Femme du Monde (Woman of the World).Femme femme adj. Slang Exhibiting stereotypical or exaggerated feminine traits. Used especially of lesbians and gay men. n. 1. Slang One who is femme. 2. Informal A woman or girl. du Monde n. 1. The world; a globe as an ensign of royalty. Le beau monde fashionable society. See Beau monde. Demi monde See Demimonde. (Woman of the World) By Patricia Spears Jones Tie Chucha Press, June 2006 $13.95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 1-882-68831-7 Spears Jones's second collection of poems, Femme du Monde, does not simply unfold the artful experiences of a woman who has traveled and soaked up the international monuments of canvas, celluloid and literature. These are the careful insights from a woman who has experienced and noticed more tragic scenes. When she begins with the descriptive speculation of being with her girlfriends and watching a scene between a girl and a man in the opening poem, "Hope, Arkansas Hope is a small city in Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 10,467.[1] The city is the county seat of Hempstead CountyGR6. 1970," Spears Jones clearly sets the tone for such possibilities of travel as a broadening life experience. The terse ballad of lost love "Emergency Eye Wash" and the reality of "Shack With Vines" prefacing "Why I Left the Country: A Suite" only reinforces this idea of internal travels, as the poet traverses Europe, the East Coast and other locations. These poems do more than take us to a place through mentioning Italy, Japan or Russia. In "Sapphire," regarding the character from Amos'n'Andy, the reader finds a tribute veiled in the experiences of a cosmopolitan black person who has "a working knowledge of Celtic mythology and hoodoo, shouts and blues." Even as she pokes fun at this perception of the cultured African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. , the author still doses with such finesse on many of these poems as if she has clicked a perfect lid shut on a souvenir, as when she describes the chocolatier's children who "lick the brutalized ears with much joy." The end of "My Matthew Shepard Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was fatally attacked near Laramie, on the night of October 6 – October 7, 1998 in what was widely reported by international news media as a savage Poem" is another brilliant proverb-like example: "If the dress shoe fits, may it pinch like hell." The subtle entrances of black characters are evidence of Spears Jones's crafted grace, especially in poems like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof or Liz in Lingerie," where the typically unnoticed black servants make appearances. Although the book itself is a journey, the poems spool themselves out like a series of escapades. The reader has to wonder where she will end up next in the sojourns of the poet. Tara Betts is an MFA See multifactor authentication. candidate at New England College. |
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