Brenda Shaughnessy is an American poet. She is the author of five poetry collections, including Human Dark with Sugar and Sudden Joy. She has won numerous awards, including the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets. Her work is known to be playful and serious. She works as an associate professor of English at Rutgers University-Newark.
‘Postfeminism’ by Brenda Shaughnessy is a powerful poem that uses imagery to depict a woman’s experience in the world while alluding to the phases of feminism.
There are two kinds of people, soldiers and women,
as Virginia Woolf said. Both for decoration only.
Now that is too kind. It’s technical: virgins and wolves.
We have choices now. Two little girls walk into a bar,
‘Your One Good Dress’ by Brenda Shaughnessy is a compelling poem about choosing the right dress. The one dress “you” choose should represent you in a clear and powerful way.
should never be light. That kind of thing feels
like a hundred shiny-headed waifs backlit
and skeletal, approach. Dripping and in
unison, murmuring, “We are you.”
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