Rukeyser and Rooney

Muriel Rukeyser is an interesting poet. The non-traditional poetic style of Rukeyser’s writing, reminds me greatly of Gertrude Stein. In Rukeyser’s poem, “To be a Jew in the Twentieth Century,” Rukeyser writes that to be a Jew in this time is a “gift.” If a Jew does not embrace, and take hold of the gift they have been given or offered, they will live lives bound by torture, isolation, and will continue to be “invisible” to a world where Jewishness is seen as lesser, and disgraceful.

To be a Jew in the twentieth century

Is to be offered a gift. If you refuse,

Wishing to be invisible, you choose

Death of the spirit, the stone insanity.

Accepting, take full life. Full agonies:

Your evening deep in labyrinthine blood

Of those who resist, fail, and resist; and God

Reduced to a hostage among hostages.

It is almost as if she is saying, it is better for a Jew to embrace Jewishness and suffer, than to “resist, fail, and resist.” I feel strange writing about something that I cannot even wrap my mind around. I cannot imagine what it is like to be of the minority and to suffer because of ethnicity/religion. I also cannot imagine being a Jew during this time of the 20^th century and what it feels like to see millions of your people murdered for being Jews. This poem was written roughly 11 years after the Holocaust had occurred. I want to assume Rukeyser has the Holocaust in the back of her mind as she writes this poem. Jews were looked down upon, were hated, and seen as unworthy—they were barely recognized as people. Rukeyser writes:

This gift is torment. Not alone the still

Torture, isolation; or torture of the flesh.

That may come also. But the accepting wish,

The whole and fertile spirit as guarantee

For every human freedom, suffering to be free,

Daring to live for the impossible.

This poem made me feel distressed, it made me feel pity for the Jews in the 20^th century, it made me feel angry, and sad, and disgusted. Like I said before I cannot even imagine the type of suffering and torment Jews of the 20^th century went through. I respect Rukeyser a great deal, and even though this poem greatly troubled me, I enjoyed reading Rukeyser’s work.

Although Muriel Rukeyser is the star of the show here, I would like to also discuss Katherine Rooney’s “Robinson Walks Museum Mile.” This poem does not truly relate to Muriel Rukeyser’s “To be a Jew in the Twentieth Century,” but I found this poem interesting, so I would like to talk about it. In multiple poems by Kathleen Rooney she talks about a man named “Robinson.” In this particular poem, Robinson is in the middle of the city of Brooklyn, and he is pondering the ideal city, and this magnificent mile to a museum. Robinson carries an indifferent, relaxed posture and attitude about him, and wonders, “Do museums amuse me?” This poem discusses what it would be like to live in a museum and portrays the themes of preservation, permanency, and a “thoughtless, guilt-free, and preserved eternity.” Robinson desires to be “kissable and missable,” he desires to belong and noticed. He desires to have someone and love someone, yet all he has is isolation in this big city. I enjoyed Rooney’s poem, and reading about her character Robinson. There is almost a double-ness to Robinson, “Robinson doesn’t want to be exceptional. He knows he is. He wants to be perceived exceptional.” Robinson is just another face in the crowd who desires to be significant and “preserved.” Rooney stirs up emotions such as sadness, emptiness, longing, isolation, etc. It seems as if the things in museums are the things most noticed, or most preserved, but in a way an object in a glass case is just as lonely as our kind sir, Robinson on the street. Rooney’s work was interesting to read, and keeps her poems interesting and intelligent, with hidden references and unique descriptors.

I know that both of these poems are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Rukeyser is defending the oppressed Jewish race, and writes about the difficulty of being a Jew in the 20^th century, and Rooney writes about a lonely man who wants to be valued and preserved. But I think both of these poems reveal a great deal about humanity and the world we live in; yes, both poems are extremely different in style and context, but show us something about our human race. Rukeyser’s poem is a small taste of Jewishness in the 20^th century and reveals with hints of the Holocaust in the background (I am assuming…) it reveals the evil nature of humanity. Rukeyser is defending the Jewish race and in a way is encouraging them to embrace their ethnicity/religion even though they are suffering. (I do not feel like I am doing this poem justice with my ignorant analysis!!) Furthermore, Rooney’s poem shows us that there is a longing desire in humanity to be loved, wanted, and “preserved.” There is a desire to live “thoughtless, guilt-free, and preserved eternity.” Just like objects in a museum, Robinson wanted to be “perceived as exceptional,” and to live forever. Again, these poems are very different, but can teach us about people in the world we live in.