Alice Notley reading review by Jessie Branch

Alice Notley is a poet who writes and speaks with such intensity and conviction one cannot help but listen; her words come with a sense of non-complacency, forming themselves into a monologue of powerful ideas. At St. Marks Cathedral on April 15, 2015, Notley read unpublished poetry from an upcoming collection entitled "Certain Magical Acts". These poems are reminiscent of a train of thought, with a multitude of voices contradicting one another as they become "certain" of things.  She wrote primarily about being a woman in a society run by men, about being a working-class person working towards a life spent behind a flat screen TV, and about the relationship between mind and body.

            Notley took the stage and immediately began reading, beginning with no personal introduction. Her voice was unwavering with vigor and sorrowful steadfastness, and one can instantly sense her allegiance to her words. Many of her poems centered on noncompliance with the patriarchy; one standout line read "mightier than the pen or the penis, my mind is". She spoke of freeing oneself from imaginary boundaries implemented by society, such as the desire for women to be submissive in relationships and the assumption that women must glamorize their outward appearances rather than focus on their intellect. At the same time, she maintained a pragmatic and genuine view when she said "I accept you like the weather", and "I see what he's really like when I'm asleep". She showed vulnerability and allowed herself to feel submissive at times, to feel undercut by her male counterpart, to ignore her intuition for a moment only to rediscover it in sleep. Her relatability is one of the strongest components of her poetry.

            Another focus of her work at this reading was existentialism with an emphasis on the relationship between mind and body.  She asked, "Do real people talk like we're talking now?" and continued to question the nature of the human body as an incidental vessel for the spirit when she inquired, "Why did I get human features". One of Alice Notley's greatest literary techniques is the use of contradiction, which gives her poems a more confessional quality, though she prefaced her reading by stating that these poems were not meant to be her words. Her contradiction was particularly charming when she said, "I don't want to talk to anyone but I also have to say that".

            Notley maintained an air of familiarity, pausing only briefly for laughter and applause after notable phrases. After reading some 15 unpublished works, she looked out into the crowded cathedral and humbly thanked the audience, who were (judging by the sighs, wet eyes, and energy in the room) deeply moved by the reading.