18 pages • 36 minutes read
Marie HoweWhat the Living Do
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1998A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
"Sylvia’s Death" by Anne Sexton (1964)
Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath were figureheads of the Confessional poetry movement. Both struggled with mental illness and committed suicide--Plath at the age of 30. Like “What the Living Do,” Sexton’s poem "Sylvia’s Death" is addressed to a deceased recipient. It makes use of everyday language, and invokes the specificity of mundane details: “where did you go / after you wrote me / from Devonshire / about raising potatoes / and keeping bees?” Potatoes and bees are examples of everyday beauty and everyday life, which Plath noticed and enjoyed, but ultimately gave up. Sexton’s poem is addressed to Plath and references a letter Plath wrote to Sexton. Like “What the Living Do,” "Sylvia’s Death" uses epistolary framing and references to enhance its tone of secrecy and emotional intimacy. Because vernacular quickly changes, Howe’s “everyday language” is different from Sexton’s, just as Sexton’s language differs from that of previous literary movements which also prized “common speech.” Sexton’s poem is also a useful contrast for examining Howe’s departure from the overwhelming bleakness of much Confessional poetry. Sexton is envious of Plath’s suicide, while Howe cherishes her own life in John’s absence.
"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver (1990)
Like Howe, Mary Oliver is an accessible modern-day poet who utilizes informal diction and reflection to illuminate sanctity and beauty. "The Summer Day" is concerned with daily experience and the difficulty of feeling present, exemplified by the lines “I do not know how to pay attention, how to fall down / into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, / how to be idle and blessed.” While Howe lists everyday chores of living humans, Oliver describes small details of living organisms. Like “What the Living Do," "The Summer Day" highlights the sacredness and fleetingness of life in its conclusion, ending with the memorable lines “tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?” Differing from Howe, Oliver focuses her writing on the natural world, and writes more overtly about the spiritual nature of her observations.
"American Smooth" by Rita Dove (2004)
Like Oliver and Howe, Dove uses simple language in free verse to uncover grace in everyday life. "American Smooth" begins as a matter-of-fact description of dance steps, until the speaker is moved to a moment of ecstasy, “that swift and serene magnificence.” This climax of lifted feeling can be compared and contrasted with the climax of “What the Living Do,” in which the speaker is awestruck by her own reflection in a store window. Like “What the Living Do,” "American Smooth" emphasizes the brevity of awareness in life, contrasted with everyday language throughout the rest of the poem. The ecstasy expressed in both poems is short-lived, but clearly present. Neither poem presents life as constant awareness or constant numbness, but as a combination of the two in conjunction with one another. Dove makes more playful use of line breaks and enjambment, but like Howe, sticks to free verse and straightforward diction.
Further Literary Resources
In the Company of my Solitude: Americans Writing from the AIDS Pandemic edited by Marie Howe and Michael Klein (1994)
In the Company of my Solitude is a collection of essays, letters, memoirs, and diaries of voices on the AIDS pandemic, edited by Marie Howe and Michael Klein. Howe was particularly close with her brother John who died from AIDS complications and has since been involved in AIDS awareness campaigns. “What the Living Do” is a letter to John, and Howe has often explained and contextualized her work amongst the writings of others who lost loved ones to HIV/AIDS. In accordance with Howe’s literary style and ethos, In the Company of my Solitude emphasizes personal pieces of writing and everyday courage.
"The Complexity of the Human Heart" David Elliott interviews Marie Howe (2018)
AGNI is a literary magazine housed at Boston University. David Elliott’s interview with Marie Howe for AGNI touches on her education and relationship with Stanley Kunitz, and delves into her relationship with John and how his passing changed her writing. The interview provides a window into the evolution of Howe’s writing style and is particularly relevant for understanding “What the Living Do.”
"Words Can Sustain and Save Us" Alex Dueben interviews Marie Howe (2018)
Alex Dueben’s interview with Marie Howe for The Millions examines Howe’s upbringing in a Catholic family. She explains her philosophy of art and publication in a religious context, and talks about how John’s homosexuality, sickness, and death were treated in her family. Finally, she shares her thoughts on the power and importance of poetry. “What the Living Do” was written with a broad audience in mind, and Howe’s intention was to share the solace she finds in poetry with as many readers as possible. Howe’s thoughtful reflections on religion and spirituality can inform possible interpretations of “What the Living Do” and place it within her body of work as a whole.
Listen to the Poem
Terry Gross interviews Marie Howe for her NPR program “Fresh Air.” She asks Marie Howe to read “What the Living Do.” They discuss her relationship to the poem, and her brother John’s death. Howe explains how John’s death impacted her writing, and discusses her family, Catholicism, and other works.
