COMPLETE [Fortnightly Poem] Men I'm Not Married To, by Dorothy Parker - dl

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msfry
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Post by msfry »

Men I'm Not Married To, by Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967) .

All audio files can be found on our catalog page: https://librivox.org/men-im-not-married-to-by-dorothy-parker/

Volunteers outside the USA: Dorothy Parker died in 1967. Her work is still protected by copyright in places, like Europe, where copyright is author's death plus 70 years, Australia (author's death plus 70 years for authors who died after 1954).
A saucy little poem commenting upon all men that Ms. Parker didn't marry, perhaps implying (it's a bit ambiguous) that upon marrying, the husband becomes far more special than all the other men in the world. It's sort of the same theme embodied in Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, who was saddened to discover that his rose was like any other rose, except when he further realized that his rose depended upon him alone for her care, and was the only rose that belonged to him. ~ Summary by Michele Fry
NOTE: This poem will be followed next fortnight by its companion poem, Women I'm Not Married To, by Franklin P. Adams. We were unable to present them together as a duet.

Each fortnight a poem is chosen to be recorded by as many LibriVox volunteers as possible!
This fortnight's poem can be found here. (Right click to open the book in a separate window.)

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Begin your reading with the abbreviated LibriVox disclaimer:
No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!
Men I'm Not Married To, by Dorothy Parker, read for LibriVox.org by [your name].
[Add, if you wish, date, your location, and/or your personal url.]
Then read the poem:
No matter where my route may lie,
No matter whither I repair,
In brief—no matter how or why
Or when I go, the boys are there.

On lane and byways, street and square,
On alley, path and avenue,
They seem to spring up everywhere—
The men I am not married to.

I watch them as they pass me by;
At each in wonderment I stare,
And, “but for heaven’s grace,” I cry,
“There goes the guy whose name I’d wear!”

They represent no species rare,
They walk and talk as others do;
They’re fair to see—but only fair—
The men I am not married to.

I’m sure that to a mother’s eye
Is each potentially a bear.
But though at home they rank ace-high,
No change of heart could I declare.

Yet worry silvers not their hair;
They deck them not with sprigs of rue.
It’s curious how they do not care—
The men I am not married to.

L’Envoi

In fact, if they’d a chance to share
Their lot with me, a lifetime through,
They’d doubtless tender me the air—
The men I am not married to.


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Last edited by msfry on July 6th, 2018, 12:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
msfry
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Post by msfry »

If anyone reading this poem, or visiting this project, would care to tender an opinion of what this line means, I am very curious....

'They’d doubtless tender me the air—"

It seems the poem pivots on this line, but what does it mean?
silverquill
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Post by silverquill »

Am I first? Strange. Oh, well, grab it while you can.


https://librivox.org/uploads/aradlaw/notmarried_parker_lcw_128kb.mp3 3:03

~ Larry
silverquill
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Post by silverquill »

msfry wrote: July 2nd, 2018, 9:01 pm If anyone reading this poem, or visiting this project, would care to tender an opinion of what this line means, I am very curious....

'They’d doubtless tender me the air—"

It seems the poem pivots on this line, but what does it mean?
Yeah, I don't really know either.
Here is one explanation I found, which sounds reasonable in this context.

"I think it's a play on the old idiom, "give me the air", which means to reject or spurn a lover"

So, "tender" used here in the since of give or offer.

~ Larry
msfry
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Post by msfry »

Thank you Larry. Alas, you didn't catch the big change in the First Post, made yesterday before releasing it from the launch pad. David says we can't post both poems together, so the second poem has been removed, and I'll put it up next time.

You'll have to change your offering accordingly, and of course please save the second poem for later.

As to your research on the line, "give me the air", I fear you may be right. But darn, it ruins the poem for me. Who wants their husband to spurn them? I want mine to give me "the air that I breathe", like the song lyric "sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe and to love you."
silverquill
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Post by silverquill »

msfry wrote: July 3rd, 2018, 7:04 am Thank you Larry. Alas, you didn't catch the big change in the First Post, made yesterday before releasing it from the launch pad. David says we can't post both poems together, so the second poem has been removed, and I'll put it up next time.

You'll have to change your offering accordingly, and of course please save the second poem for later.

As to your research on the line, "give me the air", I fear you may be right. But darn, it ruins the poem for me. Who wants their husband to spurn them? I want mine to give me "the air that I breathe", like the song lyric "sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe and to love you."
OK, here it is:
https://librivox.org/uploads/aradlaw/notmarried_parker_lcw_128kb.mp3 1:31

I don't know why we can't have them together. Ithink it was a brilliant idea. But, oh well....

Remember, it is the men she is NOT married to who would tender her the air. So, good fer her. :mrgreen:

~ Larry
msfry
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Post by msfry »

Thanks, Larry. Maybe David can explain why the duet didn't work.

Oh so you are saying that if she was attracted to one of these men enough to want to marry him, he would probably blow her off as unremarkable--mirroring the way she feels about all the other men around her. Yeah, that makes sense. In that case, I'll have to re-write my summary. :(
jenniferrd
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Post by jenniferrd »

All through the poem, she's saying that the men who have passed her by do not love her, but in conclusion, should they have married her, they would have given her love and tenderness.

L’Envoi (in conclusion)

In fact, if they’d a chance to share
Their lot with me, a lifetime through, (these two lines are saying, "had they gotten married")
They’d doubtless tender me the air— (they would have given her "the air" or love in this case - she is saying there is no doubt that they would love me)
The men I am not married to. (keeping with the refrain of the poem, that they are not the men she married)
RajVO
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Post by RajVO »

My Project Catalog
Cheers, Raj.
msfry
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Post by msfry »

Larry and Raj, your readings are PL OK.
msfry
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Post by msfry »

jenniferrd wrote: July 3rd, 2018, 3:14 pm All through the poem, she's saying that the men who have passed her by do not love her, but in conclusion, should they have married her, they would have given her love and tenderness.
Ah, so your interpretation agrees with mine, so maybe I won't re-write my summary! :mrgreen:

If only she had said "given me the moon"!
RajVO
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Post by RajVO »

msfry wrote: July 4th, 2018, 7:53 am Larry and Raj, your readings are PL OK.
Thanks Michele.
My Project Catalog
Cheers, Raj.
jenniferrd
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Post by jenniferrd »

msfry wrote: July 4th, 2018, 8:00 am
jenniferrd wrote: July 3rd, 2018, 3:14 pm All through the poem, she's saying that the men who have passed her by do not love her, but in conclusion, should they have married her, they would have given her love and tenderness.
Ah, so your interpretation agrees with mine, so maybe I won't re-write my summary! :mrgreen:

If only she had said "given me the moon"!
That certainly would have made the interpretation much easier!
msfry
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Post by msfry »

jenniferrd wrote: July 5th, 2018, 3:38 am That certainly would have made the interpretation much easier!
In truth, there is hardly a poem out there where I wouldn't change a word or two if I could! :roll:
msfry
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Post by msfry »

Here's mine:

https://librivox.org/uploads/aradlaw/notmarried_parker_mtf_128kb.mp3 1:38

Now, ain't this fun reading poetry to one another?
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