Penelope Scambly Schott

The poet tells the story of Penelope Stout, 17th century immigrant to the New World and an early settler of New Jersey, in a series of linked poems. The little that is known about Penelope Stout is woven into the poems along with imagery drawn from the Odyssey, Lenape language and customs, and feminism. I was drawn to it because Penelope Stout is a distant ancestor. The poems are written from Penelope Stout's perspective, and reading the collection helped me to imagine her as a living, show more breathing person who was more than a name and a legend to her family and neighbors. The book includes an afterword that explains which aspects of the poems are true and which are imagined, as well as a bibliography listing works that form the basis of the poet's knowledge of Penelope Stout and her circumstances. The collection will appeal to readers with an interest in early New Jersey or Dutch history as well as to the many descendants of Penelope Stout. show less

The line that I will take from this book, the line which has been haunting me:

Sometimes the opposite of loss is loss.

Absolutely gorgeous. As a whole, I love the fleshiness of the poems here, the way Schott inhabits her body and uses it as a vehicle for poetry, as a way in and a way through. I should probably come back to this in a few years, and see how my reaction changes.

I really like Schott's poetry. My review of this book is currently looking for a publication outlet, and here is a mini-sampling: "Every single poem in this collection delivers the unexpected. Schott’s imagination is filled with linkages that are startling, and the natural way they unfold is in itself strange and exciting." I think this poetry collection would appeal particularly to poetry readers who are also writers -- there is much to learn from the craft and the imagination displayed show more in these poems. I found myself wanting to respond to many of the poems with writing exercises of my own. An excellent read. show less

Penelope: The Story of the Half-Scalped Woman by Penelope Scambly Schott is a short poetic sequence narrated by Penelope Stout, a young English woman, who sailed with her husband from Holland to America in the early 17th c. Their ship went aground at Sandy Hook, and Penelope and her husband were attacked by Lenape Indians. He was killed; she was left for dead. But eight days later, she was rescued by Machk, a warrior who took her back to the tribe where she was healed. She was "rescued" from show more the tribe by English and Dutch settlers, subsequently remarried, had 10 children and died at 92 with over 500 living descendants. The narrator of the poem is a woman who embraces life and savors the society both of her compatriots and the Native Americans who rescued her. The open verse poems briefly evoke historic events and events in Penelope's long life, but they carry a fair amount of emotional weight.

SALVAGE

The sea is flotsam
of sea foam and dust.

Twirl your stick
in its socket of dry wood;

fire

pierces
the old wound.

The sell of the world
cracks loose.

Who so fierce
as a woman in labor?

Only
the gaping, hollow sea.

Penelope pulls for shore.

Recommended as a quick hour's read. show less