McMullenMary Jo Bang :Apology for WantQuiet, unassuming, serene. These characteristics define the appearance of poet Mary Jo Bang. There is, however, another side to the humble St. Louis native which is not readily apparent by either her looks or her demeanor. Beneath her deceiving facade lies another person entirely, which only emerges through her poetic talents.Although she also read from her new manuscript which has not yet gone to print, Mary Jo Bang primarily read from her collection which won the Katherine Bakeless Nason poetry prize in 1996, entitled Apology for Want. According to Edward Hirsch "Apology for Want is, a...dark [and] unabashed apology for desire." But there's something more to her work than confessing the yearnings of humanity, no matter how tarnished they may be. Her work is very personal, yet it touches home, inspiring a feeling of understanding and enlightenment which is very hard to accomplish. The Desert at Hand, the first poem she read to us, although by far the one which moved me the most, seemed very confusing at first. She opens "Love is also fragment: the cheek of the moon's fat-boy face giving itself up to be kissed, the ingredient phrase, I can't live without you, the sum of the few words that truly invent themselves - You are." At first, the impression of the poem's direction and attitude seemed positive, inspiring the thought that love really is self-sufficient despite it's fragility. Even the title The Desert at Hand seems to imply a biblical simile, that love is a test which can both test and strengthen you, just as Jesus' 40 days in the desert was a time of great temptation and redemption for him.Surprisingly, the poem shifts its focus off of love and to a very similar subject, although it has a slightly less favorable connotation: desire. "Tomorrow [is] getting shorter, even as we speak. In this flinty age of materialism we've gorown fond of witches - they embody our with to believe, to...
