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Four Sublets
Cultural Writing. Biography and Memoir. Poetry. FOUR SUBLETS is the story of a woman in love with poetry, the poetic life, and the things she did for love. Shapiro moved to New York City in her middle years, rebelling against her expected role of wife and mother in Chatanooga to create the life of a poet. Maureen Murdock says of FOUR SUBLETS, "The beauty of Shapiro's language and the depth of her wisdom inspire each one of us to find a room of our own. Give this courageous memoir to any woman you know who longs to make a creative life." Shapiro's poems have appeared in many literary journals including: The Ohio Review, River Styx, Pearl, Ploughshares, The Poetry Miscellany, Southern Indiana Review as well as several anthologies. She is also the author of I'll See You Thursday, a collection of poetry.
189 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 2, 2016
I began reading "Four Sublets" with the mistaken idea that it was a fictional telling of 4 interrelated stories--it says "memoir" on the cover, so I don't know where I got that idea--and I was disappointed to find that it was not.
And then...I was irritated by Shapiro's voice, but also interested--she is of my mother's generation, and seemed to have the same sense of oppression and angry unhappiness that I heard so often in my mother's words and didn't quite understand. It often just seems like whining as she dismisses most people and activities as unworthy of her time and attention. I understand the feeling she has of unequal opportunity, and I get the longing for acknowledgement and visibility--after all, the work of caretakers, traditionally "women's work", still has no status--and both men and women are classified by the status of their work, which often considers mostly the size of their paychecks--I get that.
But equating being a wife and mother with slavery? Feeling that you had no other choice but to take on the role of mother and you hated every minute of it, feeling that your family kept from "real" life? I never got that. Especially since Shapiro gets to go to school (paid for by her husband; she did not need to work and take out loans in order to do it), works as a teacher/librarian, and then when her children are grown, gets to play at becoming a poet with time and resources that most (and that includes fathers) would never even come close to having access to. And she is not a bit grateful for that financial freedom either. I don't think it ever enters her mind, that the opportunities she has to pursue her dreams are just not even an option for most people, men and women both.
Somehow people manage to write, find communities, and do good creative work even without trips to Europe and workshops all over the world with famous poets, without having dinners out every night while subletting a series of apartments in New York City. They actually write while raising families and working and interacting with people whose lives are not consumed by poetry.
The broader context of such a life might even give more depth and understanding to their voices.
And then...I was irritated by Shapiro's voice, but also interested--she is of my mother's generation, and seemed to have the same sense of oppression and angry unhappiness that I heard so often in my mother's words and didn't quite understand. It often just seems like whining as she dismisses most people and activities as unworthy of her time and attention. I understand the feeling she has of unequal opportunity, and I get the longing for acknowledgement and visibility--after all, the work of caretakers, traditionally "women's work", still has no status--and both men and women are classified by the status of their work, which often considers mostly the size of their paychecks--I get that.
But equating being a wife and mother with slavery? Feeling that you had no other choice but to take on the role of mother and you hated every minute of it, feeling that your family kept from "real" life? I never got that. Especially since Shapiro gets to go to school (paid for by her husband; she did not need to work and take out loans in order to do it), works as a teacher/librarian, and then when her children are grown, gets to play at becoming a poet with time and resources that most (and that includes fathers) would never even come close to having access to. And she is not a bit grateful for that financial freedom either. I don't think it ever enters her mind, that the opportunities she has to pursue her dreams are just not even an option for most people, men and women both.
Somehow people manage to write, find communities, and do good creative work even without trips to Europe and workshops all over the world with famous poets, without having dinners out every night while subletting a series of apartments in New York City. They actually write while raising families and working and interacting with people whose lives are not consumed by poetry.
The broader context of such a life might even give more depth and understanding to their voices.
August 16, 2007
Reading this book was like reading my life. It inspired me to continue my journey to New York City and it inspired me to keep writing because it is something I simply have to do. Myra Shapiro writes and honest memoir and adds her poetry in just enough to make this the perfect read. I always wanted to know more but I didn't want it to ever end.
May 20, 2008
revealing, straight, fun, a personal journey to poetry and freedom while keeping her marriage
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews