Libby Oughton
Biography
Libby Oughton - Photo Courtesy of PEI Wild Women Writers
Libby Oughton is a poet and publisher from Prince Edward Island. Her 1988 collection,getting the housework done for the dance, is one of the most successful books of poetry published by an Island author. Oughton bought Ragweed Press, the foremost press operating out of Prince Edward Island, in 1982. Soon after she oversaw the publication ofIsland Women: Our Prose and Poetry, and soon set up Gynergy Press, an imprint of Ragweed devoted solely to women’s writing. Gynergy continues to publish exclusively feminist and lesbian writing, though Oughton has since sold the company. As a result of her commitment to publishing Island writers, Oughton has been instrumental in fostering literary production in the province.
Oughton occasionally writes for Buzz Magazine, Prince Edward Island’s monthly guide to local arts and entertainment.
Oughton occasionally writes for Buzz Magazine, Prince Edward Island’s monthly guide to local arts and entertainment.
parking. undergound parking. follow the arrows. yel-
low lines. park here. empty space. can i park. i am the
park. i am alone. dark. afraid. dark. dark. d/ark.
ark. arch.
arch your back under me. feels better.
arch enemy. enema. clean me out. witches' blood.
cauldron. cooking up ideas. this is no parking space for
these ideas. don't fit inside yellow lines. not neat and
tidy. up. the tiny space you left for me. after i'd washed
all the diapers. remembered where you'd left the keys.
ironed you smooth. starched the collars. found the
studs. to stick you together. my stud. HA! english
style stud. painted care/fully the pinstripes up and
down. kissed you. peck. at the door a thousand (1000)
times. didn't feel a thing. turned to baby. waiting to be
parked. inside my heart. heart closed for baby. for
everything. zippered tight. pick up poor baby. stuff
her inside my chest. zip. unzip. zip. vacuum floors.
polish too. lemon oil. lemon life. shine me. shine
baby. shine sun. spotless. our little homespot. oil our
life. oil your pinstripes. the snake is striped. coils in
dark corner. spotless too. hidden underground.
under ground. where i yearn to be. parked. buried.
forgotten. i can't stand this. marriage. merry/age.
HUH! i can not bear it. this baby child. stuck to me like
glue. stuck to us. sticking us. you stick it. in. in and in
and in. it is after all your right. you thought you
bought. in the contract. the right to stick it in. park in
my body. in my mind. cadillac you said. parked in
me. taking up space. the little space i had left. lined
it. defined it. with your name. my own space. now i
fit yellow lines.
park-with-me-i-am-your-god-i-am-your-
right-to-life. i am man. here. this space is
yours. your very own. these walls. these
time-saving utensils. park your mind here.
this is my kingdom. king/dom. dome.
domesticity.
domestic animal.
you'll love it. yes you will. love me. forever
and ever. till death tears us as/under. the
rules are clear. please make sure. every day.
press my pinstripes. straight
straight. pin. i have pins. diaper pins. a jarful. beside
this marriage bed. pins. get one out. 3 out. ten. i'll
stick them. in to you. just like you stuck it. in to me.
you the pin cushion. you. pinned down. pinned up.
poked. penetrated. diaper pinned. folded together.
cotton diaper. triangle folds. best for boys. where the
son you wanted would pee. girlchildbaby gets them
folded. the way you demand. i put them in the closet.
all perfect folded for sons. perfect you they say. a new
man. deep in night. baby detaches from my chest.
cries. you take neatly folded son diaper. take off wet
one. put dry one on. responsible you are. you feel
good. good man they say. i am born for your good.
nothing more and nothing less. i am less. the laundry
basket. silent. fold myself in. wash and stack diapers.
sew on buttons. sweep up yesterday. repeat and re-
peat. repeat/peat/peat. make the curtains for your
stage. whitewash the soap box. you enter. say a few
words. they clap. love you. your pinstripes are
straight. you park underground. you are kind they say.
(help little wifey middle of the nighty with the girlchild-
baby who should have been a boy.) this husband. this
father. this man in the morning. this man in the night.
peck peck at me. peck. pecker. wood pecker.
wood. lemon oil. shine yr pecker. shine yr wooden
pecker. wooden inside of me. parked in me. parked.
not a park of roses. dreams they said of roses. would
bloom if i just believed. in you. in this. and there was
nothing. actually these. all the years. ironing yr
stripes. skunk. skunk stripes. find clothespin in my
laundry basket. put it on my nose. keep out skunk.
this marriage stinks. i am un/happy. i am paralyzed.
snakes park in every corner. their tongues reach.
wrap. dart. throw darts. target. i am impaled. this
marriage is a pale facsimile. pail. wash floors again.
repeat and dissolve. i am dissolving. in this dream.
baby coils. squeezes tight. the weight of her. i am sink-
ing. into the pail. drowning. try to keep ironing the
stripes. they get crooked. you shout. bust my head. i
try again. it's all i have for focus. you hate these crooked
stripes. you're not perfect now. i heat the iron. hotter
and hotter. baby wraps around my heart. grows roots.
wants a place. in my parking lots. i don't have space. i
don't have. have nothing. i am nothing. i am. not.
these is no shadow when i walk by. these is nothing. no
thing. no. yes. only one thing. i don't want you. i
don't. look. how much more of me do you need. look.
not even a shadow. remains of me. remains. burned
on the pyre. no ashes. urn t/urned upside down. this
is it. this is not. a life.
i told you so. i told told told you. this is life.
just iron the stripes. neat and straight. this is
it. a life.
help. help. help. this is not it.
just open yr legs again. this is it. take this.
and this. and this is all you will ever get.
ever need.
theRe is a jar of pIns. bLue tOps for boys. pINK for
girls. SaFety pINs. safety. SAfE. i aM not.
pinK-or-bLUe pink-Or-bLue i sliP thrOugH. i. i aM
witHoUt. a sHadoW. of a dOuBt. craZy. i aM
crazzzzzZy. this baBychild wrAps. pArks in mY heArt.
fills tHe lasT sPAcE. yeLlow lines. last pArking. lot.
and abel. i am Not abLe. i knoT. thIs Girlchild tO my
heart. and sLip away. a way beyonD you.
Published in getting the housework done for the dance (Williams-Wallace, 1988).
Used with permission of the author.
low lines. park here. empty space. can i park. i am the
park. i am alone. dark. afraid. dark. dark. d/ark.
ark. arch.
arch your back under me. feels better.
arch enemy. enema. clean me out. witches' blood.
cauldron. cooking up ideas. this is no parking space for
these ideas. don't fit inside yellow lines. not neat and
tidy. up. the tiny space you left for me. after i'd washed
all the diapers. remembered where you'd left the keys.
ironed you smooth. starched the collars. found the
studs. to stick you together. my stud. HA! english
style stud. painted care/fully the pinstripes up and
down. kissed you. peck. at the door a thousand (1000)
times. didn't feel a thing. turned to baby. waiting to be
parked. inside my heart. heart closed for baby. for
everything. zippered tight. pick up poor baby. stuff
her inside my chest. zip. unzip. zip. vacuum floors.
polish too. lemon oil. lemon life. shine me. shine
baby. shine sun. spotless. our little homespot. oil our
life. oil your pinstripes. the snake is striped. coils in
dark corner. spotless too. hidden underground.
under ground. where i yearn to be. parked. buried.
forgotten. i can't stand this. marriage. merry/age.
HUH! i can not bear it. this baby child. stuck to me like
glue. stuck to us. sticking us. you stick it. in. in and in
and in. it is after all your right. you thought you
bought. in the contract. the right to stick it in. park in
my body. in my mind. cadillac you said. parked in
me. taking up space. the little space i had left. lined
it. defined it. with your name. my own space. now i
fit yellow lines.
park-with-me-i-am-your-god-i-am-your-
right-to-life. i am man. here. this space is
yours. your very own. these walls. these
time-saving utensils. park your mind here.
this is my kingdom. king/dom. dome.
domesticity.
domestic animal.
you'll love it. yes you will. love me. forever
and ever. till death tears us as/under. the
rules are clear. please make sure. every day.
press my pinstripes. straight
straight. pin. i have pins. diaper pins. a jarful. beside
this marriage bed. pins. get one out. 3 out. ten. i'll
stick them. in to you. just like you stuck it. in to me.
you the pin cushion. you. pinned down. pinned up.
poked. penetrated. diaper pinned. folded together.
cotton diaper. triangle folds. best for boys. where the
son you wanted would pee. girlchildbaby gets them
folded. the way you demand. i put them in the closet.
all perfect folded for sons. perfect you they say. a new
man. deep in night. baby detaches from my chest.
cries. you take neatly folded son diaper. take off wet
one. put dry one on. responsible you are. you feel
good. good man they say. i am born for your good.
nothing more and nothing less. i am less. the laundry
basket. silent. fold myself in. wash and stack diapers.
sew on buttons. sweep up yesterday. repeat and re-
peat. repeat/peat/peat. make the curtains for your
stage. whitewash the soap box. you enter. say a few
words. they clap. love you. your pinstripes are
straight. you park underground. you are kind they say.
(help little wifey middle of the nighty with the girlchild-
baby who should have been a boy.) this husband. this
father. this man in the morning. this man in the night.
peck peck at me. peck. pecker. wood pecker.
wood. lemon oil. shine yr pecker. shine yr wooden
pecker. wooden inside of me. parked in me. parked.
not a park of roses. dreams they said of roses. would
bloom if i just believed. in you. in this. and there was
nothing. actually these. all the years. ironing yr
stripes. skunk. skunk stripes. find clothespin in my
laundry basket. put it on my nose. keep out skunk.
this marriage stinks. i am un/happy. i am paralyzed.
snakes park in every corner. their tongues reach.
wrap. dart. throw darts. target. i am impaled. this
marriage is a pale facsimile. pail. wash floors again.
repeat and dissolve. i am dissolving. in this dream.
baby coils. squeezes tight. the weight of her. i am sink-
ing. into the pail. drowning. try to keep ironing the
stripes. they get crooked. you shout. bust my head. i
try again. it's all i have for focus. you hate these crooked
stripes. you're not perfect now. i heat the iron. hotter
and hotter. baby wraps around my heart. grows roots.
wants a place. in my parking lots. i don't have space. i
don't have. have nothing. i am nothing. i am. not.
these is no shadow when i walk by. these is nothing. no
thing. no. yes. only one thing. i don't want you. i
don't. look. how much more of me do you need. look.
not even a shadow. remains of me. remains. burned
on the pyre. no ashes. urn t/urned upside down. this
is it. this is not. a life.
i told you so. i told told told you. this is life.
just iron the stripes. neat and straight. this is
it. a life.
help. help. help. this is not it.
just open yr legs again. this is it. take this.
and this. and this is all you will ever get.
ever need.
theRe is a jar of pIns. bLue tOps for boys. pINK for
girls. SaFety pINs. safety. SAfE. i aM not.
pinK-or-bLUe pink-Or-bLue i sliP thrOugH. i. i aM
witHoUt. a sHadoW. of a dOuBt. craZy. i aM
crazzzzzZy. this baBychild wrAps. pArks in mY heArt.
fills tHe lasT sPAcE. yeLlow lines. last pArking. lot.
and abel. i am Not abLe. i knoT. thIs Girlchild tO my
heart. and sLip away. a way beyonD you.
Published in getting the housework done for the dance (Williams-Wallace, 1988).
Used with permission of the author.
Critical Analysis: Domestic Entrapment in Libby Oughton's "Heh! Paradise"
Katelyn Price (for ENGL 4416: Atlantic Canadian Women Poets)
Libby Oughton's “Heh! Paradise” details the life of a woman trapped in her domestic situation. Entrapment in domestic life has been a focus of scholars for decades, as they detail “the disjuncture that...existed between the private world of the home and the family and the public world of work and politics in the post-war era” (Johnson and Lloyd 119). By the late 1940's and early 1950's, the post-war housewife was “diagnosed...as living in a state of boredom and dissatisfaction” (Johnson 120). Oughton's work, in particular, is heavily situated in the time that it was written. Writing fresh off the heels of the second wave of feminism, Oughton's speaker rejects and resents her expected role as housewife in “Heh! Paradise,” instead promoting a deeper understanding of gender roles and choice.
Oughton's speaker is married, a mother, and unhappy. Through her use of form, Oughton explores the mental deterioration of her speaker. Fragmented, short, and choppy sentences detail the routines of mother, caretaker, and housewife; of a life reduced to four walls:
this is no parking space for
these ideas. don't fit inside yellow lines. not neat and
tidy. up. the tiny space you left for me...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
vacuum floors.
polish too. lemon oil. lemon life. shine me. shine
baby. shine sun. spotless (7-9, 18-20).
In shining not only the furniture but also herself and her child, Oughton presents her speaker as an object rather than a subject in her own life. Even though her speaker has ideas, she is given no means to express them, and as a result emotionally removes herself from her life.
As the poem progresses, the speaker notes how her husband—for whom she is both wife and mother, given the speaker's tasks such as “remember[ing] where you'd left the keys. / ironed you smooth. starched the collars. found the / studs. to stick you together” (10-12)—, her domestic situation, and her child have absorbed her. She is consumed, losing any sense of self in the process:
park in
my body. in my mind. cadillac you said. parked in
me. taking up space. the little space i had left. lined
it. defined it. with your name. my own space. now i
fit yellow lines.
park-with me-i-am-your-god-i-am-your
right-to-life. i am man. here. this space is
yours. your very own. these walls. these
time-saving utensils. park your mind here.
this is my kingdom. king/dom. dome.
domesticity. (28-8)
With such language, Oughton's speaker is reduced to an object. Constrained, she is unable to live her life for herself, and is instead living her life for others. Moreover, Oughton speaks to the religious tale of women's creation: as her speaker's husband proclaims “i-am-your-god-i-am-your / right-to-life. i am man” (33-34), the speaker as a wholly realized individual disintegrates. Rather than being a person in and of herself, Oughton's speaker is instead measured against her husband and considered as a person only in relation to him. Due also to “an increasing expression of feelings of boredom and isolation on the part of women at home” (Johnson 131), Oughton's use of form in the work chronicles not only a daily routine, but a mental deterioration.
Works Cited (for analysis):
Johnson, Lesley and Justine Lloyd. Sentenced to Everyday Life: Feminism and the Housewife. Oxford: Berg, 2004. WorldCat. 18 Aug 2011.
Oughton, Libby. “Heh! Paradise.” getting the housework done for the dance. Toronto: Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1988. 11-12.
Libby Oughton's “Heh! Paradise” details the life of a woman trapped in her domestic situation. Entrapment in domestic life has been a focus of scholars for decades, as they detail “the disjuncture that...existed between the private world of the home and the family and the public world of work and politics in the post-war era” (Johnson and Lloyd 119). By the late 1940's and early 1950's, the post-war housewife was “diagnosed...as living in a state of boredom and dissatisfaction” (Johnson 120). Oughton's work, in particular, is heavily situated in the time that it was written. Writing fresh off the heels of the second wave of feminism, Oughton's speaker rejects and resents her expected role as housewife in “Heh! Paradise,” instead promoting a deeper understanding of gender roles and choice.
Oughton's speaker is married, a mother, and unhappy. Through her use of form, Oughton explores the mental deterioration of her speaker. Fragmented, short, and choppy sentences detail the routines of mother, caretaker, and housewife; of a life reduced to four walls:
this is no parking space for
these ideas. don't fit inside yellow lines. not neat and
tidy. up. the tiny space you left for me...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
vacuum floors.
polish too. lemon oil. lemon life. shine me. shine
baby. shine sun. spotless (7-9, 18-20).
In shining not only the furniture but also herself and her child, Oughton presents her speaker as an object rather than a subject in her own life. Even though her speaker has ideas, she is given no means to express them, and as a result emotionally removes herself from her life.
As the poem progresses, the speaker notes how her husband—for whom she is both wife and mother, given the speaker's tasks such as “remember[ing] where you'd left the keys. / ironed you smooth. starched the collars. found the / studs. to stick you together” (10-12)—, her domestic situation, and her child have absorbed her. She is consumed, losing any sense of self in the process:
park in
my body. in my mind. cadillac you said. parked in
me. taking up space. the little space i had left. lined
it. defined it. with your name. my own space. now i
fit yellow lines.
park-with me-i-am-your-god-i-am-your
right-to-life. i am man. here. this space is
yours. your very own. these walls. these
time-saving utensils. park your mind here.
this is my kingdom. king/dom. dome.
domesticity. (28-8)
With such language, Oughton's speaker is reduced to an object. Constrained, she is unable to live her life for herself, and is instead living her life for others. Moreover, Oughton speaks to the religious tale of women's creation: as her speaker's husband proclaims “i-am-your-god-i-am-your / right-to-life. i am man” (33-34), the speaker as a wholly realized individual disintegrates. Rather than being a person in and of herself, Oughton's speaker is instead measured against her husband and considered as a person only in relation to him. Due also to “an increasing expression of feelings of boredom and isolation on the part of women at home” (Johnson 131), Oughton's use of form in the work chronicles not only a daily routine, but a mental deterioration.
Works Cited (for analysis):
Johnson, Lesley and Justine Lloyd. Sentenced to Everyday Life: Feminism and the Housewife. Oxford: Berg, 2004. WorldCat. 18 Aug 2011.
Oughton, Libby. “Heh! Paradise.” getting the housework done for the dance. Toronto: Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1988. 11-12.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Dykewoman, Elana, Judith Barrington, Libby Oughton, et. al. Dyke Proud: A Lesbian Poetry Reading from the 3rd International Feminist Bookfair. Montreal: Annor, 1988.
Oughton, Libby. getting the housework done for the dance. Toronto: Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1988.
---. “The Human Comedy: The Legacy of the Late Erica Rutherford.” BUZZon: Arts and Entertainment on Prince Edward Island, Canada. The Buzz Magazine, July 2008.
---. “Sooner or Later All Bodies Tend to Move Toward the Centre of the Earth.” Frictions: stories by women. Ed. Rhea Tregebov. Toronto: Second Story Press, 1989.
---. “Tributes to Hilda.” BUZZon: Arts and Entertainment on Prince Edward Island, Canada.The Buzz Magazine, February 2008.
Secondary Sources
Fiamengo, Marya. “getting the housework done for the dance.” Rev. of getting the housework done for the dance, by Libby Oughton. Journal of Canadian Poetry: The Poetry Review for the Year of 1988 5 (1990).
Morrissey, Stephen. "Getting the Housework done for the Dance // Review." Rev. of getting the housework done for the dance, by Libby Oughton. Poetry Canada (1989): 90-94.CBCAComplete.
Welch, Liliane. “getting the housework done for the dance [by] Libby Oughton.” Rev. ofgetting the housework done for the dance, by Libby Oughton. Atlantis 13.3 (1988): 145.
Dykewoman, Elana, Judith Barrington, Libby Oughton, et. al. Dyke Proud: A Lesbian Poetry Reading from the 3rd International Feminist Bookfair. Montreal: Annor, 1988.
Oughton, Libby. getting the housework done for the dance. Toronto: Williams-Wallace Publishers, 1988.
---. “The Human Comedy: The Legacy of the Late Erica Rutherford.” BUZZon: Arts and Entertainment on Prince Edward Island, Canada. The Buzz Magazine, July 2008.
---. “Sooner or Later All Bodies Tend to Move Toward the Centre of the Earth.” Frictions: stories by women. Ed. Rhea Tregebov. Toronto: Second Story Press, 1989.
---. “Tributes to Hilda.” BUZZon: Arts and Entertainment on Prince Edward Island, Canada.The Buzz Magazine, February 2008.
Secondary Sources
Fiamengo, Marya. “getting the housework done for the dance.” Rev. of getting the housework done for the dance, by Libby Oughton. Journal of Canadian Poetry: The Poetry Review for the Year of 1988 5 (1990).
Morrissey, Stephen. "Getting the Housework done for the Dance // Review." Rev. of getting the housework done for the dance, by Libby Oughton. Poetry Canada (1989): 90-94.CBCAComplete.
Welch, Liliane. “getting the housework done for the dance [by] Libby Oughton.” Rev. ofgetting the housework done for the dance, by Libby Oughton. Atlantis 13.3 (1988): 145.
