First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

The World’s Wife

Carol Ann Duffy was named the new Poet Laureate of Britain on May 1st.  She is the first woman to be appointed in the 341 year history of the post. Mrs. Darwin (the poem below) is from her 1999 collection, The World’s Wife, which also includes Mrs. Rip Van Winkle, Mrs. Icarus, Frau Freud and Queen Kong.

MRS DARWIN

7 April 1852
Went to the Zoo
I said to him — Something about that Chimpanzee over there
reminds me of you

Is There a Difference between a Spinster and a Confirmed Bachelor?

Reading articles about David Souter’s retirement from the Supreme Court, I was fascinated to learn that he’s a “confirmed bachelor.”  I wonder how this biographical detail would play out in the media, if we were talking about a never-married woman. Would there be a difference?

(this image is from a magnet, available for sale.)