Vice Response

Ai’s Vice is not merely a collection that includes persona poems, but a book that is composed almost entirely of them. There are very few poems that are not written in the first person. I like this approach. I think, especially due to the nature of many of the poems, that it’s easier to distinguish the narrator from the writer (a mistake that can be easily made reading poetry, though usually not by an experienced reader).

The challenge, depending on the poem’s subject, is authenticity. If the poem is based on a real character or event, then the poet’s job is to enter that person, that moment, and to bring the reader with them. Ai does this well. For example, the poem Child Beater is written from the perspective of a woman who carries a deeply disturbing disdain for her child, so strong that it causes her to abuse the girl. The poem begins with the narrator describing the setting, establishing the tone of the piece, which is somber and foreboding to say the least –

Outside, the rain, pinafore of gray water, dresses the town
and I stroke the leather belt,

The rain and gray water begin to paint a sad picture and with the title in mind, the reader knows exactly where this poem is going when the narrator strokes the belt. But the next two lines are what hook us.

as she sits in the rocking chair,
holding a crushed paper cup to her lips.

Now we have a picture of a young girl simply being young, playing a game as she rocks,

back, her eyes open, forward, they close.

I would think that even readers who don’t have children of their own would be cringing at the thought of a sister or niece or cousin in that rocking chair. Being a parent, I cannot read something like this without thinking of my own daughter and this moment that Ai has created is absolutely heart wrenching.

Of course, she could probably achieve the same thing without using the first person, but as the poem moves we’re treated to the mother’s thoughts which give us some insight into the reason (if there’s even an acceptable word for it) for her actions.

One possible drawback to this approach is that readers do not get the opportunity to “know” or learn about the poet. Then again one could argue that simply by using the “I” when entering these other personas, the writer is indeed sharing something of themselves, even if it’s merely their opinion of the subject. So often, poets are writing about very personal events, the goal being to make those events relatable. Probably, the mark of a truly experienced writer is one whose subject is not of a personal nature, but a universal subject that is made personal (for both writer and reader) through setting, image and character development, etc.

One final interesting observation, and I’m sure this has been noted before, is that a poet who has made a living out of using the first person, the “I,” would adopt the penname, Ai. This might be coincidental as it apparently means “love” in Japanese (she claims to have a Japanese father, though she never new him). Nevertheless, the choice is fitting.