This poem is written by America's first Canine poet, Woofster.

Preamble

To bark of owners, bosses, and kings

Of playgrounds erected, American Kennel Club begins

my scratching is mean and superior

oh, how their time has run out

let the other dogs have their day

for my bark is bigger than their bite

But my wagging tail and racing thoughts

great Fido has overlooked

I nauseate the human man who thinks

a gate suits a female dog despite her higher wits

credit is due to dear dogs but man doesn't give due

Let men be men, and bitches what they are

men have superiority, and provide she their gates

but in vain declare war

a dog lays best by the dish

prevail if you might

but give a bit of recognition where it is deservedly due

My Meta-commentary

This poem is a parody written from the perspective of a dog to mirror "The Prologue" by Anne Bradstreet: "Poems on herself as woman poet". I chose to write this from the perspective of a dog because I felt that, at the time in America's history that this poem was written, women writers were regarded as insignificant. This mentality encouraged me to use another living creature that is viewed as inferior to man, such as a dog. Anne Bradstreet was called, in this title and excerpt, "America's First Poet" by NPR Books. Charlotte Gordon's "Mistress Bradstreet" explained the hardships that Anne had endured in her travels, including settling with Native Americans and percieving others' lifestyles. The gender differences between men and women were less clear and took effort for the new colony to establish. Anne's experience was described by Gordon like this "English society was grounded in the distinctions between the sexes. Anne's own roles in life - dutiful daughter and loving wife - were predicated on these assumptions; the Indians' apparent disregard for everything that she had been trained to value was deeply disturbing" (Gordon). I imagine the traveling and gender difference combined with the expectations that must have coincided with being the Governor's daughter hardened her. "The Prologue" states "I am obnixious to each carping tongue/Who says my hand a needle better fits/ A poet's pen all scorn I should thus wrong/"(5,1-3). To me this means that she is defying the mentality that a woman's hand should be holding a sewing or knitting needle. I mimicked this line in my poem by saying "I nauseate the human man who thinks/a gate suits a dog despite higher wits than he/credit is due to dear dogs but man doesn't give due/"(2,3-5). I said this to mean that a gate is better suited to hold a dog rather than it roam freely. Such as the free roaming of a woman's pen.

Gordon said this of Anne "She would take each issue by the scruff of the neck and shake hard until the stuffing spilled out; no important topic of the day would be off-limits"(Gordon). This inspired me to read more about Anne Bradstreet and think of her bravery. Anne was not a person I imagine to go and lay like a dog next to the food dish and wait for happiness. This is a play on our personal image of a woman  and a dog being seen as inferior to man. The imagery in my poem compared with Bradstreets' is not quite as sharp, but I think we can still imagine the inferiority of each living being. Anne and Gordon both used the image and perception of a woman to teach a lesson about gender discrimination and to express the importance of Anne's travels and her reaction as a writer. I turned that in to a sort of Allegorical story telling in my poem as I wrote from the perspective of a dog. Her reaction as a writer who was a woman was uncommon at the time. Ann Woodlief had written a biography about Bradstreet titled "Anne Bradstreet, Biography by Ann Woodlief". In the biography it is explained again how Anne traveled and began to write. Woodlief says "Anne seems to have written poetry primarily for herself, her family, and her friends, many of whom were very well educated" (Woodlief). This tells me that Bradstreet enjoyed writing and exercising her right to be educated and heard if given an opportunity. My poem, though written by a dog, tells me that credit is due to a dog, and freedom to roam or write is a deserved and basic right, just as it is for a woman.

"A Different Class--Who'll Listen? Or, a Glimpse of Town Life. By, Mrs. Elli McCrady"

Written by Crystal Malm

"Jack will take your banana," said Miss Lilianna Ruthinski, a ruthless munchkin of no more than seven years,

dressed in grungy purple plaid, hair stringing, sticking to her dirty munchkin face hidden beneath a faded purple

bandanna, matching, like they do in the west, holding a squirming, flea infested, stray cat under her arm.

"Jack wants to have a banana, says you got yourself extras."

This rationalization, "'says you got extras",

is precisely enough to make your things the items of everyone.

Because, in Arizona, if you have a particularly comfortable lifestyle

with food on your table, and horses to carry you kindly, you are expected to share your wealth.

To not be valueable to your community by generously providing your items is considered

inexcusably rude. If you have the best horse, it must be the horse of your neighbor, for, they will come knocking.

For, within your own home you may use your things, dine with food that you may have purcahsed, harvested, worked for, but

when at your door, there may be a knock. Not only are your horses for the purpose of trotting all members of the town around town,

but your souffle cups, your linens, blankets, children, knives and forks, each wander through the hands of all who ask.

The expectations are high as your personal wealth accumulates. for, accumulate it will not. Not without the hands of

another who sees it best fit their lifestyle, as well.

But, I am not here to tell you of the expectations of Arizona's town in which

Miss Lilianna and sir Jack reside in their homes of borrowed things.

I have a story to share.

My favorite student is one Ms. Jill Holiday, so well spoken

in her speeches, her voice never flutters or shakes. Her enthusiasm is contagious, one might misjudge

Ms. Holiday if given such a small chance at meeting.

But, Ms. Jill Holiday has, like many students, a nemesis.

A nemesis with such a bitter grudge that one does not choose the company of both parties. 

Jack is a long faced fellow with dark eyes and a quick wit, enough to freeze your pantaloons if you

dare stand between he and his goal.

My meta-commentary.

A New Home--Who'll Follow? Or, Glimpses of Western Life by, Mrs. Mary Clavers by Caroline Kirkland has been one of my favorite works of American literature that we had read in the beginning of this semester. I had such an appreciation for the literary style she had chosen for this piece. Specifically, her use of characterization. the development of her characters allowed for an attachment to form between them that most people could have identified with in some way. When considering writing a parody, I also wanted to include her use of dialect for the characters as she had used, at the same time, I wanted to portray her as an intelligent writer who is eloquent in her speaking voice. My Parody, "A Different Class--Who'll Listen? Or, a Glimpse of Town Life. By, Mrs. Elli McCrady" had to include a story to begin the discussion such as the exchange of personal goods between the community and the story had to develop into another, separate story. I also enjoy how the story developed into one that I hadn't;t expected, with a different set of characters. For example, the first line in our reading Kirkland writes "Mother wants your sifter," said Miss Ianthe Howard"(114) gives us the impression that the story will be about Ms. Howard, a six year old. Instead, she writes about the neighborhood in Michigan for one chapter and then says "But I did not intend to write a chapter on involuntary loans; I have a story to tell" (116). This is an unexpected twist in the direction of the story.  She does continue to use a dialect that allows for a real exchange between characters in another time and place.

One of the reasons I had wanted to embrace the challenge of this parody was to try to maintain the use of dialect as well as maintaining my personal voice as the narrator, as Kirkland has done. We can read her words separately from those of the characters and place in in different towns. Kirland's own words are well written and her intelligence is apparent. Her sentences run on in a nice rhythm. She described the expectations surrounding the lending of personal items with a long, detailed sentance. She said "Not only are all kitchen utensils as much your neighbours as your own, but bedsteads, beds, blankets, sheets, travel from house to house, a pleasant and effectual mode of securing the perpetuity of certain efflorescent peculiarities of the skin, for which Michigan is becoming almost as famous as the land "'twixt Maidenkirk and John o' Groat's." I could only hope to reflect this in my Parody. 

We had a reading from the web site of the Scribbling Women that has included a biography of Caroline Kirkland stating " Her mother was herself a poet and fiction writer, and Kirkland grew up in a secure middle-class home. She was able to attend a school headed by her aunt and then, by becoming a teacher there, to contribute substantially to her family's income"(Scribbling Women). This gives readers an insight into Kirkland's family history, potentially influencing them to perceives her to be an intelligent writer with the expectation for her to be great. After Kirkland moved to a small village she had written A New Home--Who'll Follow? Or, Glimpses of Western Life by, Mrs. Mary Clavers. It is possible that, at this time she was able to develop the character dialects that she used. The writers of Sribbling Women said "The book was a partly satirical look at the trials of traveling to the West and adjusting to life in a village like Pinkney told in the voice of "Mary Clavers"(Scribbling Women). Kirkland was highly praised by Poe, and is now read by students all over. I think that it was cleverly written, characterized, and I hope that I didn't do it too much harm in my parody.