Marie Howe
what it means
Mary Magdalene, the prostitute in the Bible that Jesus embraced as one of his disciples, is explaining the devils in her. The devils are the types of things that happen to us all—worry, compulsion, fear that no one would understand you.
We are all plagued by devils.
Mary Magdalene is not so different from any of us.
why I like it
Don’t you love the idea of busyness as a devil? And of course, worry. She had me right there.
I can’t say Howe is my new favorite poet because I’ve been reading and loving her work since I read her book What the Living Do some time in the late nineties. But Howe is certainly my current role model because she does in this book exactly what I’m trying to do in my new book—retell a Biblical story in poetry with lots of modern references thrown in. I find this poem funny, conversational, and giving me new insights into what a devil is and how it works in your life.
craft
I like how this poem sets up the context in the title and epigram and then jumps right in. This taking a Biblical figure and mixing in modern day stuff as though that woman is living right here in our world—that is exactly what I’m trying to do in my work, so it gives me great permission to see her doing it.
I’m fascinated by how she revisits the seven devils, but they keep changing. It would have never occurred to me to do that.