling for poetry. Kim was a poetry pioneer through her works and has been flooded with writing awards because of it. Addonizio’s book, In the Box Called Pleasure, was a finalist for the National Book Award and Little Beauties was voted “Book of the Month” by the Book of the Month Club (“Kim Addonizio”Red Room). Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

4. (Biography cont.) As for her Poetry works, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Commonwealth Club Poetry Medal, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, and the John Ciardi Lifetime Achievement Award (“Kim Addonizio”Red Room 1). Addonizio self-proclaims one of her main inspirations is the singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen. Many reviewers say Kim Addonizio has won many awards and she became so famous because she was a “breakthrough” poet for her time. Kim Addonizio is seen as a breakthrough poet because she was the first to use women characters that were wild, lustful, alcoholics, and full of vengeance (“Kim Addonizio”Schabe 1). Addonizio wrote like this not because she thought all women were like this, but to show women too are complicated, varied, intelligent and as bizarre as any other creature. This was contradictory to her time period of writing because then women were not quite fully seen as independent thinkers or able to achieve their own inner emotions when it came to controversial topics and behaviors. Through her poetry, Kim does not use allusions to get her point across; she instead uses honesty and force and isn’t afraid to use “dirty” language (“Kim Addonizio”Schabe 1). The characters in Addonizio’s works are often much damaged, but she does not blame this damage on men but instead says that it is because the women’s psyches is the cause. Addonizio uses the common theme of desire in her characters and often has progressive or recurring stories throughout (“Kim Addonizio”Schabe 1). Overall, the mouth to Addonizio’s river of poetry is something called “post feminism”. Post feminism is based on the theory that a women’s psyche develops completely inwardly, rather than being influenced by the social forces of the outside world (“Kim Addonizio”Schabe 1). Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

5. (Biography cont.) A lasting effect Kim Addonizio has left on the poetic world is she wasn’t afraid to do something most other poets of her time avoided: she touched the often dark and very deep places of the feminine soul. Patrick Schabe explains the brilliance of Kim Addonizio’s poetry when he said, “Beauty is a simple thing; ugliness is an exceptional thing. And fiery imaginations, no doubt, always prefer the extraordinary thing to the simple thing” (“Kim Addonizio”Schabe 1). Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

6. List of Works • “What Do Women Want” • “Eating Together” • “Scary Movies” • “The First Line is the Deepest” • “Weaponry” • “Lucifer at the Starlight” • What is this Thing Called Love? • Tell Me • Jimmy and Rita • The Philosophers Club • Little Beauties • My Dreams Out in the Street • In the Box Called Pleasures: Stories Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

7. “Mermaid Song” by Kim Addonizio for Aya at fifteenDamp-haired from the bath, you drape yourself upside down across the sofa, reading, one hand idly sunk into a bowlof crackers, goldfish with smiles stamped on. I think they are growing gills, swimming up the sweet air to reach you. Small girl, my slim miracle, they multiply.In the black hours when I lie sleepless, near drowning, dread-heavy, your face is the bright lure I look for, love's hook piercing me, hauling me cleanly up. Biography List of works Analysis on “Mermaid Song” Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

8. Analysis of “Mermaid Song” The poem “Mermaid Song” by Kim Addonizio is an excellent use of both literal and figurative imagery of how Kim sees her daughter, Aya, at age 15. This poem is Kim Addonizio’s admiration for her daughter especially when she is just sitting their reading a book and eating goldfish crackers. Imagery is a description that creates a vivid sensory experience for the reader. The lines “Damp-haired from the bath, you drape yourself/ upside down across the sofa reading”, is a visual Addonizio uses that is very easy to picture for the reader and sets the tone of the poem; almost like the reader walked into the room and saw that very image of a 15 year old girl reading limberly across a sofa just after she has taken a bath. It paints an image of an innocent and carefree person. Another place where Kim Addonizio uses imagery is “Swimming / up to the sweet air to reach you”. This particular phrase appeals to the reader’s sense of smell and also reveals that Aya, Kim Addonizio’s daughter, has a sweet character that surrounds her all the time. A great metaphor Addonizio uses is, “Your face/is the bright lure I look for”. This metaphor shows that when Addonizio thinks she is in trouble, she finds her daughter’s face that shining light at the end of a tunnel and finds it irresistible. Not only are physical senses appealed to in this poem, “Mermaid Song”, but also the image Kim Addonizio sees herself when she looks at her daughter and how that image is enhanced by everyday sensory details that surround her daughter at the most average times. Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

9. The poem “Eating Together” by Kim Addonizio is about a woman eating with a good friend who is dying of cancer and both of them are avoiding the topic as they eat. I chose this poem because highlights a beautiful friendship by emphasizing how two friends could have the biggest elephant in the room between them, but understand each other completely. A line that stands out to me is, “she lowers/her eyes to the food pretending/ not to know what I know/ she’s going. And we go on eating.” These lines really make me appreciate my good friends and be grateful for good health. Another reason I chose “Eating Together” was Kim Addonizio never really says her friend has cancer and I like how she used that to heighten the extremeness of the secret between them, by incorporating her friend’s sickly appearance into their dinner. “Eating Together “by Kim Addonizio is a very powerful poem that is not only sad, but also exhibits bravery and makes the reader feel thankful. Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems waiter and smile when he asks how we are liking it. She eats “Eating Together” By Kim Addonizio I know my friend is going, though she still sits there across from me in the restaurant, and leans over the table to dip her bread in the oil on my plate; I know how thick her hair used to be, and what it takes for her to discard her man’s cap partway through our meal, to look straight at the young as though starving—chicken, dolmata, the buttery flakes of filo— and what’s killing her eats, too. I watch her lift a glistening black olive and peel the meat from the pit, watch her fine long fingers, and her face, puffy from medication. She lowers her eyes to the food, pretending not to know what I know. She’s going. And we go on eating Original Poems Bibliography

10. “In Dreams” by Kim Addonizio portrays the journey of Kim looking back on her feelings toward her father who she barely knew. Then she talks about how she doesn’t understand death and how she no longer mourns him. I chose “In Dreams” because Addonizio uses a beautiful metaphor of a piece of paper as the memories between herself and her father. A line I like is’ “I don’t know why/ the paper’s so important, or if anything/ is even written there.” This poem by Kim Addonizio really uses imagery well and makes the reader explore to infer their own special meaning to it. Biography List of works “In Dreams” by Kim Addonizio Sample Poems is even written there. I don’t know where the dead go, After eighteen years there’s no real grief left for the man who was my father. I hardly think of him anymore, and those dreams I used to have, or why it’s good to forget them, not to see them if they come crowding the windows or trying to lay themselves down and press along our bodies at night Inspired poems in which he’d be standing in a room of people I didn’t know—maybe his new friends, if the dead have friendships— those dreams no longer trouble my sleep. and ask that we love them again, that our sorrows include them once more. This morning I couldn’t get up. I slept late, I dreamed of the single Original Poems He’s not in the crooked houses I wander through or in the field by the highway where I’m running, chasing down some important piece of paper, Bibliography sheet of paper, which I never managed to reach as it stuttered and soared over the grass and a few flowers, so that I woke with a sense of loss, wondering who desperate to reach it as it’s lifted in the wake of trucks or flattened and marked by passing cars, as it’s lifted again to swirl over or what I had to mourn besides my father, whom I no longer mourn, father buried in the earth beneath grass, beneath flowers I trample as I run. a broken wood fence. I don’t know why the paper’s so important, or if anything

11. “What Women Want” By Kim Addonizio I want a red dress. I want it flimsy and cheap, I want it too tight, I want to wear it until someone tears it off me. I want it sleeveless and backless, this dress, so no one has to guess what's underneath. I want to walk downthe street past Thrifty's and the hardware store with all those keys glittering in the window, past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly, hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders. I want to walk like I'm the only woman on earth and I can have my pick. I want that red dress bad.I want it to confirm your worst fears about me, to show you how little I care about you or anything except what I want. When I find it, I'll pull that garment from its hanger like I'm choosing a body to carry me into this world, through the birth-cries and the love-cries too, and I'll wear it like bones, like skin, it'll be the goddamned dress they bury me in. Biography List of works Poem inspired by “What Women Want” Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

12. “Dress of Memories” by Ashley Warner I want the impeccable day. I want it stretched and stress-free. I want the sunrise casting off the lake, like it’s planning the most radiant day. With warm air toasting my back as I stroll onto the dock. I wan to spend it with my best friends basking on the pontoon for hours. Like an oasis, secluded, and unblemished bliss for those present I want to eat til we burst. No guilt, just physical and emotional nourishment I want that day real bad. I want the heat from the fire to stroke my face, as we exchange priceless tales. Roasting dessert, while gazing up to the stars Like I’m waiting to rise up to them. Because I am wearing a sparkling dress, a dress glittered with unforgettable memories. It can be the goddamned dress they bury me in. Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

13. “My Heart” By Kim Addonizio That Mississippi chicken shack. That initial-scarred tabletop, that tiny little dance floor to the left of the band. That kiosk at the mall selling caramels and kitsch. That tollbooth with its white-plastic-gloved worker handing you your change. That phone booth with the receiver ripped out. That dressing room in the fetish boutique, those curtains and mirrors. That funhouse, that horror, that soundtrack of screams. That putti-filled heaven raining gilt from the ceiling. That haven for truckers, that bottomless cup. That biome. That wilderness preserve. That landing strip with no runway lights where you are aiming your plane, imagining a voice in the tower, imagining a tower. Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Poem inspired by “My Heart” Bibliography

14. Blinding Fear by Ashley Warner That hesitation That peer pressure That sight of my biggest fear That very reluctant phrase, fine I’ll go. That queasy feeling through that perpetual line this could be the end. That last escape attempt That prayer to God please spare me. That calming storm as I sit down Only to be aroused again That Click…Click Like the Jaw’s theme song quickly intensifying That peek That period of no remembrance Fear does that. That rush of exhilaration That minute of pure joy why was I scared of this? Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

15. Original Poems “Saturday Morning” by Ashley Warner She arises with the sun, like a daylily in the summer. She pitter-patters down the hall, her favorite blankie in tow. Complete with that stuffed animal and footie pajamas. A walking advertisement for those Saturday morning cartoons. At a commercial, she dumps out some Cheerios. Half on the floor and half in the bowl. She sits munching, wrapped in her blankie. Eyes glued to the TV, refueling her imagination. Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

16. Original Poems “The Kind of People Who… by Ashley Warner The kind of people who… Pick you up when your down, and take you higher when your up Give you that drive to finish, and aren’t jealous when you prevail You consider “Brothers” even though you have different mothers Tell you had a great game, but you both know it was one of your worst Share the punishment with you, because they know you’d do the same Be your best friend on and off the court Teamates Biography List of works Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography

17. Bibliography Biography: • http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems/poet.html?id=47 • http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/kim-addonizio • http://www.redroom.com/author/kim-addonizio/bio • www.popmatters.com/pm/review/in-the-box-called-pleasure Poems: Biography • http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/22047 • http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/182823 List of works Pictures: • Red Dress http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OCqkLEeb7MU/TLjNOk91uOI/AAAAAAAADyg/6N7Oc-jVCfc/s1600/Lobby%2BRed%2BDress.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.seattlegayscene.com/author/admin/page/3&usg=__7x0Zk2NomVZfSR_9ger2GFX6Qbc=&h=535&w=720&sz=74&hl=en&start=96&zoom=1&tbnid=KFTPRgN-pclApM:&tbnh=149&tbnw=193&ei=YQ63TbjmA4TniALIiqkx&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dflimsy%2Bred%2Bdress%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D839%26site%3Dsearch%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=390&page=4&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:96&tx=106&ty=91 • Kim Addonizio http://www.outimpact.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/4PRINTkimheadbw_300.jpg • Salmon http://imagine-art.com/images_products/fish002%20Atlantic%20Salmon%2016x20%20C2.jpg • Mermaid http://www.zmescience.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/mermaid111.bmp • Girl in grass http://fallforward.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/girl-in-grass.jpg • Two women holding hands http://www.momlogic.com/images/two-woman-holding-hands-together-hp-thumb-250x250.jpg • Roller Coaster http://www.coaster-net.com/pics/valleyfair/wildthing16_coasterclint.jpg • Heart http://th06.deviantart.net/fs50/300W/i/2009/329/7/f/Heart_shaped_memories_by_najt93.jpg Sample Poems Inspired poems Original Poems Bibliography