Course:ENGL 100-010/Seed Catalogue
Robert Kroetsch, Seed Catalogue (1977).
“No trees
around the house.
Only the wind.
Only the January snow.
Only the summer sun.
The home place:
a terrible symmetry” (Kroetsch, 31).
The overall tone of this poem is dark, negative, and dull. In this stanza specifically, the idea of “symmetry” and the “summer sun”, normally symbols of perfection, light, and goodness, are twisted to match this feeling. The description of home here is bare and the symmetry is “terrible” because it is symmetrical due to the absence of nature and substance. Even through the changing seasons, the only attributes that the author notices around this home place are wind, snow, and sun, which don’t add much to the depth and interest of the landscape. The pessimism of home, a place that should conjure up feelings of warmth and safety, reflect Kroetsch’s general feelings towards his surroundings and life. This stanza sticks out to me because of these perversions of symbols of goodness in order to match the tone and narrative of the story, instead of inherently bad or dark topics discussed in other stanzas like death, darkness, and shame.
"A strange muse: forgetfulness. Feeding her far children
to ancestral guns, blasting them out of the sky, smack/
into the earth. Oh, she was the mothering sort. Blood/
on her green thumb." (Kroetsch, 44)
To say that "forgetfulness" in itself can act as a muse is both contradictory and intriguing. It's one of those phrases that can be both wrong and write at the same time, depending on how you look at it. On one hand, forgetfulness from a personal standpoint cannot be a muse because, well, how do you find yourself inspired by something if you've forgotten about it? A lot of Seed Catalogue relies heavily on remembrance of Kroetsch's childhood and the events that transpired within it, and therefore would not have been inspired or created without this memory. On the other hand, another person's forgetfulness can be inspirational, such as it is for Kroetsch. In the story he tells before be makes this analogy, his cousin's forgetfulness (in the way that he didn't remember the information about his family, leading to the bombing of his maternal great grandmother's hometown) leads to the story that he eventually tells about it.
Another important point to make is the continual theme of relationships, especially of the maternal type. Kroetsch makes several references to his mother throughout the course of Seed Catalogue, as well as painting the illusions of mothering figures, such as the one he has created for Forgetfulness as being "of the mothering sort". I would draw a connection to psychology for this, and speak to the way that our brains like to write over particularly traumatic memories or events; similar to how a mother might comfort an upset child and do what she can to make everything better for them. The odd fact about this is that though he defines forgetfulness as being "mothering", he defines this in the way she causes death and destruction to her "far children". I would suggest that this connection has been made to reflect how the narrator may have felt about his mother at times. Mothers can be the most comforting homes for us, but they can also be our biggest sources of conflict. This argument is strengthened by the next line, where blood is juxtaposed with a "green thumb". To have a green thumb is to have a way with plants, and in growing (raising) them particularly, while the idea of blood puts the reader into the mindset similar to one of a battle.
Throughout the poem, Kroetsch asks the reader how a poet is grown. The answer can be found summarized in this stanza, where we can understand that it is relationships that develop a person, and the stories that they eventually go on to tell. These stories often outline both struggles and comfort, which is why these stories reach such a broad range of people from so many different backgrounds: these fundamental basics are shared in some respect among people. Stories are both grown and killed in forgetfulness, with the most meaningful ones making it through to the memory. Forgetfulness takes away bad memories but good ones as well, in the similar way to how a mother might put both these memories into our heads. It is in this way that the reader is able to understand that growth is a process of both pain and love, struggle and comfort, and to be properly "grown" we must embrace these moments in full, because there's no telling what they will bring us or save us from in the future.
“Souls were like underwear that you wore inside.” (Kroetsch, 25)
RING. RING. RING.
“Ah…” his head dropped, “I’ve got to go, my laundry’s done.”
“That’s fine, we’ll come along. I love folding laundry,” she replied.
“Erm…I don’t know how I feel about you guys touching my underwear, but you’re welcome to come.”
Underneath fluorescent basement lights, he unloaded his shirts, shorts, pants, and socks, messily folding them into the hamper. Boxers however, he left unfolded; each pair was crumpled with increased pace, his cheeks now burned pink.
Underwear is clothing that guards our intimates—the pieces of ourselves we protect from the world, revealing to those we choose; souls are policed similarly. Souls are the piece that distinguish one from another, the piece we alter or suppress around those unworthy. We wear them inside through fear of announcing our true selves.
What makes you laugh? What makes you cry? How do you love? What moves you through life?
The soul—comprised of these whispers barricaded from existence—is afraid to emerge into actuality. However, if you’re willing to peel away the skin of plastered smiles and cautious niceties, willing to rip the flesh of weightless conversations comprised of belly laughs, willing to crush the bones bracing the mask of one’s shame, therein lies the soul. Raw, weak, and vulnerable it awaits. Robert Kroetsch’s third excerpt of Seed Catalogue highlights the temptation that thwarts love, recounting his own attempt in discovering love through sex. Stripping one down to their underwear reveals the most intimate part of them; however, stripping one down to their soul is what makes you intimate with another.
Excerpt:
This is what happened - at my mother's wake. This
is a fact - the World Series was in progress. The
Cincinnati Reds were playing the Detroit Tigers.
It was raining. The road to the graveyard was barely.
passable. The horse was standing still. Bring me
the radish seeds, my mother whispered.
- Robert Kroetsch, Seed Catalogue
In part one of Seed Catalogue, Robert Kroetsch writes a disjointed story of fine cabbages, harrowed soil, still horses, and winter’s end - disrupted by random excerpts from a seed catalogue. He ends abruptly with the above passage, revealing the death of his mother. However, although the last paragraph feels like an attempt to tie together his earlier words, with references to earlier stanzas in the poem (“This is what happened…”, “The horse was standing still…”, “Bring me the radish seeds…”), what it’s attempting to tell the reader is a mystery. As important as a mother’s wake should be, it sheds little to no light on what the passage as a whole means. And therein lies the intrigue of Seed Catalogue: Kroetsch’s words are heavy and poignant, so imbued with an obscure significance that the lack of a decipherable message creates its own meaning.
"Flourishes. Under absolute neglect." (Seed Catalogue, Robert Kroetsch, page 21 (part 7 (b))
Flourish - to develop quickly and become successful or common. (Oxford Dictionary (OD), Under - below the surface of something; covered by something (OD, 2), Absolute - total and complete. (OD, 1), Neglect - the fact of not giving enough care or attention to something/somebody; the state of not receiving enough care or attention. (OD, 1).
Robert Kroetsch uses different methods to highlight and bring readers' attention to specific parts of the poem. In this case, the author used cursive to highlight this specific part of the text.
Flourishes meaning is growing well and becoming way more successful than when started. Absolute is all and nothing at the same time. It's complete and it covers everything. Neglect - absolute neglect - you don't care.., and no one cares. No one cares if you die or if you won't succeed. There is no one to care (as there is no one to see his application to be a postman who will, like a poet, "deliver real words to real people") about his ideas or problems, about his dreams and attempts to become a poet ("..And the next time you want to write a poem we'll start the haying").
How do I grow a poet? How do I grow a lover, a past/ to live in, a prairie town..? - are the main questions. Grow - why does he use grow? Plants do grow. How can you grow as a poet? How can you grow a poet? By practice? By supporting? By writing about something new? Plants? Poet grows under absolute neglect. And flourish. Even if no one is there. Even if cabbages don't grow, even if a bomb is thrown, even if there is no listener, even if the horse stands still... Only by flourishing under absolute neglect, a poet can grow or you can grow a poet. Or lover. Or past/ to live in. Or prairie town. There is nothing at first, there is absolute neglect at first. And everything grows under it to flourish, or it will covenant. And die ("I don't give a damn if I do die do die.. do"). Yes. You do die if you do not give a damn about it. But if you do? Then you flourish. If not then nothing will be able to ever flourish. To ever become successful. You will become absent before you flourish under absolute neglect. Because you neglect it. Absolutely neglected it.
"This road is the shortest distance between nowhere and nowhere." To get outside of nowhere choose a road to somewhere. And flourish.
The question is asked. It's asked repeatedly. But where is the answer? My citation is the right answer. (Poet or anything else) flourishes. Under absolute neglect.
“ How do you grow a poet?” (Kroetsch, 37)
The protagonist of The Seed Catalogue presents the question “ How/ do you grow a poet?” (37) as he struggles to perceive the world in a manner that is desired by his community. He is encouraged by his father to move away from the profession of being a poet; the father seems unbothered by his son’s deep thoughts in philosophical questions. His environment does not welcome poets nor art in a broader scheme. This directs the protagonist to be submerged in such questions he reveals to the readers: “how do you grow a lover?” (32), “how do you grow a past?” (35), etc.
His world is one of gardens, vegetables, cabbages and seeds; the hope of beginning a poetic work seems shallow. He also repeats the word absence, showing the impact of loss regarding the thingness he once seems to have had. He shows a great dilemma between his community’s standards and his will to produce art.
I figured that the protagonist’s questions in his particular circumstance may lead to a larger debate:
“What is to be expected from a community that is so excluded from artistic, creative, philosophical thoughts and works?”
Will this ever have a set answer? Or will it be like asking to define love?(Is love really a burrowing?)
“Once upon a time in the village of Heisler-
-Hey, wait a minute.
That’s a story.
How do you grow a poet?” (Robert Kroetsch, Seed Catalogue, 38)
This remark is interesting and comedic in the somewhat serious tone of the poem.
The author has written in paragraph-story format before this instant in completion, followed by a shorter entry in story format in between Kroetsch’s normal poetic format. When telling this story, the poet becomes aware that they are no longer in poetic format. It feels like a double entendre in opposing contexts. Figuratively, the poet realizes their switch into story, straying away from poetry. Literally, the poem is aware of itself no longer being a poem, maybe even straying away from the point of the piece.
What connects it all is the following “How do you grow a poet?” The speaker is questioning their ability to write in poetic terms, questioning what it means to be a poet. That could explain the strange format the entire poem is based on. The lack of clear structure, the different formats and switches between stories and stanzas all could be the writer trying to find their own voice. Since it is implied that the speakers father is not accepting of the speakers choice to be a poet, the speaker must have had limited resources and help in learning poetry. The speaker themselves are lost and lack guidance in the art of poetry and this poem is a way for them to find poetry for themselves.
"The danger of merely living.
a shell/exploding
in the black sky: a
strange planting
a bomb/exploding
in the earth: a
strange
man/falling
on the city.
Killed him dead.
It was a strange
planting."
(Kroetsch, 43-44)
This passage gives a feeling of the despair of war and the gloominess of what the author, Robert Kroetsch, had to endure during his childhood. Mr. Kroetsch was born in 1927 so he has lived through and experienced the World War II era. The word "planting" could have two meanings; it could be interpreted as planting a flower, which would fit with the entire poem's theme of plants and seeds, but it could also be interpreted as the bombs/shells planting into the ground and "exploding in the earth", killing people. Simply put, we could view the bombs as "seeds" being planted into the ground. I believe what Mr. Kroetsch is trying to achieve in this poem is to write an autobiography about his childhood and then cover it up with the whole "seed catalogue" theme in order to make his childhood seem less depressing and terrifying to the reader, and thus more like a poem.
How do you grow a prairie town?
The gopher was the model.
Stand up straight:
telephone poles
grain elevators
church steeples.
Vanish, suddenly: the
gopher was the model. (Kroetsch 35)
This quote explores a recurrent theme in Seed Catalogue: the lack of history that the speaker perceives in the region where he grew up. If a place can disappear completely without warning, there must not have been much there to begin with. This perception of the prairie town as a place with no real history or culture is indicative of a Eurocentric, colonial perspective. There is indeed a culture and a history to the prairies, but these are Indigenous, not European. Interestingly, while Indigenous people are not directly considered in this discussion of a prairie town, the gopher, an animal native to the area and strongly associated with the prairies, is taken as “the model.”
The unremarkable nature of the listed features of a prairie town also emphasizes the perceived lack of culture. The telephone poles link the town to the outside world, allowing the residents to know something of what they are missing but not to gain much access to it. The grain elevators are indicative of the key role agriculture plays in the prairie town. The line “Stand up straight” and the reference to “church steeples” evoke the strong, (ostensibly) morally upright presence of the church in the prairie town. This presence is also important in other parts of the poem where we see that this ideal of uprightness can have harmful effects.
The opening question is also worth noting, not only because it is an example of a key pattern in the poem but also because the answer must always be colonial. It is asking how to grow something that is introduced and not native to the area.
We silence words by writing them down (Seed Catalogue, Robert Kroetsch, page 42 (part 8))
It’s curious how the author chooses to write of his childhood and his opinions quite a few decades after the fact. He writes of his distaste for the prairie and religion. Also topics that may have been unheard of to say aloud during his younger years, such as questioning masculinity or rejecting farm life to become a poet. Which is where the “silence words” may have been relating to. However the author chose to write his true thoughts in Seed Catalogue to give a perspective of life in the Canadian Prairies. He writes in the form of a poem to showcase the choice of becoming a poet instead of what others thought he should be at that time. Seed Catalogue is well known Canadian literature due to Robert Kroetsch’s personal outlook on that time period.
My takeaway from this quote is that it’s never too late to create something for it could give perspectives that haven't been explored or questioned about. There are not many history books written in poetry. I find it’s interesting to see that topics such as religion, feminism, and masculinity in that time period were not widely talked about. While in the current day we are more open to having conversations about these topics.
“badger ‘dug another hole. My father got mad again. They carried on like that all summer.” (Robert Kroetsch, Seed Catalogue)
Love is an amplification
by doing/over and over.
Love is a standing up
to the loaded gun.
Love is a burrowing.
(Page 31-32 Robert Kroetsch)
To me, love Is an amplification. Robert Kroetsch has proven to be not the brightest of guys, but he made amazing metaphor for love. My experience with love and Robert’s may have differed but I can see where he’s coming from. Amplification can be defined as enlarging upon or adding detail to a story or statement. Each detail in a person’s life shapes their opinion on love. Many people believe love is a universally understood concept. With amazing metaphorical skills, I believe what the author is trying to illustrate that his father see humanity in the form of the badger because in many ways he draws similarities between his loving relationships and the innocence and natural beauty of the badger. Sometimes love will dig a hole in your heart, there will be conflicts, you must look right down the double barrel and trigger of heartbreak, disagreements, mistakes and make up your mind on if the temporary pain and discomfort is worth ending something so beautiful. What Kroetsch is trying to say is love can take a toll but is too powerful to give up if it’s real. To me love is an amplification, each detail, each day, each life experience, each event of showing compassion, each time your there for someone, it all amplifies the love. Everyone has a different opinion on what love is, some believe it’s taking time out of your extremely busy day to spend time with someone a city over, many believe it’s sticking in it through thin and thick, even a genius can believe love is just like money because it blows in the wind. I think Kroetsch said it well though, love is looking for a loaded gun in the face. High risk and the highest of rewards. That stuck with me, sorry to paraphrase.
__________________________
“We silence words
by writing them down”
(Kroestch, 42)
Writing can take many forms and it serves many diverse purposes. It is a means of communication, a way to express one’s self and a way to name/tame thoughts and emotions. The specific meaning of writing down words in this section of Seed Catalogue is thus solely determined by the contextual meaning of “silence” in the first line.
As the Oxford Dictionary states, silence, depending in the way in which it was used can be defined as; cease speaking; prohibit communication; get rid of.
One’s thoughts can seem so big, overwhelming and controlling, especially if negative. Words can be loud even if not spoken and thus need to be silenced. An effective way for many to deafen these words is to get them out of your head (or get rid of them). This quote made me think of journalling. It is the act of putting down thoughts from one’s head that are troubling and is effective at quieting them internally.
Additionally, it is clear in many sections of Seed Catalogue, that Kroestch is internally dealing with distressing emotions around not meeting expectations, losing his mother and disappointing his father. This quote may be an indicator that poetry, specifically Seed Catalogue, serves the purpose of journalling; a place for Kroestch to process thoughts and cope with these emotions.
"My mother was marking the first row
with a piece of binder twine, stretched
between two pegs.
The hired man laughed: just
about planted the little bugger.
Cover him up and see what grows.
My father didn't laugh. He was puzzled
by any garden that was smaller than a
quarter-section of wheat and summerfallow."
(Robert Kroetsch, Seed Catalogue, 30)
Seed Catalogue is a bizarrely structured poetic compilation, one that explores Kroetsch's upbringing in a conservative Albertan village with references to flat prairies, endless farmland, inexplicably still horses and home gardening and, of course, the titular seed catalogue. This mixed bag of recollections (anecdotes or hearsay?) is laid out and fragmented as though Kroetsch is flipping through his own memories, grasping at various formative events that occurred throughout his youth and into early-mid adulthood. Some memories are barely remembered, small snippets of one to three lines that appear almost as non-sequiturs, breaking up the poems' flow with their abruptness and apparent irrelevance, sandwiched awkwardly in-between verses. Others, however, such as that of the quote provided, are presented with greater clarity, and with a stronger emotional foundation to be gleaned from their storylines - a beginning, middle, and end.
Despite all of the seemingly extraneous details found in Kroetsch's writing, there is a central theme present throughout the "narrative" of Seed Catalogue: the opposing influences of his mother and father, and what each parental figure represents in the larger context of small-town norms and familial expectations. It is established that Kroetsch used to help his mother with their garden, a far more personal and nurturing activity than the detached, dutiful routine of farm maintenance that his father would rather he busy himself with as per the status quo. The mother's guidance, depicted here through her gardening, opens up the wider world to Kroetsch, giving him leeway to form his own opinions and express his creativity in an environment where such a thing might otherwise be shunned. In this case, via poetry. Naturally, Kroetsch's non-standard pastime (for a white country boy) draws a fair bit of attention, as illustrated by the hired man's humorous comments: "[J]ust about planted the little bugger. Cover him up and see what grows." (Kroetsch, 30, line 20.)
While Kroetsch's mother might have encouraged his foray into poetry, whether through direct or indirect means, his father is an altogether different tale. Him being "puzzled by any garden that was smaller than a quarter-section of wheat and summerfallow" (Kroetsch, 30, line 23) is a metaphor for how he views the arts as little else but a distraction, unnecessary and foolish - especially for a man to entertain. The way Kroetsch chose to write this line, portraying his father as something of a rural simpleton, reflects his lingering bitterness toward their relationship. It seems rather noteworthy that although in the end he decided to pursue poetry as a career, casting aside his father's expectations of him to do so, Kroetsch still honors him in some sense with every description of Albertan culture found in Seed Catalogue. His father probably wouldn't have approved.
“This is what happened:
we were harrowing the garden
You’ve got to understand this:
I was sitting on the horse.
The horse was standing still.
I fell off.” (Kroetsch, 29)
Kroetsch starts off this quote by presenting an almost desperate need for justification from the reader. He attempts to communicate the shock he feels from falling off a still standing horse while simply “harrowing the garden,” a seemingly mundane and uneventful task. The use of “we” implies another party, likely his mother, with the surprise then being her sudden and unexpected death. Much like how falling off a still standing horse is shocking and out of control, as there is no inclination or predictability of falling. The quote is written in a way that is blunt and straightforward, with the sentences simple and short-lived. The formatting of the words is dramatic, almost as if telling a mini story, with one event leading to another until the reader reaches the climax at the last line. Kroetsch’s use of “You’ve got to understand this:” makes it feel as if he is still trying to emphasize the shock, and trauma, he had endured. Kroetsch is nearly warning the reader to remain in a constant state of fear or anxiety at the possibility of a sudden fall. Personally, reading this quote reminds me of the full body sensation of falling in a dream–waking up panicked and in shock, unable to decipher reality from a dream-like state. Essentially, the work is about the concept of stability. I identify with the speaker, in the way that I also recognize that life is an ever-changing reality, and that no day is quite like the next. At any given moment, even during the most mundane of activities, a significant change can occur that is not intended.
______________________________
“Love is an amplification
by doing/over and over.
Love is a standing up
to the loaded gun.
Love is a burrowing.”
(Kroetsch, 32)
Robert Kroetsch appears to be constructing a narrative of the contest between man and badger, an exploration of the conflict between the father and son. Just as the badger's escapades roused perplexity in the father, the son's captivity towards girlish pursuits inspired confusion in his dad—paralleling the author's discovery and confrontation of prairie gender norms through his parental figures. For instance, in the opening poem of Seed Catalogue, the young poet fell off a horse and onto the ground:
“I was sitting on the horse.
The horse was standing still.
I fell off.”
(Kroetsch, 29)
This remark highlights the author's seemingly 'incompetence' as an ordinary prairie farm boy who, if he were ever to fall off a horse, it should at least be on one in motion. As the hired man points out: "how/in the hell did you manage to/fall off a horse that was/standing still?" (Kroetsch, 29). This concept of masculinity is deeply enmeshed into Albertan rural culture through the people's relationship with their 'cowboy mythology', causing the recursive perpetuation and reinforcement of toxic masculinity. Similarly to how the father cannot make sense of why "so fine a fellow" as the badger would choose to live under the ground, he also cannot fathom his son's fondness for gardening and poetry, perceiving it as a hindrance to manhood:
“My father didn't laugh. He was puzzled
by any garden that was smaller than a
quarter-section of wheat and summerfallow.”
(Kroetsch, 30)
His father's inability to make sense of the poet's interests leads to the manifestation of his dad's prohibition against writing poetry—alienating Kroetsch from the prairie community. Like the badger, the poet is enamoured "just by the cool of roots" and "the solace of dark tunnels”, setting aside his father’s expectations. Kroetsch's discovery of the pleasure of delicate and 'feminine' activities was inspired by his mother—where the overly masculine barrier towards these gender-restricted interests was challenged and redefined into a positive light:
“Your sweet peas
climbing the staked
chicken wire,
[...]
taught me the smell
of morning, the grace
of your tired
hands, the strength
of a noon sun, the
colour of prairie grass”
(Kroetsch, 45)
The simple act of gardening in a prairie environment carries a heavy stigma, but the even simpler act of his mother permissing the poet's interest evokes a gentler atmosphere to the harsh masculine prairie life that surrounded him. Although the poet's father cannot comprehend his son's desire, he cannot allow himself to harm the son. Likewise, the son cannot wholeheartedly flee from his father: "They carried on like that all summer." (Kroetsch, 31). Despite their differences, love binds the two together. With love, this charade occurs over and over. With love, the poet stands to his father's threats. With love, Kroetsch burrows to shelter, to protect.
______________________________
Every time the badger stood up, it looked like a little man, come out
of the ground. Why, my father asked himself – Why would so fine a
fellow live under the ground? Just for the cool of roots? The solace
of dark tunnels? The blood of gophers?
(Kroetsch, 31)
The juxtaposition between human nature and environmental nature shows the speaker’s internal conflict. On one hand, he has a natural desire to become a poet, follow the creative lifestyle represented by his mother. And, on the other hand, he is facing this external pressure from his father to be constricted in the typical rural lifestyle.
In this passage, the father cannot understand the Badger and thus deems him worthless. He continuously tries to shoot the badger, but, like his own son, cannot. The father and badger’s relationship symbolizes the father’s relationship with his son. The badger, simply wanting to remain underground and isolated with his instincts, is like the son wanting to isolate himself with his poetic confusion and creativity. Even when the speaker says “The horse was standing still. / I fell off” offers a foreshadowing for his desire to stay grounded in his individuality. The father cannot understand his son’s natural poetic tendencies and thus tries to push him into the stereotypical Alberta man he follows, and his father followed, and his father’s father followed and so on.
Furthermore, this theme can be expanded to the greater context of settlers and expansion. The idea that humans do not understand simplicity and cannot leave things alone; believing their touch is a gift. This can be seen with westward expansion: settlers constantly needing to interfere and create farms, thus destroying the natural environment and the more conscious relationship to nature the ingenious people had established. The father could not stop meddling with the badger and ended up shooting the innocent magpie in the opposite direction. What will happen if the father keeps meddling with the son? What will happen if we do not restore what we destroyed?
______________________________
I applied to the Government.
I wanted to become a postman,
to deliver real words
to real people.
There was no one to receive my application
I don’t give a damn if I do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do die do
This quote speaks of how the author wants to pursue any other job other than the hard labour his dad works, but feels as if he can’t escape the rural area he lives in. Kroetsch speaks of how he applied to the Government because he wanted to be a postman, as they “deliver real words to real people.” What does he mean by “real words”? Since he lives in a very rural area of the Canadian Prairies, he probably doesn’t have access to many other creative works or pieces of literature other than seed catalogues and perhaps, the Bible. So perhaps, he wishes to know more about the world, more than just what’s in his small town. I also found it interesting that he wants to deliver real words to “real people”. Does he not consider the people he knows to be “real people”?
Kroetsch continues and says there was no one to receive his application, implying that nobody at the Government cares for someone like him to work with them. He follows up his rejection by speaking of how he doesn’t give a damn if he dies here, implying that he doesn’t think he could ever escape this town.
“How do you grow a poet?
This is a prairie road.
This road is the shortest distance
Between nowhere and nowhere.
This road is a poem.
Just two miles up the road
you'll find a porcupine
dead in the ditch. It was
trying to cross the road.”
(Robert Kroetsch, 38)
“How do you grow a poet?”
Throughout Seed Catalogue, Kroetsch explores how his rural Albertan upbringing influenced him not only as a poet, but as a person as a whole. Amongst the sea of questions Kroetsch asks himself, “How do you grow a poet?” is one of the most repeated and poignant. He’s already asked himself this question three times in the past two pages alone. This time, he answers his question by reflecting on his upbringing.
“This road is the shortest distance
Between nowhere and nowhere”
Here, Kroetsch highlights the seemingly endless nothingness Alberta has to offer. An Alberta road trip consists of the following; cows, horses, grass, wheat, hay, and more grass. No beautiful mountains, no incredibly clear rivers, no ethereal wildlife (well, unless you’re in Jasper.) An Albertan road trip takes you from nowhere to nowhere.
“This road is a poem”
Now, we know Alberta doesn’t offer the most beautiful landscapes, but what does this have to do with poetry? What does this have to do with an artist’s identity? The answer? Everything. In Seed Catalogue, Kroetsch frequently refers to plants, wildlife, and even people, flourishing under “absolute neglect” (Kroetsch, 21) We can assume that he believes that his poetry has flourished under the same neglect as well. Reduced to finding creative inspiration out of anything accessible to him.
“Just two miles up the road
you”ll find a porcupine
dead in the ditch. It was
trying to cross the road”
Here, Kroetsch uses the imagery of a dead animal to symbolise the risks associated with being a poet (a traditionally unmasculine profession) in a toxically masculine environment. Dealing with the pressures of both his father and the environment around him, Kroetsch’s creativity isn’t exactly welcome or celebrated. The porcupine is Kroetsch, trying to farm something out of nothing. Trying to cross a boundary, go somewhere new, explore new land.
In conclusion, growing a poet in Alberta requires patience, trust, and a whole lot of nothing. Yet, with time, something will grow.
- Emily Brinco
“But how do you grow a poet?”
(Section 6, Page 37)
Throughout the poem, Kroetsch asks, “how do you grow a poet?”
Here, however, he adds a “but”. Seems almost desperate, wants to know now. He’s repeating the “how do you grow a poet” and is adding the “but”.
The seed catalogue has information on how to grow different seeds and what temperatures and climates they grow in, but they don’t tell you how to grow a poet. Kroetsch struggles with finding the necessary inspiration and drive to be a poet.
He attempts to make his own list (catalogue) of how to be a poet. The first way is to invoke a muse. He cuts himself off by saying that it isn’t possible to have a muse because the prairie has an absence of memories and meditation and song, and that the girls around him can’t be muses. Kroetsch experiments with another way of becoming a poet by saying, “Once upon a time in the village of Heisler—” but then interrupts himself by saying “Hey, wait a minute. That’s a story”. He realises that again, he is just narrating fiction and isn’t writing poetry, and that the prairie is harsh and leaves no room for poetry. He then moves to a more literal interpretation of growth and lists out the things that his parents did for his growth as a child.
Some of which include:
“For appetite: cod-liver oil.
For bronchitis: mustard plasters”.
So, even though there are ways to grow a human, there is no way to grow a poet. Kroetsch struggles to get inspired by and come to terms with his environment because the literature in the prairie is dominated by seed catalogues and newsletters.
So, he asks time and time again: But how do you grow a poet?
"how about that girl
you felt up in the
school barn or that
girl you necked with
out by Hastings' slough
and ran out of gas with
and nearly froze to
death with/or that
girl in the skating
rink shack who had on
so much underwear you
didn't have enough
prick to get past her/
CCM
skates"
While Kroetsch seemed to be hyper-aware of his fathers toxic masculinity throughout Seed Catalogue, he was completely blind towards his own toxic masculinity and his archaic and indecent view of women. In the quote given, Kroetsch doesn’t so much as remember the names of the women with whom he had intimate moments with, referring to them only by “that girl” followed by the experience he had with them. This perpetuates the idea that Kroetsch viewed women as a means of pleasuring himself, rather than as individual human beings. At the time Seed Catalogue was written, this type of behaviour was heavily criticized, particularly by those of the Christian community. Considering that Kroetsch grew up in the Alberta prairies where Christianity was strongly recognized as a moral belief system that should be followed, his lack of shame or remorse in his writing is remarkable. Additionally, because his mother died when he was young, he likely never truly learned how to treat women properly and therefore does not recognize the flaw in his behaviour. This reflects the effect that Kroetschs’ family trauma had on how he treated others, and in this case, women.
He was the first descendant of that family to return to the Old Country.
He took with him: a cargo of bombs.
Anna Weller: Geboren Koln, 1849.
Kenneth MacDonald: Died Cologne, 1943.
A terrible symmetry.
This excerpt describes the demise of the author’s cousin during a bombing run over Cologne in 1943. The line “a terrible symmetry” is used again, this time more obviously highlighting the coincidence in where he died, and where his great-grandmother was born. This tale is awfully Shakespearean, with noble intentions, a bit of fate, and a tragic ending. A few lines up, Kroetsch comments on how “he was the navigator. He guided himself to that fatal occasion”, as if it was somehow predestined, as if the circumstances of his life had led him to this end.
To wit, part 9 of Seed Catalogue is curiously similar to Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth is led down a path of violence and despair, until (spoiler) he dies in a manner prophesized earlier by a bunch of witches. Macbeth’s downfall and death is also a terrible symmetry, as in trying to prevent his doom, he inadvertently causes it. At the end of the play, after (spoiler again) his wife dies, he laments on if he really had a choice in the events and outcome of his life, or if his fate was predestined. In the same way, Kenneth Macdonald taking a cargo of bombs and being shot down over Germany, “guiding himself to that fatal occasion” and dying in the same place his great-grandmother was born has a very tragic and Shakespearean vibe. Perhaps “a terrible symmetry” is a perspective on a given series of events, where in hindsight it seems obvious and poetic, but in reality is an unfortunate coincidence (which is pretty much a synonym for a terrible symmetry).
Excerpts:
"Son, this is a crowbar.
This is a willow fencepost.
This is a sledge.
This is a roll of barbed wire.
This is a bag of staples.
This is a claw hammer."
"First off I want you to take that
crowbar and driver 1,156 holes
in that gumbo. And the next time you want to write a poem
we'll start the haying."
(page 38)
The poem Seed Catalogue by Robert Kroetsch tells a story of hopelessness that is instilled within the author due to the different worldview and values he holds compared to others that live in the small town of Alberta he resides in. Due to a lack of creativity and art in the small town the author resides in, he is unable to be inspired by the world surrounding him and is therefore unable to write any poetry like his heart longs to. Upon reading this poem, the reader will likely sympathize with the author, whom is unable to do as his heart desires. I believe, however, that upon reading the poem a second time, it can be interpreted as told from the viewpoint from the next generation in the implied author’s family. The poem Seed Catalogue ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, with the implied author having essentially given up, being more hopeless than ever. As a result, it could be interpreted that the author ultimately took the same job route as his father upon failing as a poet, and eventually became just like his father. By interpreting the end of the poem in this way and then continuing to reread the poem, the excerpts above can then be interpreted as the original implied author now talking to his son, the new implied author. By interpreting the poem like this, it turns the already hopeless-heavy poem into an endless cycle of despair and uncreativity in a family of poets stuck in a bland, artless small town in Alberta. This interpretation causes readers to feel even more emotion and sympathy for the implied author, the generations that came before, and the generations that will come afterwards.
"Love is a leaping up / and down. / Love / is a beak in the warm flesh." (Kroetsch 32)
According to Kroetsch, love is like a rollercoaster full of high and low moments. Also, according to Kroetsch, love stings like sharpness digging deep in the flesh of the heart. Throughout the poem, one would observe that Kroetsch views love as a temporary pleasant experience, yet Kroetsch continuously ponders how one grows a lover. Kroetsch describes love as “leaping up / and down” (Kroetsch 32) instead of just “up and down.” The term leaping indicates a fast movement, further demonstrating that Kroetsch views love as a non-permanent subject. Perhaps it is the consequence of Kroetsch’s approach to love, which aims for a short-term relationship; Kroetsch can only see love as ups and downs and “a beak in the warm flesh” (Kroetsch 32) as opposed to love being a steady, comforting experience.
“The other garden
Flourishes.
Under absolute neglect.
In Seed Catalogue, Kroetsch writes about his struggles becoming a poet in an environment and society that does not support him. In rural Alberta, creative works are seen as worthless, and the poet is urged by his father to quit his passions for literature and instead, start contributing to his community by following in his footsteps in becoming a farmer. As a result, he repeatedly asks himself, “how do you grow a poet?” (Kroetsch, p.38), in a place so hostile to literature works, how is he going to be able to produce or even find inspiration in a place that doesn’t value art? This is where the quote stated above answers his question. He showed that poetry did not need to be nurtured or maintained like a garden in order to flourish by finding inspiration in a place that neglected it the most.
"Love is an amplification
by doing/over and over
Love is standing up
to the loaded gun.
Love is a burrowing" (Kroetsch 32)
At first glance this stanza is a take on love and describes what it means to be in love. But at further analysis, it is clear that there is many layers to these 5 lines. To start, this stanza talks about the relationship between the badger and the dad. The dad is not too fond of the badger as it is digging holes in the yard. Despite this anger towards the badger and constant annoyance he does not do anything about it. Even when he gets the courage to do so, he misses and shoots a magpie instead.
In a way this stanza is a love story between the badger and the dad. "Love is an amplification by dong/over and over" (Kroetsch 32), describing how the badger continues to dig holes in the fathers yard. The Stanza continues on to say "Love is standing up to the loaded gun" (Kroetsch 32). This refers to the badger peaking it's head out and looking down the barrel of the gun unfazed. The stanza ends with a short line saying "Love is a burrowing" (Kroetsch 32). The badger lives in the garden and does not intend to leave anytime soon. The badger will continue to mock the father and play with his feelings and the father will be a slave to love unable to do a thing about it.
“the absence of my cousin who was shot down while bombing the city that was his maternal great-grandmother's birthplace. He was the navigator. He guided himself to that fatal occasion:
- a city he had forgotten
- a woman he had forgotten” (Kroetsch, 44)
This really stood out to me because over here Kroetch seemed like he was writing about the trauma he had from the war. For example, he talked about how his cousin was shot down. This could show that he is coping with the absence of his cousin and trying to cope with it by mentioning him in the poem. Also, something interesting I noticed in this poem was that Kroetsch mentioned that his cousin was shooting bombs where his maternal great-grandmother was born. Reading this part raised some questions like does he miss his great-grandmother? Did they have a close relationship? Is he still grieving her death and his cousin’s while writing the poem? Therefore, making it feel like Kroetsch is mentioning the trauma of world war 2 by explaining how his cousin was the one dropping the bombs and looking back at the history of world war 2, it is clear that a lot of cities were destroyed. Maybe one of the cities that were destroyed was where his great-grandmother was born, which may be a place that resonates with him. In short, the excerpt of the poem is explaining how Kroetsch felt about world war 2 and he wrote his feelings down as a poem to cope with all the trauma he saw during the war.
"My father couldn't shoot the badger. He uncocked the shotgun, came back to the house in time for breakfast. The badger dug another hole. My father got mad again. They carried on like that all summer.
- Love is an amplification by doing over and over.
- Love is a standing up to the loaded gun.
- Love is a burrowing. "
(Kroetsch, 31-32)
I find this part of passage 2 particular interesting. What is it about the badger that the narrator's father clearly empathizes with? From what we know, the badger was nothing but a nuisance, a mere animal. There is nothing beyond the father's earlier description of the badger as a "fine fellow" (pg 31) to indicate otherwise. Yet, the father seems to feel a strange empathy with the creature. What really stood out to me was the italicized excerpt about love. The statement of "love is a standing up to the loaded gun" almost implies that the badger feels some sort of love towards the father. "Love is an amplification by doing over and over" reflects the father and the badger "carrying on like that all summer", replaying this bizarre standoff. It makes me to wonder, is the father simply viewing the badger as a person and a son? The passage about love clearly implies that the father is feeling love towards the animal. With the setting of this story being 1930s Alberta, I would assume that the father likely fought in World War I, and witnessed violence and death. Perhaps it this specific badger reminds him too much of a person, and the trauma he feels from that experience is what makes it difficult for him to shoot the creature? I believe this excerpt from the poem is implying that the the love the father is feeling towards the badger is in fact one-sided. The only being of the two truly doing something for the other is the father. The father is the one with the gun, choosing not to shoot the badger, despite it continuously digging holes in the garden throughout the summer. The father is likely making a connection with the badger that is manifesting itself from his war trauma, and due to this is perceiving the badger to be a much more empathetic creature than it is in reality.