In the beginning of her poetry collection, Lucky Wreck, Ada Limón establishes a strong use of negation and interjections that continues in most of her poems. She uses negation to suggest emptiness (or lacking), show reaction, comparison, resistance, and even desire, among other things. Her use of negation is most notable in her thirteen-line poem “Selecting Things for Vagueness,” in which she writes eight consecutive lines of no-phrases, such as “no train stop, no telephone,/no relative, etc.” (18). In addition to her use of negation, Limón also uses interjections in many of her poems—sometimes to create a conversational tone, to declare her opinion, and/or to provide clarification. Limón ultimately uses these techniques to give her speakers agency within the poems.
In her short poem “Little Obsession,” Limón uses negation as a way to resist being labelled. She writes “I am not obsessing./I am just sitting here/perforating this post-it/with a push-pin” (25). In this four-line poem, Limón refuses to be labelled obsessive, even while her described behavior might suggest otherwise. This assertion demonstrates how the speaker attempts to be in command of her situation—she might seem obsessive, but refuses to use that label in describing herself, thereby controlling how she appears and acts. Limón also uses negation as a form of resistance in “The Spider Web” (43). For example, she writes “I’d fly the flag and name her, Unmanned Woman./Still I remain, trying to weave self-control” (49). In this passage, Limón uses the term unmanned juxtaposed to woman as a play on the nautical term of manning a ship. Unmanned suggests not only that the ship will not be under the command of sailors, but also that the female ship will not be steered by a man. Limón confirms this idea when the speaker states that she is trying to weave self-control—she is taking the helm, so to speak, and refuses to allow others to dominate her. The speaker of the poem would not only have “a boat of [her] own,” but she would also be the one in charge.
Limón maintains this idea of control and resistance in “Thirteen Feral Cats,” specifically when she declares how she would not describe things a certain way. For instance, the speaker of the poem states that she would “not call it alcohol or friend” and that another character in the poem “was not a cloud at all” (64, 66). Similar to her poem “Little Obsession,” Limón uses negation to reject how certain things are labelled. As a result, the speakers of her poems are in control of the reality of those poems—they are the ones who can say what things are and what they are not, and even what things can and cannot do, such as how “the moon cannot/be replaced by a bruisable thing” (68).
Limón similarly uses interjections to give her speakers agency within her poems, something she establishes with her very first poem. In “First Lunch with Relative Stranger Mister You,” she writes “I’m trying to stop myself from telling you/about the time I lost my passport” (3). In this excerpt, her line I’m trying to stop myself from telling you suggests the speaker has a lack of self-control—she can’t stop herself. While this might demonstrate a lack of self-discipline, it also suggests the speaker’s need to assert herself and be heard. Even though she wants to stop herself, her thoughts will not be suppressed. Limón continues this need to express her thoughts and opinions in many of her poems. For example, later in her first poem, her speaker twice states “Let me tell you something Mister” (5). Although the let in this statement suggests asking permission, the speaker continues with her thought, only pausing briefly before spilling into her declaration that the mister has to peel the orange.
Limón uses this interjection technique particularly in “The Firemen Are Dancing,” when she writes “the vice cop keeps looking/at the guy we call Red and that’s fine by me/because I don’t like him, never have” (32). The speaker’s use of the phrase and that’s fine by me gives her command of the situation she describes, because this phrase suggests she’s giving the cop permission to look at Red. She continues to be in charge when she says “I’m going to tell you/all about it. Even if you never ask, I will.” This demonstrates how the speaker plans to guide the conversation, regardless of what the other party wishes to talk about.
Although in her first poem, Limón’s speaker tries to stop herself from speaking, by the end of the collection, the speaker is able to admit to herself that she has “refused to remain silent and yet/still remain/very small” (61). In this line, the speaker acknowledges her refusal to suppress her thoughts. However, she also acknowledges that she cannot always be in control, such as when others “do not hear [her] navigating” (60). The speaker even apologizes for monopolizing the conversation, specifically by ignoring the other party when she was “play Name the Things in my Room/while [he was] speaking” (61). Even though the speaker wishes to be in control, she realizes that she won’t always be able to.
In her short poem “Little Obsession,” Limón uses negation as a way to resist being labelled. She writes “I am not obsessing./I am just sitting here/perforating this post-it/with a push-pin” (25). In this four-line poem, Limón refuses to be labelled obsessive, even while her described behavior might suggest otherwise. This assertion demonstrates how the speaker attempts to be in command of her situation—she might seem obsessive, but refuses to use that label in describing herself, thereby controlling how she appears and acts. Limón also uses negation as a form of resistance in “The Spider Web” (43). For example, she writes “I’d fly the flag and name her, Unmanned Woman./Still I remain, trying to weave self-control” (49). In this passage, Limón uses the term unmanned juxtaposed to woman as a play on the nautical term of manning a ship. Unmanned suggests not only that the ship will not be under the command of sailors, but also that the female ship will not be steered by a man. Limón confirms this idea when the speaker states that she is trying to weave self-control—she is taking the helm, so to speak, and refuses to allow others to dominate her. The speaker of the poem would not only have “a boat of [her] own,” but she would also be the one in charge.
Limón maintains this idea of control and resistance in “Thirteen Feral Cats,” specifically when she declares how she would not describe things a certain way. For instance, the speaker of the poem states that she would “not call it alcohol or friend” and that another character in the poem “was not a cloud at all” (64, 66). Similar to her poem “Little Obsession,” Limón uses negation to reject how certain things are labelled. As a result, the speakers of her poems are in control of the reality of those poems—they are the ones who can say what things are and what they are not, and even what things can and cannot do, such as how “the moon cannot/be replaced by a bruisable thing” (68).
Limón similarly uses interjections to give her speakers agency within her poems, something she establishes with her very first poem. In “First Lunch with Relative Stranger Mister You,” she writes “I’m trying to stop myself from telling you/about the time I lost my passport” (3). In this excerpt, her line I’m trying to stop myself from telling you suggests the speaker has a lack of self-control—she can’t stop herself. While this might demonstrate a lack of self-discipline, it also suggests the speaker’s need to assert herself and be heard. Even though she wants to stop herself, her thoughts will not be suppressed. Limón continues this need to express her thoughts and opinions in many of her poems. For example, later in her first poem, her speaker twice states “Let me tell you something Mister” (5). Although the let in this statement suggests asking permission, the speaker continues with her thought, only pausing briefly before spilling into her declaration that the mister has to peel the orange.
Limón uses this interjection technique particularly in “The Firemen Are Dancing,” when she writes “the vice cop keeps looking/at the guy we call Red and that’s fine by me/because I don’t like him, never have” (32). The speaker’s use of the phrase and that’s fine by me gives her command of the situation she describes, because this phrase suggests she’s giving the cop permission to look at Red. She continues to be in charge when she says “I’m going to tell you/all about it. Even if you never ask, I will.” This demonstrates how the speaker plans to guide the conversation, regardless of what the other party wishes to talk about.
Although in her first poem, Limón’s speaker tries to stop herself from speaking, by the end of the collection, the speaker is able to admit to herself that she has “refused to remain silent and yet/still remain/very small” (61). In this line, the speaker acknowledges her refusal to suppress her thoughts. However, she also acknowledges that she cannot always be in control, such as when others “do not hear [her] navigating” (60). The speaker even apologizes for monopolizing the conversation, specifically by ignoring the other party when she was “play Name the Things in my Room/while [he was] speaking” (61). Even though the speaker wishes to be in control, she realizes that she won’t always be able to.