Connect with others who understand.

Sign up Log in
Resources
About MyMSTeam
Powered By
See answer
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
NEWS

Review: Rita Dove’s ‘Playlist for the Apocalypse’

Written by Francie MacDougall
Posted on September 30, 2021


(Gage Skidmore/W. W. Norton & Company)

As personal and public tragedies play out across the world, Rita Dove’s latest poetry collection, “Playlist for the Apocalypse,” has arrived, arming readers with perspective and a voice for our time.

Even before I dove into the collection, I knew I admired Dove. She is one of us, a multiple sclerosis (MS) warrior, who has made little of her disease even as she battles it daily with medicines and exercise, attitude, and will.

Dove’s poem “Soup,” in the “Little Book of Woe” section, relates what she thought about after her neurologist gave her an MS diagnosis: “I have good news and bad news …” Her mind wandered, then landed on the process of making comforting, edifying soup to blunt the harshness of the notion that there was bad news to accept. “Yes, soup was what I wanted,” she wrote. “Not news / but the slow courage of the lentil / as it softened, its heart splitting into wings.” She writes about longing for the simplicity and easy navigability of a recipe that’s been made repeatedly — altered and improved with time and practice — not the uncharted territory of a disease that has no cure.

In fact, the relatability, vision, wisdom, and humor expressed throughout the collection captivate on every page. The poem “Family Reunion” talks about the mayhem of a gathering of children and adults, all bearing a slight resemblance. “Hordes of progeny are swirling / and my cousins yakking on as if they were waist-deep in quicksand,” Dove writes, conjuring memories of the noise and chaos of the ultimate superspreader event, the family reunion.

Dove must have written “Pedestrian Crossing: Charlottesville” on a frustrating day, trying to get to work while stymied by young University of Virginia students crossing the road, oblivious to traffic and courtesy: “Look how they dart / and dither, changing flanks as they lurch / along — golden gobbets of infuriating foolishness / or pure joy, depending on one’s disposition.” She forgives their silliness, however: “Unfair, / I know, my aggression — to lump them / into a gaggle (silly geese!) when all / they’re guilty of is being young. So far.”

But Dove’s reflections on our current times and the profound events of the past 50 years are the most bracing in the collection. She writes, “Believers slaughter their doubters / while the greedy oil their lips with excuses / and the righteous turn merciless; the merciful, mad.” Her poetic, lyrical assessments of the injustices and hypocrisies of the past are almost more poignant than any play-by-play prose we read online or in magazines today. They evoke emotion and confusion, rage and indignation.

As more of a prose reader, I’ve missed out on much of Dove’s work and awards, which include her recognition as former poet laureate of the United States with both a National Humanities Medal and the National Medal of Arts — but her current book inspires me to look again, to research beyond my own oversight. Dove, currently the Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and her poetry speak through a verbal filter of history, art, and even politics.

This book is a treasure of memory and music, a playlist for our time. At times cranky, always wise, often vulnerable, profoundly lyrical, and so damn smart, Dove has something to teach us without making us feel taught.

Posted on September 30, 2021

A MyMSTeam Member

I am a 23 year survivor having MS, I enjoyed her views on her many topics of choice, bravo ! she is blessed with many gifts to help inspire us all. thank you.

October 2, 2021
All updates must be accompanied by text or a picture.

We'd love to hear from you! Please share your name and email to post and read comments.

You'll also get the latest articles directly to your inbox.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
All updates must be accompanied by text or a picture.

Subscribe now to ask your question, get answers, and stay up to date on the latest articles.

Get updates directly to your inbox.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Francie MacDougall is a freelance writer who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. She was diagnosed with MS in 1990. Learn more about her here.

Related Articles

Five disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...

Schedules for MS Infusions: Monthly, Twice a Year, and Other Frequencies

Five disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ...
Driving relies on your body’s ability to react to your surroundings. Although many people with mu...

Can You Drive With Numb Feet? 3 Tips for Driving With Neuropathy

Driving relies on your body’s ability to react to your surroundings. Although many people with mu...
Talking about how multiple sclerosis (MS) can affect sexual function and desire can be difficult....

Can MS Cause Hypersexuality?

Talking about how multiple sclerosis (MS) can affect sexual function and desire can be difficult....
My Identical Sister Has MS Too Dani Darling and Jacqui Blue, who are triplets along with anot...

My Identical Sister Has MS Too (VIDEO)

My Identical Sister Has MS Too Dani Darling and Jacqui Blue, who are triplets along with anot...
Part of the Relapsing MS Playbook series 5 Tips for Traveling With MS Dr. Jacqueline Nicholas ...

Travel Tips for People With Multiple Sclerosis (VIDEO)

Part of the Relapsing MS Playbook series 5 Tips for Traveling With MS Dr. Jacqueline Nicholas ...
Empathy can be described as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and...

Does Multiple Sclerosis Cause Lack of Empathy?

Empathy can be described as “the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and...

Recent Articles

Multiple sclerosis is not hereditary, but it does occur within families. Click to learn more!

Is MS Inherited From Your Mother or Father? 5 Factors That Matter (VIDEO)

Multiple sclerosis is not hereditary, but it does occur within families. Click to learn more!
Although scientists don’t fully understand what causes multiple sclerosis (MS), they believe that...

Genetic Factors in MS: HLA-DRB1 and More (VIDEO)

Although scientists don’t fully understand what causes multiple sclerosis (MS), they believe that...
Scientists have proposed different ideas about why autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis...

Multiple Sclerosis in Men vs. Women: 5 Symptom Differences and More

Scientists have proposed different ideas about why autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) does not affect everyone at equal rates. Some people are more likely than...

Who Gets MS? Prevalence, Epidemiology, and More

Multiple sclerosis (MS) does not affect everyone at equal rates. Some people are more likely than...
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, immune-mediated disorder that affects around 1 million peop...

How Many People Live With MS? (VIDEO)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, immune-mediated disorder that affects around 1 million peop...
Intravenous (IV) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) often come with ...

Financial Help With MS Infusion Costs

Intravenous (IV) disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) often come with ...
MS News

Thank you for subscribing!

Become a member to get even more: