Sharon Bryan 03-15-1990
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Issue Date
1990-03-15
Authors
Bryan, Sharon 19900315
Publisher
SUNY Brockport
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Reading List
"Breaking and Entering" from "Objects of Affection" (0:35)
"Viewing the Body" "from Salt Air" (16:08)
"Theory" from "Flying Blind: Poems" (38:27)
"Trimmings" from "Flying Blind: Poems" (39:47)
Abstract
Sharon Bryan Reads "Breaking and Entering" from "Objects of Affection" (0:35). Stan Saville Rubin interviews Sharon Bryan. Bryan was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and educated at the University of Utah where she studied philosophy, Cornell University where she received an MA in anthropology, and The University of Iowa Writers Workshop where she earned her MFA. She's the author of two collections of poetry, "Salt Air" published in 1983, and "Objects of Affection" published in 1987 by Wesleyan University Press. She has received awards including The Academy of American Poets Prize, the Discovery the Nation Award, and the Governor's Award from the State of Washington, and has held NEA fellowships. At the time of filming Bryan is a Professor of English at the Memphis State University and editor of the literary magazine River City. Stan opens the conversation with an invitation to discuss the origin and nature of the opening poem. Bryan outlines the story and the influences that aided her creation of the poem. Expanding further into the content of "Objects of Affection", they discuss the heavy handed artistic and literary influences that are found in a number of the collected poems. Bryan talks about why the unaddressed epitaph is at the beginning of "Objects of Affection" and what informed her decision to put it there. Stan asks her about the careful organization of the collection but Bryan reveals that the organization wasn't as deeply considered as it appears. They talk about the style of her poems and how she tends not to use prose. Stan moves the conversation to "Salt Air" which was written 6 years after leaving Iowa. Bryan talks about how so much of her life was leaving behind Salt Lake. Bryan reads "Viewing the Body" "from Salt Air" (16:08). Bryan speaks on when she first knew she wanted to write and how she meandered through her education because, as far as she was aware, creative writing as an occupation wasn't available until she had arrived at Cornell and then why she chose to go to the Iowa Writers Workshop. Stan asks Bryan to speak at length about her role as Editor of the River City literary magazine and how she looks at poetry through that editor's lens. They discuss the social significance of poetry and address critiques about poetry's place for speaking on difficult issues of the time. Bryan talks about the major influences on her writing and her push to publish her poetry for public consumption and how she found out her first collection was going to be printed. Bryan reads "Theory" from her upcoming collection of poems "Flying Blind: Poems" (38:27) and "Trimmings" also from "Flying Blind: Poems" (39:47).
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