Josephine Jacobsen

When you think of a poet, who do you think of? The answer tends to be Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, E. E. Cummings, or Maya Angelou. Many people will jabber on and on about how they love their works, but being a true lover of poetry means you don't just only read the classics, but you also look for other poetry that should be considered a classic, but was unfortunate enough to get left behind. It seems that there was not room for Josephine Jacobsen and her works in the spotlight, so they got pushed into the shadows.

Jacobsen's works tend to have a Spanish inspiration behind them, and simple, but perfect, lines within. Rainy Night at the Writers' Colony is my favorite piece of hers simply because of one line. The reason why this one line gets to me and echoes in my head for days after I read the poem is not known to me. But I do know that every once in a while, we hear a question that makes us think so hard that it leaves us speechless. This is one of those lines: "What do we say worth the while of the ears of the dead?" Many of you may be quick to answer, most of you will not care. Yet I dwell on the question.

Though my favorite Jacobsen piece will always be Rainy Night at the Writers' Colony, I think It Is the Season should also be considered a classic. Jacobsen speaks of the changing of the seasons, and us with it. She talks about how we know the change will come, and we rehearse our goodbyes, and yet we are shocked to have to welcome the new.

Surely the other poets could scoot over a little to make room for one more. Josephine Jacobsen deserves that bright light just as much as the other poets do. Her pieces are no less great, no less inspiring or intriguing.  Though people are stubborn and don't take well to ideas that are not their own. Perhaps I will have to be satisfied with just knowing that I put her center stage. Even a good play will not have a big audience if there was bad advertisement.