18 pages • 36 minutes read
Sharon OldsI Go Back to May 1937
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2004A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“Saturn“ by Sharon Olds (1982)
This poem, published first in The Missouri Review, details an abusive father devouring his son, much like the god Saturn who does the same to his son. Like “I Go Back to May 1937,” the first-person speaker of the poem observes the abuse and tries to give the abuse meaning in order to process the abuse and recover.
“Little Things” by Sharon Olds (1987)
Like “I Go Back to May 1937,” this poem appears in The Gold Cell. The poem addresses the speaker’s struggles with their memories of an abusive father. While clearing the breakfast dishes years after the abuse took place, the speaker concentrates on the little things they love about their own children to ground themselves and find relief from their own pain.
“After 37 Years My Mother Apologizes for My Childhood” by Sharon Olds (2004)
In this poem from Strike Sparks (2004), the speaker discusses their mother’s apologies for harm done during childhood. For the speaker, their mother’s explanations cause them to re-evaluate their experience. The speaker’s process is particularly relevant to “I Go Back to May 1937,” which appears next to poems that discuss the speaker’s abuse by the mother in The Gold Cell.
Further Literary Resources
An Interview with Sharon Olds by Mary Block, assisted by Jakki Kerubo (2012)
In this interview with the literary magazine Washington Square, Olds talks about her acceptance of herself as an autobiographical writer, while she also discusses how difficult it still is to discuss her family. This nuance is relevant to “I Go Back to May 1937” as Olds has often been questioned about the autobiographical nature of her poetry in relation to her parents. Olds also describes her use of free verse and the physical shape of her poetry.
“The Unarrestable Development of Sharon Olds“ by Tony Hoagland (2009)
In this article for The American Poetry Review, poet Tony Hoagland, defends Olds against her critics. He addresses the richness of her subject matter as he counters accusations that she has not grown since writing her early poems and that she has been recycling themes and material.
Interview with Sharon Olds by Kaveh Akbar (2014)
In this interview, Olds speaks with Divedapper’s founder and poet Kaveh Akbar about her work, her early career, and the humanity of art. Though the poets do not discuss “I Go Back to May 1937” in a direct way, Akbar does ask Olds about her experiences with early rejection and difficult critical reception. Akbar notes Olds as a major literary figure who guides others. Akbar and Olds also discuss the use of vocabulary and other poetic techniques.
Listen to Poem
This is an audio recording of Olds reading the version of the poem in The Gold Cell, published in 1987. This was part of the Visiting Writers Series at Austin Peay State University in 1989.
The 1987 version of Sharon Olds’s’ poem from The Gold Cell is present during the graduation scene, as the character of Christopher McCandless, played by Emile Hirsch, reads the poem out loud. The poem starts at the time stamp of 1:28.
Related Titles
By Sharon Olds
