Nature speaks her mission

The main thing that both Jordan Davis and Jon Christensen (our reviewers of INTERPRETIVE WORK) seemed to agree on the most was Elizabeth Bradfield was extremely successful in gracefully conveying her point of view on the queer theory and on being lesbian. I thought she was gentle about it, not abrasively in-your-face like she could be (and has the respectfully has the right to be). Her nature imagery was a great way to soften the controversial subject matter (by de-personifying it), and her tone in the selected poems from INTERPRETIVE WORK that we read was encouraging me to listen to her, rather than being self-righteous. Jordan Davis, in contrast, thinks that "describ[ing] photographs, specimens, and otherwise seeking distance from experience" is a weakness of Bradfield's poetry, but I must say I disagree. I think that Bradfield strategically describes these rather than experience in order to be more diplomatic about her point of view.

Bradfield makes up for the gentleness of her nature poetry by "incongruity, outlaw difference, and sheer perverse terror and delight in bad language." Who doesn't love bad language?! Again, the subject matter is calmed by nature references (ex: the Georgia O'Keefe reference "penis tulips and pussy daffodils"), but using curse language shows me the passion behind her writing. In the section of "Cul-de-sac Linguistics" that both reviewers talk about, there is no flat-out mention of these boys calling HER and her lover bad names, but there is the implication. By implying, or showing rather than telling us this, Bradfield aroused sympathy and even empathy in me, while if she had just told us the situation, I don't think I would have felt as strongly. It is the snippets of emotion in the bad language in combination with the gentle explanation of her situation through nature symbolism that make Bradfield's mission a successful one.

This also goes for "Butch Poem 6", where the speaker endears us to a male alto opera singer. The speaker erases gender roles for us by describing this man's beautiful, scene-stealing voice that happens to be meant for a woman. Bradfield is much more obvious about her stance on the queer issue here, rather than diluting it in nature symbolism. The speaker encourages the reader to "let him sing without the accompaniment/of rustle. Let him sing without any doubt/betwee body and voice." It is obvious how empowered this man made the speaker feel in her own gender role.

To be honest, I didn't pick up on the volume of commentary on sexuality that Bradfield wove into APPROACHING ICE, and I definitely think that if I went back and read the book over I would see certain symbols and metaphors in different ways. I really respect and applaud the mission Bradfield is on in her writing, and I believe that she is doing a wonderful job of inviting the reader into her poetry rather than excluding them by being self-righteous. She uses nature symbols and intrapersonal stories to encourage us to listen to her. Unlike Jordan Davis who dislikes her avoiding talking about her experience, I think Elizabeth Bradfield's mission through her poetry is strengthened by it.