Mary Karr- the author of the poem "Still Memory"- was born in a small town in South East Texas. She is known for writing poems based on memories, especially ones of her sister. This poem really portrays that part of her. The whole poem is about a certain memory of her childhood but starts out "The dream was so deep..." I'm not sure if it really is a dream or if Karr is just setting up her memory as a dream. Never the less, she talks about her father "...in the doorway, not dead, just home from the graveyard shift...," her mother "rummages through silver...," and her sister "steps fast because the bathroom tiles are cold..." Each description gives a different aspect to the memory and makes it come more alive.
Mary Karr also said that when she was 11, she had a notebook "to write poetry and autobiography." At the end of the poem "Still Memory," Karr makes a direct reference to this.
"My ten-year-old hand reaches
for a pen to record it all
as would become long habit."
This seems to be the climax of the poem. Her first memories of writing poems.
Good background! Interesting.
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