Synthesis

Kay Ryan's poetry is almost always very personal, written in a way that doesn't show it to be personal. Her poems are short, because her poems are not about discussion or pondering, they are about stating a feeling or point.

In her poetry itself, Ryan uses a lot of oxymorons, not only does it draw attention to an important line in her poetry, but it is also a great way for her to express her humor in her work. The way in which she writes her poetry is very specific, the syntax is choppy and the lines create awkward or unnatural breaks in a sentence.  This is deliberate and contrasts with the lines that rhyme in order to keep the reader alert.

Kay Ryan also uses a lot of imagery and symbolism, often related to birds. For example, the imagery of birds is forefront in her poems: Home to Roost, Felix Crow, Flamingo Watching, Soft, Paired Things, and most likely in others that I have yet to read.

Her poems are often simple in meaning on the surface, but with a deeper meaning the more you read. The issues and feelings she writes about are very common, but not easily explained, the issues have long been around, yet not easily solved. In my opinion, she writes these poems because the feelings and issues within are the ones that are most important to her, and she wants other people to see it as well.

One thing to note when reading her poems is that her diction is very simple, with the exception of a few complicated words. These words must not be overlooked, for their meaning is important.

Overall, Ryan's poetry is deeply personal, with a sophisticated simplicity that draws in the reader. The issues are ones we all know and the feelings are all ones we have experienced to some degree, and this allows anyone who reads her work to connect with it in their own way, creating deeply personal poems for all to enjoy.

The Poet's View - Kay Ryan

Please go to this website to view Kay Ryan speaking about some of her work. For some reason, I can't make the insert a Link work.... so, my bad, just bear with it.

Please copy and paste this into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFCP5dCfynI

Robert Frost and his Influences on Kay Ryan

Robert Frost, born in San Francisco in 1874 was an inspiration for Ryan Kay. Contrary to Kay, he spent his childhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts and was greatly influenced by the nature and beauty of the east coast. In 1895 he married Elinor  White. The couple moved to England after their farm in New Hampshire had failed. There her was influenced by Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, and Robert Graves. He also met Ezra Pound who promoted and published his work. His first two publications were A Boy's Will and North of Boston. By the time he returned to America in 1915, he had garnered the respect of a nation. His poetry was what Ryan Kay grew up reading, and his style and tone has a clear resemblance to Kay's poetry. 

October by Robert Frost

O hushed October morning mild, 
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; 
To-morrow's wind, if it be wild, 
Should waste them all. 
The crows above the forest call;         
To-morrow they may form and go. 
O hushed October morning mild, 
Begin the hours of this day slow, 
Make the day seem to us less brief. 
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,         
Beguile us in the way you know; 
Release one leaf at break of day; 
At noon release another leaf; 
One from our trees, one far away; 
Retard the sun with gentle mist;         
Enchant the land with amethyst. 
Slow, slow! 
For the grapes' sake, if they were all, 
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost, 
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—         
For the grapes' sake along the wall.

This poem clearly demonstrates Frost's use of imagery and nature above all else. This is slightly different from Kay's poetry in that is very detail specific and is more wordy. The most significant difference is his overt love of nature, and it is  routinely the focus of his poems, rather than a means to explain or express a point.  

The same can be said for this next poem, a personal favorite of mine as it is. 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

A key similarity between Frost's poetry and that of Ryan's is that neither of them really ever express a point in their poems, even if there is one. The reader must infer and look closely to grasp the meaning and to understand the poet's intent, but their poems also leave room for the reader to turn the meaning into something all their own.

Sharks' Teeth by Kay Ryan

Everything contains some
silence. Noise gets
its zest from the
small shark's-tooth
shaped fragments
of rest angled
in it. An hour
of city holds maybe
a minute of these
remnants of a time
when silence reigned
compact and dangerous
as a shark. Sometimes
a bit of a tail
or a fin can still
be sensed in parks.

Analysis

Unlike some of Ryan's other poems, this one starts quite suddenly, with the first line setting the tone for the whole poem. “Everything contains some silence” is a proposition the speaker immediately challenges and resolves. How does “noise” contain silence? The rest of the first stanza answers this question by arguing that the "rest" in noise is what gives it its "zest", being the nature of music: restful, but full of life.  Ryan describes the "rest" as "shark-tooth shaped fragments": each "rest" in music is a sudden ascent followed by a sudden descent, with an edge. Just like a shark's tooth. 

In the second stanza, Ryan shifts to "remnants of a time" this is an important shift because "remnants" are not the same as "fragments" because "remnants" can be whole. However, a remnant has left us, it is a monument of the past that does not function in the present. Ryan calls these "remnants" "compact and dangerous as a shark" but this is misleading, it is not simply the "remnant" that is dangerous, but rather the time from which it came and the characteristics of that time that are the danger because they can sneak up on us and be as damaging as a shark is to us in the ocean if we are not alert and watchful. Ryan does not specify the time period she is addressing, she often leaves these details blank so that the reader may make the poem more personal by filling in the blank themselves. In the last few lines, Ryan tells us what to watch for, "a bit of tail" or a glimpse of "a fin". This tells us to look at history both far away - the tail (the end) and the more recent history - the fin (the middle). Finally, Ryan tells us where to be watchful, "sensed in parks". Parks are pubic and places for people to gather, and this is what we need to be watchful of.

Cut Out For It by Kay Ryan

Cut out
as a horse
is cut
from the
pack. Peeled
off, but
a long time
back. Now
such a feeling
for the way
they touch
and shift
as one, the
beauty when
they run.

Analysis

The first stanza emphasizes the idea of separation from a natural form: "cut from the pack".  The repetition of "cut" tells the reader that the separation was forced, and not a choice. The selection of horse is important, as it most likely deals with the domestication of animals.

The second stanza picks off from the first by reinforcing this unnatural separation by using the phrase "peeled off" as in, peeled off from the track. Ryan also tells us that this happened a "long time back", indicating that this separation might not even be remembered.

The third stanza is placed in the present, and shows a new bond, different from what nature had intended. The tone shifts here as well, in the first two stanzas the tone was somewhat regretful but reconciled to the facts of what had happened, but here the tone suggests a sense of awe. This is conveyed through the selected diction in the stanza, such as: "such a feeling"and "touch and shift as one". These lines suggest that the new partnership is that of horse and rider. The last three lines in this stanza is a rhyme. "As one, the beauty when they run". This ending seems to justify the domestication of horses, in honor of a new relationship and the word "beauty" suggest a form of harmony.

This poem speaks to the formation of a bond between man and horse, and Ryan shows her own personal feelings on the subject in the last rhyme of the poem. Kay Ryan used to ride horses as a child, it is very likely that she is writing this poem in response to memories of riding horses in her youth.

Atlas by Kay Ryan

Extreme exertion
isolates a person
from help,
discovered Atlas.
Once a certain
shoulder-to-burden
ratio collapses,
there is so little
others can do:
they can't
lend a hand
with Brazil
and not stand
on Peru.

Analysis 

The first stanza centers around the use of an allusion to greek mythology. Atlas bears the world on his shoulders. He is the titan who supports the heavens. 

This "extreme exertion" is so monumental, that others can't help when the "shoulder-to-burden ratio" is overcome. Once the system of aid collapses, people "can't lend a hand".  By specifically mentioning Brazil and Peru in the second stanza, it can be assumed that Ryan is talking about foreign aid and how it is often a failure because we only step in after the "ratio collapses". 

The message is clear, to avoid isolation and a collapse of what a country can support, people must intervene before it is too late to help, before we have to stand on Peru to help Brazil.

Paired Things by Kay Ryan

Who, who had only seen wings,
could extrapolate the
skinny sticks of things
birds use for land,
the backward way they bend,
the silly way they stand?
And who, only studying
birdtracks in the sand,
could think those little forks
had decamped on the wind?
So many paired things seem odd.
Who ever would have dreamed
the broad winged raven of despair
would quit the air and go
bandylegged upon the ground,
a common crow?

Analysis

Rhyme is the primary device in the poem, it keeps a steady flow and accentuates the message well.

The first stanza is about the kind of people that are fliers. This could represent anything, such as, positivity, an open mind, dreamers, ect.  By saying "who had only seen wings" the speaker isolates this group into the first stanza. The repetition of who is important because it tells the reader that the question is a true question. The choice of diction by saying "skinny sticks of things" and "backward way they bend" emphasizes who foreign the idea of the ground is to the subject in stanza one. 

The second stanza, in contrast, is about the type of people who are grounded. By saying "who only studying birdtracks" tells us that this group focuses on the ground. To this group, the idea of flight is bizarre, "little forks decamped on the wind". 

Despite the differences of wings and legs, they pair perfectly in birds. The line between the third and fourth stanza hints at the meaning of the poem: "so many paired things seem odd."

The fourth stanza is interesting because the crow is family of birds, which ravens belong to, hence, all ravens are crows. The separation between the "raven of despair" in the air, from the "common crow" on the ground signals that too much of either group is bad. The selected diction to show this is complex: skinny sticks, little forks, despair, common. Each has a negative reinforcement,  but if we combine groups, which we do so rarely, it will be odd, but positive. 

Soft by Kay Ryan

In harmony with the rule of irony-
which requires that we harbor the enemy
on this side of the barricade - the shell
of the unborn eagle or pelican, which is made
to give protection till the great beaks can harden,
is the first thing to take up poison.
The mineral case is soft and gibbous
as the moon in a lake - an elastic,
rubbery, nightmare water that won't break.
Elsewhere, also, I see the mockeries of struggle,
a softness over people.

Analysis 

A word to note is gibbous, which is a phase of the moon that is more than half, but not yet full. Or having a hump.

In this poem, Ryan utilizes oxymorons and diction to create a critical, if not somewhat bitter tone through the poem.

The poem opens with an oxymoron, setting the tone for the rest of the poem: "In harmony with the rule of irony" There is no harmony in irony, so this suggests complacency and weakness and because of the "harmony" it also indicates a lack of change. The "we" in the second line most likely represents Americans, or Westerner's because Kay Ryan herself is American. Therefore, "the enemy" can be anything the reader sees as threat to the US. The shell represents the nation as a community. The two parties that we harbor, "the unborn eagle or pelican" represent the good and bad we protect. The irony of a soft "mineral case" is intended to mock the strength of our laws and the enforcement of the laws. Those who we defend are the first to "take up poison" is a direct attack at the flaws of the institution. 

The image of water is distorted in this poem, usually seen as cleansing and healing, Ryan describes it as rubbery,  a "nightmare water that won't break". The water here is symbolic of the court system, that fails to protect the innocent and incarcerate the guilty. The use of oxymorons represents the backward problems addressed in the poem. 

Finally, the speaker says "I see the mockeries of struggle, a softness over people". As long as people fail to correct these problems, we will remain soft, in this case, a negative and a warning. 

Flamingo Watching by Kay Ryan

Wherever the flamingo goes,
she brings a city's worth
of furbelows. She seems
unnatural by nature-
too vivid and peculiar
a structure to be pretty,
and flexible to the point
of oddity. Perched on
those legs, anything she does
seems like an act. Descending
on her egg or draping her head
along her back, she's
too exact and sinuous
to convince an audience
she's serious. The natural elect,
they think, would be less pink,
less able to relax their necks,
less flamboyant in general.
They privatly expect that it's some
poorly jointed bland grey animal
with mitts for hands
whom God protects.

Analysis

The first thing to note, is that the poem is gender specifc to women, and that the flamingo is symbolic of women who are not of the norm. Such as the protesters for women's rights.

Words to know include: furbelow and sinuous. Furbelow meaning showy ornimentation, and sinuous meaning curvatious.

The "she" flamingo represents the 'different' women of the time who are showy by "bringing a city's worth of furbelows". The poet utilizes oxymorons to express the hyporcicy of the speaker, presumably a male figure. Claiming she is "unnatural by nature" and too "flexible to be normal" even though flexibility is natural opposed to rigidness. Flexible in this context of the speaker refers to social change. The speaker demeans her by saying "anything she does seems like an act" implying that women are not taken seriously. In response to her acts in society, the speaker claims "she's too exact and sinuous" to be taken seriously.

In the third stanza, unlike the first two, the poet describes the speaker as "the natural elect" in a sarcastic tone as being men. The poet uses repetition of "less" to draw attention to the speaker's points: "less pink", "less able", "less flamboyant". The poet they tells us that in secret, men think of women as "bland grey animals" with "mitts for hands" signaling where a woman belongs: in the kitchen.

This poem speaks to sexism through the eyes of the perpetrator in the 70's, with the poet being a femenist who demonstrated for woman's rights in the 60' and 70's and wrote the poem as a monument to the times.

The Pieces That Fall To Earth by Kay Ryan

One could
almost wish
they wouldn't;
they are so
far apart,
so random.
One cannot
wait, cannot
abandon waiting.
The three or
four occasions
of their landing
never fade.
Should there
be more, there
will never be
enough to make
a pattern
that can equal
the commanding
way they matter.

Analysis 

The first question one must ask about this poem is, what is they? Without answering the question, the poem will not have any meaning.  'They' refers to "the pieces that fall", and I take that to mean meteors. Another thing to note is that this poem uses repetition frequently; at least once in every stanza, except the third, and often more. 

In the first stanza the word "wish" gives the stanza a regretful tone. By saying "almost wish they wouldn't" it draws attention to the fact that "the pieces that fall" are not bad by emphasising the word "almost".  The poet then tells us that they are "so far apart, so random" the repetition of "so" tells us that a lot of time passes between the falling pieces, and that there is no way to know when it will happen.

The length of the stanzas link them together, the first stanza is six lines long, and the second stanza is half that length with three lines, so the stanzas are connected to each other. The second stanza is a commentary on the first stanza. Once again, repetition is utilized by emphasizing "cannot" and "wait". This stanza is also an oxymoron, "cannot wait" and yet "cannot abandon waiting". Contradiction freezes action, and the poet is in limbo waiting for pieces to fall, and also not wanting to wait.

In the third stanza the poet turns to the subject of the "pieces" themselves. There is no use of repetition in this stanza, which makes it stand out. The poet is very specific, there have been only "three or four" occasions when these pieces have fallen, so we now know these events are rare. Then we learn that "their landing never fade". The diction in the third stanza tells the reader that the event of the falling pieces is a big event for the poet, and that the event leaves lasting marks. This stanza is four lines long and is linked with the fourth stanza which is eight lines long. 

The fourth stanza opens with the words: "should there be more" suggesting that the poet is unsure whether more pieces will fall, or if she will live to see it. The tone in this stanza is very serious and sentimental. Even if more fall and a pattern should develop, it will "never be enough" to "equal" the "way they matter". 

This poem alludes to, but never directly states the subject. On the surface, it is a simple and powerful statement about the beauty and mysteries of meteors. However, because the subject is not stated, the poem could be about any subject the reader projects onto it. For example, the poem could also be about lovers, and how they rarely and randomly fall into our lives, changing us forever. This is what makes the poem so powerful, it transforms into something different for every reader. 

The use of paired repetition, careful diction, and the fluid and choppy syntax manipulates the readers emotions along with the poets very powerfully, and was quite successful at portraying the purpose of the poem.

Felix Crow by Kay Ryan

Crow school

is basic and

short as a rule-

just the rudiments

of quid pro crow

for most students.

Then each lives out

his enlightened

span, adding his

bit of blight

to the collected

history of pushing out

the sweeter species;

briefly swaggering the

swagger of his

aggravating ancestors 

down my street.

And every time

I like him

when we meet.

Analysis 

In the title of the poem, Ryan relates the crow to the felix, so we know the poem puts crows in a good light.  Some key words and phrases in the poem are: rudiments, quid pro crow, blight, sweeter species, and aggravating ancestors. Rudiments are the first principles of a subject. Quid pro crow should actually read as quid pro quo and it means that if you give something, you get something back in return. Blight, is a cause of disease, ruin, or frustration.

I believe that this poem addresses the nature of evolution within the crow family, where the speaker in the poet has a grudging liking for the crow.

The first stanza of the poem directly remarks on evolution by summarizing the process as "basic and short" and being the "rudiments of quid pro crow". Meaning evolution is not a complex process, it is short, and the current species takes qualities from ancestors while passing on their own qualities to the next generation. Coming to the second stanza, the poet adopts a tone of sarcasm and dislike. Speaking to the current species, the poet comments on "his bit of blight" meaning something in him is distasteful and that he has a history of "pushing out the sweeter species". This is somewhat ironic and contradicts Darwinism, suggesting that the poet has a dislike of the 'survival of the fittest' attitude by calling the extinct species the "sweeter" one.  In the second half of the second stanza the tone shifts into a joking and playful one, the phrase "swaggering the swagger" is using repetition to emphasis the annoying behavior of his "aggravating ancestors" down the street, clearly referring to the cawing of the crow. Despite the suggestions during most of the poem that imply that the crow is intolerable and annoying, the poet devotes the last stanza to say "every time" they meet, the poet likes him.  

Kay Ryan Biography and Timeline

Kay Ryan was born on September 21, 1945 in California and grew up in San Joaquin Valley.
After high school Ryan received a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in English from the UCLA.

Growing up, and through her education she drew inspiration for her work from Emily Dickens and Robert Frost.

Time Line of Published Works and Achievements

• 1983: Dragon Acts to Dragon Ends 
• 1985: Strangely Marked Metal 
• *1994: Flamingo Watching
• 1996: Elephant Rocks 
• 2000: Say Uncle
• 2005: The Niagara River
• 2006: Elected Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets
• 2008: Appointed Congressional Poet Laureate consultant in poetry
• 2010: The Best Of It: New and Selected Poems   

* This collection of work was a finalist for the Lamont Poetry Selection, and for the Lenore Marshall Prize.

Ryan's awards for her poetry include: The Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, a Guggenhelm fellowship, the Ingram Merrill Award, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Union League Poetry Prize, the Maurice English Poetry Award, three Pushcart Prizes,  a four time select for The Best American Poetry, and was included in The Best American Poetry from 1988 to 1997.

From 1971 to today, Kay Ryan has lived in Marin County, California with her partner Carol Adair. They both taught at the College of Marin in Kentfield, California. They lived together until Adair's death in 2009. Ryan now lives alone, retired from writing poetry, but still teaching English at local colleges in California.