EASTERN EUROPEAN POETRY MAP
Spring 2020
Miriam Tibbetts and Taryn Washburn
Mentored by Prof. Ralph Savarese
ABOUT
A semester of reading & writing
In need of greater criticism and steadfast partners in determination, we undertook this MAP in order take part in an even more rigorous study of the poetic process than anything with which we had yet challenged ourselves. We thoroughly enjoyed our poetry seminar with Professor Savarese in the spring of 2019, and, being dedicated to the expansion of our own techniques and style, we sought out each other and Prof. Savarese to continue building on the work we had done in that course. Our most immediate inspiration for this MAP came from Ilya Kaminsky’s book Deaf Republic (which we read during said poetry seminar), as well as from our familiarity with Zbigniew Herbert’s work. We both agreed that the genre of Eastern European poetry was one into which we wanted to take an intensive, rigorous, and deep dive. We believed the strange, absurdist, foreign, and entirely unfamiliar nature of Eastern European poetry would open new windows through which we could see international writing as well as our own, and we were right. During our semester of study - which was, in itself, absurd in its own special way due to the disruption caused by COVID-19 – we allowed the outlandishness and unfamiliar history of Eastern European poetry to shape and bolster our own creations into unique works of thought, context, and tradition.
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We have constructed this website to display our creations from this extremely productive semester. While we were originally planning on building a chapbook, COVID-19 made that impossible; however, it did open new doors to exploring digital creative spaces. Where better to begin looking for resources and inspiration on digital creativity than the library?
And yet, while searching countless anthologies of art for guiding themes and imagery, we stumbled across Robert F. Sayre's An Iowa Album on display at Grinnell's Drake Library. We checked it out simply because, well, it looked cool and old-timey. We never expected it to become another core focus of our MAP. The anthology collected and commentated on photographs from the early days of Iowa’s European settlement and American statehood, paying particular attention to industry, culture, and day-to-day life. As we browsed through the photographs from the late 1800s, we began to feel a nostalgia for our own four years in Iowa that would soon be coming to an end. As two midwesterners who, despite this identity, were not natives of Iowa, we sought to deepen our relationship with the land we had called home for four years here at Grinnell. We could also see some of the same strangeness and otherworldly distance between ourselves and these photos that we saw between ourselves and the Eastern European poems we had been encountering in our studies. We decided that no other collection could quite so beautifully marry our MAP's topic to our own life experiences, and so it became our primary source of imagery. All the images you see on this site come from Sayre's collection and have been selected to bring new context to each individual poem.
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Please enjoy browsing through our poems and Sayre's photographs.
SPECIAL THANKS AND THOUGHTS
PROFESSOR SAVARESE
I would first and foremost like to thank Professor Savarese, without whom this project would quite literally not exist. Even more than this, I would like to thank him for his constant support and guidance since the spring of 2018; his rigorous syllabi and high expectations have forced me to take my writing out back and kick it into shape, as well as think with the utmost precision about what it means to be a poet living in America in this time of turmoil and incumbent disaster. Your cynicism and sarcasm made my Grinnell experience worthwhile.
- Miriam
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I'd never tell the guy since it would give him so much satisfaction, but Professor Savarese remains one of the most challenging and knowledgable professors I have ever had the privilege of studying under, and there is no end to his dedication. I am so grateful to have been able to undertake this MAP with Prof. Savarese, to learn from him and our readings, to have come so far (I think) in my own writing, and to have had so much fun while doing it. Thank you so much for your friendship and everything you've done for me during my time at Grinnell.
- Taryn
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FAMILY, FRIENDS, & GRINNELL COLLEGE
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I would also like to thank my parents for their continued support, and for all the books in the mail. Dad: thank you for Robert Lowell and Louise Glück. Mom: thank you for E.E. Cummings and Angela Carter. Without your constant tolerance for my moodiness and your featured roles in my poetry (hidden and overt) I doubt I would have embarked on this project in the first place. Know what I mean, jellybean?
A special thanks must be given to Meghan Joyce. Without you, my friend, all my poems would be unfinished, abandoned somewhere at the bottom of Minnehaha falls. Where would I be but lost without your joy, criticism, patience, and car?
Lastly, I would like to extend my thanks to Philip de Sa e Silva and Matt Hoven. If it hadn’t been for your classes, Poetry Out Loud, and hours after school spent poring over poetry in your shared office (long past when you wanted to leave, I’m sure) I very much doubt I would have studied poetry at all. It’s a funny thing, how the future can depend so critically on such instrumental moments. Thank you all so much.
- Miriam
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I want to thank Grinnell College as a whole as well as the English Department specifically for giving us the opportunity to undertake this MAP. In my four years here, I have made countless friends with both professors and fellow students, and I never stopped being pushed and encouraged to learn more, to experiment, and to simply be better. Thank you so much for the opportunities, the advice, the friendship, and the memories.
Outside of Grinnell, I've also had my fair share of supporters and influencers. I would like to thank Western Reserve Academy and the many memories its professors & students gave me. In particular, thank you to Todd Gilbert and Mike Peveich for the many lessons, the endless support, and the friendship, and thank you Lee, for your perfection.
In addition, I want thank my Mom and Dad for the opportunities and love they've afforded me. You guys are such busy people, but you've managed to become two of my best friends and my greatest supporters in all facets of my life. Thank you so much for everything, and, as always, for paying for my life and existence. :)
- Taryn
MIRIAM MARGARET TIBBETTS
Miriam is an English and Spanish double major hailing from the Twin Cities. Her passions, in no particular order, include hiking, ultimate frisbee, social dance, record stores, poetry, shopping at flea markets, and watching foreign films with beautiful landscapes and no plot. She has had multiple poems published in The Grinnell Review and Grinnell Underground Magazine since the spring of 2017. Upon returning to the Twin Cities she plans to pursue a Master's degree in teaching and ESL at Hamline University.
TARYN WASHBURN
Taryn is an English and Economics double major from the suburbs of Cleveland, OH. She hardly has a life, but if given the chance she fills her free time with far too many crafts and building projects, hiking, watching other people play video games (and getting motion sick in the process), and cooking with friends. She has had pieces published in Bufo, Five 2 One Magazine, and The Grinnell Review. Following graduation, she will return to Cleveland to work at a law firm for a year before applying to and attending law school.
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