Poems by Brent Joseph WellsRead at Windrush GardenSpirits DriftingMermaid DazeTorrid WavesSpirits DriftingBound to BoneForces ShiftingFire <strong>and</strong> Stone…Who here knowsmy name?Lostin her ripplingreflections storeAs warm gentlecurrentslap at her hairPerhaps she vainin naïve ponderOf how her formcould be so fairTorrid waves <strong>of</strong>thrilling passion- Washed upon desires shore -I combed the s<strong>and</strong>sin search <strong>of</strong> truth -a longing from the life beforeI damned the h<strong>and</strong>sthat stole my youththe h<strong>and</strong>s thatdragged me throughthe door.Farewell Big EasyMy thoughts were carefulcool & cleanI made the choiceto life sereneTo strive <strong>and</strong> FindEssential Being…SilenceSilence speaks her silentproseIn a tonguethe spirit knowsPatience childwith quiet mindWords will comeAll in time…I packed my thoughts<strong>and</strong> left the sceneCarry s<strong>of</strong>tly to yourselfa buried smilea knowing glanceshould our pathscross once again…LITERARY MATTERS | VOLUME 3.4 | YEAR-END 2010 18
Winners <strong>of</strong> the First-AnnualSecondary School Essay Contest:Grayson Clary <strong>and</strong> David GoreEditor’s Note: Below we print the two essays selected by our judges as winners <strong>of</strong> our first-annual Secondary SchoolEssay Contest. The judges wish to honor the different strengths shown by these two writers: Grayson Clary, for thematurity, complexity <strong>and</strong> depth <strong>of</strong> his thesis, the wit <strong>and</strong> seamless integration <strong>of</strong> his allusions, <strong>and</strong> the elegance <strong>of</strong> hisprose; David Gore, for his skilled use <strong>of</strong> textual detail in support <strong>of</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> interesting <strong>and</strong> thoughtful points <strong>and</strong> forthe fluidity <strong>of</strong> his prose.Look for the announcement <strong>of</strong> next year’s contest in an upcoming issue <strong>of</strong> <strong>Literary</strong> <strong>Matters</strong>, as well as for a roundtablediscussion about teaching Huckleberry Finn. During the reviewing process, David Gore’s essay brought up theinteresting question <strong>of</strong> how to approach the novel, <strong>and</strong> particularly its use <strong>of</strong> the word “nigger,” in the contemporaryAmerican context, which, if post-Civil Rights, is most certainly not post-racial. In the next issue <strong>of</strong> the newsletter, we hopeto bring together responses by high school teachers <strong>and</strong> pr<strong>of</strong>essors to this literary <strong>and</strong> pedagogical matter.Hell Is Other People:Authenticity, Angst, <strong>and</strong> Existentialism in Wuthering HeightsBy Grayson Clary, Rye Country Day School (Rye, NY)Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is a novel aboutthe search for peace in a world without moral signposts.Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff, <strong>and</strong> those drawn intotheir wake flail about blindly in a void, seeking butnever finding reconciliation <strong>and</strong> satisfaction. If there isa God <strong>of</strong> Wuthering Heights, its denizens don’t feel hispresence. No greater authority exists to clarify, to pardon,or to punish; a mortal sin sits unresolved at the core <strong>of</strong>the story, Catherine’s betrayal <strong>of</strong> Heathcliff <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> herfreedom, an existential maelstrom that gradually pullsthe rest <strong>of</strong> Wuthering Heights into its maw. Catherinesuffers because her actions conflict with her perception<strong>of</strong> her identity; Heathcliff suffers because he defineshimself in terms <strong>of</strong> Catherine, <strong>and</strong> only gradually realizesthe distinction between the abstract Cathy that he loves<strong>and</strong> the concrete Cathy that exists. Their despair is anexemplar as powerful as Sartre’s No Exit <strong>of</strong> the difficultiesindividuals face in finding absolutes in an ambiguousworld. The moors <strong>of</strong> Wuthering Heights are littered withexistential qu<strong>and</strong>aries; the tragedy <strong>of</strong> this work is drivenby the struggle <strong>of</strong> its characters to grapple with issues <strong>of</strong>freedom, <strong>of</strong> identity, <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> meaning.A vital feature <strong>of</strong> the world <strong>of</strong> Wuthering Heights isits ambiguity; the characters lack absolute truths bywhich to organize <strong>and</strong> lead their lives. Brontë repeatedlyemphasizes Catherine <strong>and</strong> Heathcliff’s rejection <strong>of</strong>religion as guide; Catherine writes <strong>of</strong> an instance whereJoseph forced prayer books upon them, “I could not bearthe employment. I took my dingy volume ...<strong>and</strong> hurled itinto the dog kennel, vowing I hated a good book” (ch. 3,18). Heathcliff abuses his book similarly. This repudiation<strong>of</strong> religion as an organizing principle continues throughoutthe book. In a later scene, Heathcliff vows revenge againstHindley for his abuse <strong>and</strong> is scolded by Nelly:“’For shame, Heathcliff!” said I. ‘It is for God topunish wicked people; we should learn to forgive.’‘No, God won’t have the satisfaction thatI shall,’ he returned.” (ch. 7, 56)In the absence <strong>of</strong> this potential guidance then, whatdo Heathcliff <strong>and</strong> Catherine use to orient themselves inthe world? For a time at least, the answer is: each other.As Catherine relates to Nelly, “If all else perished, <strong>and</strong>LITERARY MATTERS | VOLUME 3.4 | YEAR-END 2010 19
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