The speaker in maxine kumins poem, woodchucks, is a lapsed pacifist who has been turned into a hawkeyekiller by a family of marauding woodchucks. The speaker in turn tries to remove the woodchucks by using humane gas to kill them and when that is unsuccessful, she resorts to more violent means. Kumins poem is an extended metaphor about how people are able, in their own minds, to justify violence against others. Alan dugan and maxine kumin reading and discussing their poems. Promote your company and reward customers in a unique new way. When the speaker kills the mother he says she flipflopped in the air and fell kumin 20. Maxine kumin was born on june 6, 1925, in germantown, pennsylvania to peter and belle doll winokur. Her characters ranged from human boys and girls exploring the natural world, intelligent dogs in search of mates and their own identity, a horse who puts a bratty. Writers are all secret jews, declared poet and writer maxine kumin in a. Maxine kumin won the 1972 pulitzer prize for poetry and was the library of congress poet laureate in 198182. Charlaine harris, author of the sookie stackhouse novels her work can read like a smoldering combination of alice waters and ozzy osbourne. Woodchucks by maxine kumin poems academy of american poets.
The knockout bomb from the feed and grain exchange was featured as merciful, quick at the bone and the case we had against them was airtight, both exits shoehorned shut with puddingstone, but they had a subsubbasement out of range. She was born on june 6, 1925 and recently died on february 6, 2014. February 15, 2018 make your next birthday party a grand slam by celebrating the birthday boy or girl at a woodchucks game. Maxine kumin is considered one of the best jewish american poets of her time. Celebrate your childs birthday at a woodchucks game.
Kumin s poems are based on the simple idea of telling a story. She has been compared to anne sexton, who was a fellow american confessionalist poet. We plant a woodchucks favorite foods in their backyard and then shoot them when they try to eat it. What changes his mind is a week in the woods the annual school camping trip. With only four months left in the fifth grade before he starts at an exclusive boarding school, mark doesnt think its even worth trying to settle in. Maxine kumin reads woodchucks as part of a reading at the elliston poetry room, the university of cincinnati, on march 5, 1977. Waking up at sunrise, a long stretch, and a vigorous cheek rub in the dirt and on nearby shrubs are all part of the typical woodchuck marmota monax morning routine. Such obstacles notwithstanding, kumins first book of poetry halfway was published in. Woodchucks analysis by ryder simmons by ryder simmons on prezi. By earthy, i mean of the earth, rather than as a mocking term for a liberal hippie. Sharon olds, summer solstice, new york city poem applying the strategies. Both are using animals to describe humans and the way they act toward each other.
She attended catholic and public schools before earning a ba and ma from radcliffe college and married victor kumin in 1946 while still a student, and she would have two daughters and a son. She was the youngest and only girl of 4 children born between 1919 and 1925. The speaker in maxine kumins poem, woodchucks, is a lapsed pacifist who has been turned into a hawkeyekiller by a family of marauding woodchucks that destroys her garden. Kumin speaks of fear, hatred, obsession, and killing of these pests.
Oct 09, 2012 i wouldnt miss a kim harrison book for anything. Woodchucks by maxine kumin essay in this poem woodchucks, maxine kumin sketches a canvas of a situation where a frustrated farmer is trying to get rid of the woodchucks. Maxine takes to killing them with a shotgun, and finds she enjoys it. An enduring presence in american poetry, maxine kumin s career spanned over half a century. Houses built before 2004 have a switch built by leviton. This poem is about attempts to eradicate woodchucks from a garden on a literal level.
Before she passed away, kumin actively voiced her strong support of women accomplishing their goals and performing their desired careers. A literary analysis of human nature in woodchucks by maxine kumin. She began writing childrens books in 1960, with sebastian and the dragon, about a boy who wins a prize for capturing the most unusual animal for a new zoo. Audio recording alan dugan and maxine kumin reading and discussing their. In her poem woodchucks, maxine kumin introduces an alternative way to view the seemingly innocent forest creatures. The author of nearly 40 books, an advocate for womens rights, political. In the poem woodchucks by maxine kumin, the speaker is in her garden and is annoyed with some woodchucks that are eating and destroying the produce in the garden. The imagery used shows a merciless death that is fueled by anger and hate. Poems of new england, new and selected kumin, maxine w. Where is the irony in the poem woodchucks by maxine kumin. Woodchucks maxine kumins, woodchucks provides an interesting and creative perspective into the mind state of those influenced by nazi warfare.
Mark chelmsley iv has never felt truly at home anywhere. Maxine kumin wrote woodchucks and john clare wrote the badger. Its final form was as a sixpiece playing a noisier version of fleetwood mac, kind of, a little. From custom boxes and journals to whatever you can imagine we have you covered. Poetic devices metaphor maxine kumin uses metaphor to compare woodchucks to jews during the holocaust.
Except the symbolism that the poet uses in the poem what other literary techniques does maxine kumin uses. Woodchucks analysis by ryder simmons by ryder simmons on. Maxine kumin was a poet who tapped into that primeval discovery of language. Jun 07, 2014 after analyzing the poem, i think that the story portrayed in woodchucks by maxine kumin acts as an extended metaphor for the potential for evil in all of us. During an initial read of maxine kumin s poem, woodchucks, a reader can infer that the poem is about a farmer who is trying to kill woodchucks that are infiltrating his garden and destroying his crops. When that fails and the woodchucks eat her marigolds, broccoli, and carrots, her indignation deepens into what she believes is righteous anger, and she takes to. From our ground time here will be brief, by maxine kumin, published by penguin books. You can design your own journal using our customization tool.
What really bothers her, however, is not just that she has killed, but the discovery that. They lived in a georgian colonial built in the last decade of the nineteenth century at 152 carpenter lane, down the hill from. Woodchucks by maxine kumin the food from our mouths, i said, righteously thrilling to the feel of the. What can you do to make literature matter to others. Title the meaning of the title is about woodchucks theme the theme of the poem is to give a description of the killings of jews in the holocaust and concentration camps. What begins as a seemingly humorous cat and mouse hunt, reminiscent of such movie classics as caddyshack, soon develops into an insatiable lust for blood.
After analyzing the poem, i think that the story portrayed in woodchucks by maxine kumin acts as an extended metaphor for the potential for evil in all of us. At the beginning of the poem, seems to be more of a tom chasing jerry type of story but as it progresses it turns into something more serious. However, after reading the poem closely and analyzing the various poetic tools that kumin employs, it is evident that woodchucks is more than a poem about a vengeful farmer. We laser engrave your design into our wood products. Maxine kumin is a prominent female writer and her writings have left a mark on the hearts of feminists. It was written in 1972, and it it werent attributed to maxine kumin, it could have been mistaken for carl spackler s lone literary achievement. I, a lapsed pacifist fallen from grace puffed with darwinian pieties for killing, now drew a bead on the little woodchucks face. She now lives on a farm in warner, new hampshire, where she writes and raises horses. The knockout bomb from the feed and grain exchange. The first woodchucks start hibernating in late september, and by the end of october all are underground in their dens. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood. Imagery is used in woodchucks to show the death and pain the speaker causes the animals. I could not think of why someone would pour crushed rock there or what it was for. Written over 100 years part humans and their actions have.
Our journals are cut and assembled in the usa using real wood. She flipflopped in the air and fell, her needle teeth still hooked in a leaf of early swiss chard. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Sep 03, 2002 mark chelmsley iv has never felt truly at home anywhere. Human nature in maxine kumin s woodchucks maxine s kumin s woodchucks is a literal description a sort of woodchuck hunt in her garden. They will not wake up and reemerge until early spring. Imagery is used in woodchucks to show the death and pain the. Maxine kumins woodchucks copyright by dan schneider, 101902. In the poem, the speaker starts off attempting to get rid of a rodent problem as humanely as possible. A literary analysis of human nature in woodchucks by maxine. On first reading, woodchucks is an almost cartoonish tale of farmer vs.
An evening with pulitzer prize winning poet and writer. Mar 30, 2010 in the poem woodchucks by maxine kumin, the speaker is in her garden and is annoyed with some woodchucks that are eating and destroying the produce in the garden. Maxine kumin nee winokur was born to a reform jewish family in germantown, pennsylvania. January 16th, 2020 the woodchucks ask the woodchucks. Essay about woodchucks by maxine kumin analysis 1118.
Why woodchucks whistle november 14, 20 by emammal in natural history, sciuridae squirrels. We plant a woodchuck s favorite foods in their backyard and then shoot them when they try to eat it. That guide was the inspiration for the junior woodchucks guidebook il manuale delle giovani marmotte, a series of several disney books with tips, advice, general culture, and curious facts about nature and life, released in italy by mondadori in seven volumes between 1969 and 1974, and later translated into several languages. Woodchucks by maxine kumin by dominic brancato on prezi. Through further examination of her words, one can sense her suggestions about human nature. They came, they played, and there was smoke and wine and melody and haribo. Watering through the hermit wakes to bird sounds the hermit meets the skunk woodchucks january. When i returned from arizona there was a large pile of crushed rock beside my front porch. Mark covers for a friend and lands himself in big trouble. This column is now in its tenth year, and one item that is in the top five asked about is the 911 flasher switch that came with each sun city house. Maxine kumins poems are at their best when they are the most earthy. Kumin has also published four novels, three collections of essays, two books of short stories, and numerous childrens books four with anne sexton.
Clare wrote in his about sympathy, fear, and victories or not. At the beginning of the poem, seems to be more of a tom chasing jerry type of story but as. Highly acclaimed author, maxine kumin has written 15 books of poetry and several collections of essays, short stories and novels. Essay about woodchucks by maxine kumin analysis 1118 words. Kumin has written a narrative poem that tells the story of killing the woodchucks in her garden, using an extended metaphor to compare this killing to warfareand, at the end, to genocide. The end lineup was drew, amy, cath, henri, chris and kari. She has won a pulitzer prize in 1973 for her work in up country. I, a lapsed pacifist fallen from grace puffed with darwinian pieties for killing, now drew a bead on the little woodchuck s face. While hibernating, the woodchucks metabolism slows considerably. This customization makes for great gifts personalized for one person, or for businesses. We build on top of their houses without their permission, i might add, and then we remove the woodchucks because their houses happen to have holes. In woodchucks, the speaker compares her own escalating determination to.
While hibernating, the woodchuck s metabolism slows considerably. As much wood as a woodchuck would, if a woodchuck could chuck wood. Confessionalist poets tend to focus their poetry on personal matters that took place in their lives. Maxine kumin is the author of 25 books for children. Find books like woodsong from the worlds largest community of readers. Perhaps i should have titled this essay propinquity.
434 670 1537 641 587 1162 27 1346 160 1276 334 199 1263 747 601 922 812 47 140 121 875 1529 1006 188 80 1479 793 1112 702 1398 634 317 584 782 1104 434 265 822 203 1101 1005