Aesthetics of campaign writing
november 18, 1991
IN THIS CAMPAIGN LETTER, MYLES INCLUDED A POEM IN THEIR TYPICAL AESTHETIC, LONG AND STRETCHED OUT. INTERESTINGLY, THE TOPIC OF THE POEM IS NOT POLITICALLY MOTIVATED. RATHER, IT IS ALMOST AN ODE TO THE COLOR GREY, AND IT FEELS INTIMATE FOR MYLES TO BE SHARING THE POEM WITH US.
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LATER, MYLES EXPLAINS THE LOW EMOTIONS ENCAPSULATED IN THIS POEM. THEY DISCUSS SUICIDE, DEPRESSION, AND MENSTRUATION. TO SEE A POLITICAL CANDIDATE SO CASUALLY REFER TO FLAWS FEELS RAW AND HONEST.
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FURTHER, THE SIMPLE DESCRIPTORS AND EASY METAPHORS ARE RELATABLE, AND THEY ONLY BUILD ON THE INTIMACY OF THE TOPIC.
JANUARY 20, 1992
EILEEN MYLES WRITES POETICALLY ABOUT EXISTENTIAL SENTIMENTS. THEY REFERENCE BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION--- STORIES SIMILAR TO THE CONTENT IN THE "FICTIONAL" STORY "CHELSEA GIRLS."
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THE ADVERSITIES DISCUSSED IN THIS PARAGRAPH LINE UP WITH "CHELSEA GIRLS" AS WELL. MYLES DISCUSSES TEETH, HEALTH CARE, VIETNAM, AND RAPE. HOWEVER, THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT IN "CHELSEA GIRLS," MYLES' STORIES REMAIN RATHER INSULAR. IN THIS LETTER, MYLES EXPANDS THESE PROBLEMS, SHOWING HOW THEY IMPACT THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS.
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"AN AMERICAN POEM" WAS WRITTEN IN 1991, PRIOR TO EILEEN MYLES' ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PRESIDENT. YET BOTH THE STYLE OF WRITING AS WELL AS THE POLITICAL SENTIMENTS EXPRESSED BY THE POEM REFLECT THOSE SHOWN IN THE '92 CAMPAIGN. THIS FAMOUS POEM SHOWS THE ORIGINS OF THIS WRITE-IN.
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THE POEM IS WRITTEN IN MYLES' TRADITIONAL SKINNY COLUMNAR STYLE. IN IT, THE NARRATOR CLAIMS TO BE A KENNEDY, ASKING "CAN YOU/IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS/LIKE TO BE ONE OF THEM," AND EXPLORING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE POLITICALLY POWERFUL AND A "HOMOSEXUAL." LATER, THEY WRITE IN A VERY WALT WHITMAN-IC FASHION, "WE ARE ALL KENNEDYS." THE THEMES OF DISTRIBUTING ELITIST POLITICAL POWER EXTEND VERY CLEARLY INTO MYLES' '92 CAMPAIGN.