A Jelly-Fish

“Poetry” by Marianne Moore (1919)

Beginning with the provocative line, “I too dislike it,” the poem “Poetry” is akin to a manifesto. Moore reveals her impatience with the view that poetry is an inherently superior form of language. She makes the case that “business documents and school books” also have importance. She rails against critics who insist on “a high-sounding interpretation” at the expense of “the raw material of poetry.” The poem combines striking images with an address to the reader in everyday, conversational terms.

“Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore” by Elizabeth Bishop (1937)

After being introduced to Moore in the early 1930s by a librarian at the New York Library, Elizabeth Bishop became Moore’s protégé, and the two developed a lifelong friendship, despite the gap of 24 years between them. They corresponded frequently by letter, sharing a fascination with sea creatures and other objects found at the shoreline. Bishop’s poem captures her love of Moore’s eccentricity and brilliance, with the repeated refrain “Please come flying” indicating the energy of her presence. The line “with your musical inaudible abacus” references Moore’s technical ability to create a poetic music through her unconventional syllabics.

“The Paper Nautilus” by Marianne Moore (1940)

Written more than 30 years after “A Jelly-Fish,” “A Paper Nautilus” was inspired by Bishop’s gift to Moore of a nautilus shell found at the shoreline. The older poet’s response contains an awareness of the perils of the literary celebrity she then enjoyed, noting that the shell is not for “writers entrapped by / teatime fame and by / commuter comforts.” Over the poem’s five syllabically crafted stanzas, Moore expresses her admiration and even identification with the eight-armed mollusk that constructs an intricate shell in which to keep her eggs safe.