12 June 2008

Biographies, part III: the real reason I like them

This poem, which was in Abstract Internal Furniture, possibly explains why we really like biographies:

The Lives of the Dead and Famous

i was reading a biography of
Dora Carrington
and don’t think
this is confessional, don’t
imagine i’m
deluded
enough to think
you’re interested in my life
my angst
my problems

because i know
we’re only interested
in ourselves
that we read books
about other people
out of a feigned interest
in their lives,
when all
we’re really looking for
are little mirrors
hidden in the text
small fragments of our-
selves imbedded in the lives
of the dead and famous

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