Marvin+Bell

Marvin Bell:

Patrick Searles AP Lit B1 Marvin Bell is a contemporary American poet and teacher. Bell grew up in Center Moriches, Long Island. He served in the U. S. Army from 1964 to 1965 at the rank of First Lieutenant. He has an extensive educational back ground and writes a variety of poetry. He is the author of over twenty books of poetry.

The poem the “Draft Age” by Marvin Bell is one of his better poems. This poem of his actually has some relatable meaning and has a clear flow and tone throughout the piece. This poem discusses the daily struggle of life and the idea that the end will never come. However, the end has come and he looks back as it is hard for him to realize how he got through his earlier years and the pains/struggles that he went through in his youth. Bell also talks about the way adulthood looks very difficult and clearly impossible as if he could not survive to be as great and intelligent as an adult. In the second stanza he turns the tone a little and starts to relate real life with war. The first stanza incorporates physical pain but it is further emphasizes in the second stanza when it references “bullets” and “death” (lines 9 & 14). This stanza is a key part of the poem and, in my opinion, ties the other two stanzas together. It also gives a break from his basic ranting and whining in the first and last stanza. The poem is written in a way that gives off a childlike whining and complaining kind of feel. In the last stanza I like how he brings it to a good close with an important thought. He claims that even though you hear about trouble and read about it the real struggles in your life will be in the future as you progress. Things that are not written in history books or taught in school.
 * Draft Age**:

It could be a clip, it could be a comb; it could be your mother, coming home. It could be a rooster; perhaps it’s a comb; it could be your father, coming home. It could be a paper; it could be a pin. It could be your childhood, sinking in.
 * Obsessive**

The toys give off the nervousness of age. It’s useless pretending they aren’t finished: faces faded, unable to stand, buttons lost down the drain during baths. Those were the days we loved down there, the soap disappearing as the water spoke,

saying, it could be a wheel, maybe a pipe; it could be your father, taking his nap. Legs propped straight, the head tilted back; the end was near when he could keep track. It could be the first one; it could be the second; the father of a friend just sickened and sickened.

Obsessive: My first thought about the poem “Obsessive” by Marvin Bell is that the title is a little off. In the first stanza the author sounds paranoid more than obsessed because each line starts with “it could be” (lines 1 – 6). The repetition has a tone of anxiety and fear. These two titles are similar but I feel that “Paranoia” would be a better title for the first stanza. Also the poem starts off with a stream of consciousness kind of feel by the way he repeats “comb” and the way the lines give the reader a feeling of anxiety and hurriedness (lines 1 & 3). This element also adds to both titles that could be used for the first stanza alone. The last two stanzas of the poem gain a little more of a store line. Again, the theme of the second two stanzas is unfocused and lacks the feeling of obsession. He references childhood and confusion/curiosity that goes along with that age. The poem as a whole is confusing to me as to what the author is trying to convey through his looping words and confusing ideas. However during the second stanza he talks about old memories that have faded but he is reminded about his toys. He also speaks of certain memories involving sound and how his child like mind perceived their connections with other memories. By these lines and the title of the poem I assume he is obsessed with the past including his childhood and paranoia.

Installment 2:



This poem is full of strong imagery involving nature which is calming to read. I think that this poem has a different mood than the rest of Marvin Bell’s work. For the most part his writing is depressing or strange due to his depressing life full of sadness and trouble. In line one he starts off with “I cant stand this much open feeling” which makes it sound just like his other various topics which tend to be repetitive and annoying due to their depressing topics and ideas. However, he goes on to expound about this great calming joy of a beautiful landscape set in winter. The view is grand and open which creates an overwhelming feeling of joy as he goes into detail to ponder such beauty. I really enjoy the last stanza where he conveys the idea that it is hard to ponder deeply in places of disturbance and excitement. This idea is shown in the first two lines of the last stanza. I agree with him that it is difficult to focus on joyful things in places with too much distraction and disturbance. From the way he wrote this poem it seems that he is alone in this great area of land and that he finds enjoyment in solitude and comfort. In the third line of the last stanza he leaves his house “cold and happy” which seems contradictory since he is cold which most people find uncomfortable. However, it makes sense because he is filled with excitement about the beauty of the landscape which can also disract him from unpleasant things. This is a nice short poem about happier things rather than Bell’s usual tone and mood of sadness and sad ideas.





My first thoughts about this poem are directed towards the title which is always important when studying a poem or piece of work. Before reading the poem, I realized that the title could mean different things like a topic involving climate or maybe even about dimensions. His first lines give me the idea that he is discussing nonsense and useless things that should not be thought too hardly about. Lines three through five are written in a way that the reader can understand that these ideas are a waste of time by the repetition and flow. In the first stanza he asks “who has that kind of time to spend?” which clearly shows his view on the subject such that he finds it to be nonsense that is not worth the effort to ponder. The speaker in the poem is an observer of others around him. The main idea of the poem is that people should stop over analyzing thing which is ironic since I am analyzing this poem in depth even though its meaning is simple. Rather, the speaker is pushing the idea that we should just take things for what they are which is illustrated in the dialogue portion of the poem when he gives short brief answers to questions that some schools would make students write a multi-page paper about. A big idea here is that society should enjoy things for their obvious beauty instead of ruining everything by picking things apart.

Bell, Marvin. "Landscape with Open Spaces." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 1 Oct. 1983. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.

Bell, Marvin. "The 3 Corners of Reality." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 1 Mar. 1965. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.

Unknown. Life Is in Its Struggles. Digital image. Http://finkorswim.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.//

//Marvin Bell, “Obsessive” from Nightworks: Poems 1962-2000. Copyright © 2000 by Marvin Bell. Reprinted with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P. O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271,//

//Bell, Marvin. "Poetry Magazine." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, Oct. 1983. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.//

//Refat. Paranoia. Digital image. Http://www.minddisorders.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016

McCormick, Joe. Avoid Excessive Detail. Digital image. Http://thebrieflab.com. N.p., 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.//

//Unknown. Lone Tree. Digital image. Https://www.pexels.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.