Slavitt's Comedic Approach

by Herb Shallcross

Novelist, poet, and translator David Slavitt recently came to Drexel’s faculty club on the sixth floor of MacAlister Hall to read from his books Change of Address: Poems New and Selected and William Henry Harrison and Other Poems. The reading was sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, Magnificent Minds, and the English and Philosophy Department’s Certificate Program in Writing and Publishing, and was attended by about fifty students and faculty members.

Slavitt’s solemn demeanor was reflected in the first piece he read, a heartfelt elegy to a former teacher. This solemn tone was not to last, though, as Slavitt jumped right into a comical poem made up of one word followed by a lengthy series of discussion questions. To bring home this satirical jab at our rigid education system, Slavitt remarked afterwards that, "Most of the poems you read are pretty good. It’s the discussion questions that are ridiculous."

Slavitt went on to read a poem called Titanic, which he said is his major claim to fame because it appears in books of poetry that are required reading in many schools. In the poem, Slavitt offers the idea that perhaps the people who died on the Titanic didn’t have it so bad: they died fairly quickly, and they are remembered for it. He said that while he thought the poem was pretty straightforward, he is constantly barraged by letters and e-mails asking him what it is supposed to mean.

This confusion may result from the outward irreverence Slavitt shows for some touchy subjects. This irreverence may sometimes come across as disrespectful, but throughout the poems Slavitt read, one got the idea that he was laughing at these things because there was not much else to be done about them. Slavitt took an exaggerated stance to highlight what he called "The uselessness of poetry in the face of loneliness and death."

After the reading Slavitt opened the floor to questions, and then autographed copies of his books. Students, faculty, and the writer all mingled around some juice and fruit salad before going back to work.

Earlier in the week, Slavitt read as part of the Per Contra Celebration. Slavitt also participated in a poetry workshop with a small group of student writers.