Shoshanna Wingate
Biography
Shoshanna Wingate - photo courtesy of author's personal twitter account
Shoshanna Wingate is a writer and textile artist born in South Carolina. As a child, she was constantly moving, since living in San Francisco, Vermont, Berlin, and New York. She moved to St. John’s Newfoundland in 2004 with her husband, and now lives, works, and writes out of Sackville, New Brunswick.
Wingate released her first book of poetry in 2014, titled Radio Weather (Véhicule Press). She authored a Chapbook, Homing Instinct, which appeared in Frog Hollow Press in 2012, as well as various individual poems which can be read in The New Quarterly, The Fiddlehead, Arc Poetry Magazine, St. John’s Telegram, Overcast, and have been printed in her textile pieces. Wingate is the founding editor of Riddle Fence, St. John’s Arts and Culture Magazine.
Wingate is currently working on an adult novel titled The Dreamlands, which won the Ruth Landers Glass Scholarship from the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
As of 2019, Wingate has been named the Poet Laureate of Sackville., New Brunswick.
Wingate released her first book of poetry in 2014, titled Radio Weather (Véhicule Press). She authored a Chapbook, Homing Instinct, which appeared in Frog Hollow Press in 2012, as well as various individual poems which can be read in The New Quarterly, The Fiddlehead, Arc Poetry Magazine, St. John’s Telegram, Overcast, and have been printed in her textile pieces. Wingate is the founding editor of Riddle Fence, St. John’s Arts and Culture Magazine.
Wingate is currently working on an adult novel titled The Dreamlands, which won the Ruth Landers Glass Scholarship from the New England Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
As of 2019, Wingate has been named the Poet Laureate of Sackville., New Brunswick.
Additional Information:
Personal Website
Writer's Federation of New Brunswick
Sackville, New Brunswick
Personal Website
Writer's Federation of New Brunswick
Sackville, New Brunswick
(Excerpts)
Dear Sirs,
I am in the Air Force, stationed
In Little Rock, Arkansas, waiting
to go to Vietnam. Like most sane
people, I have no desire to go.
I realize I should have started
my attempt to get out a long time ago.
They don’t really give you much
time to think.
I hate war and everything
to do with war.
Why should myself and others
have to go to every place in the world
and fight and never know the reason why,
except that we were ordered
by someone that doesn’t even know
or care whether or not we exist?
I would rather get out legally
than become a deserter.
I need your help (p. 39).
Dear Sirs,
I am currently serving
with the Air Force,
attempting to gain conscientious
objector status.
I cannot serve a government
which wages senseless wars,
oppresses minority groups,
does particularly nothing
about pollution, etc., etc., etc.
I am writing to request
some help and some
reassurance there are people
who care about not only our nation
but the world community.
That way I would not feel
as though I’m beating my head
against a wall of military minds,
that think more
of death counts and ss-9’s
than integrity (p. 43).
Published in Radio Weather (Montreal: Véhicule Press, 2014).
Used with permission of the author..
Dear Sirs,
I am in the Air Force, stationed
In Little Rock, Arkansas, waiting
to go to Vietnam. Like most sane
people, I have no desire to go.
I realize I should have started
my attempt to get out a long time ago.
They don’t really give you much
time to think.
I hate war and everything
to do with war.
Why should myself and others
have to go to every place in the world
and fight and never know the reason why,
except that we were ordered
by someone that doesn’t even know
or care whether or not we exist?
I would rather get out legally
than become a deserter.
I need your help (p. 39).
Dear Sirs,
I am currently serving
with the Air Force,
attempting to gain conscientious
objector status.
I cannot serve a government
which wages senseless wars,
oppresses minority groups,
does particularly nothing
about pollution, etc., etc., etc.
I am writing to request
some help and some
reassurance there are people
who care about not only our nation
but the world community.
That way I would not feel
as though I’m beating my head
against a wall of military minds,
that think more
of death counts and ss-9’s
than integrity (p. 43).
Published in Radio Weather (Montreal: Véhicule Press, 2014).
Used with permission of the author..
Critical Analysis: “Yours Truly:” a compilation of desperation, reassurance, and hope
Monica Grasse (ACPA Managing Editor, 2016)
In her debut book of poetry, Radio Weather, Shoshanna Wingate speaks about the dark aspects of life beautifully and of how life’s beauty contains an undercurrent of darkness. These contrasting aspects permeate Wingate’s storied memories, indicating her belief that “Our stories, though/tell us who we are” (12).
Wingate first creates this sense of storied memories in her eight page poem, “Letters from Vietnam.” This poem is an “assemblage from letters” sent to Wingate’s father, who was a conscientious objector counselor in New York from 1969-1972, from various World War II soldiers (39). These letters become what author Shane Rhodes defines as “found poetry” (47). The object of choice for such poetry – in this case Wingate’s collection of letters – “derives meaning from the relationship between the poem, poet, and source material” and creates “a new context” which “motivates new meaning” (Rhodes, 51). Essentially, Wingate writes a “new meaning” for the conscientious objector letters by comparing and contrasting the beautiful elements of war such as nations uniting and the victory over evil, with the unchangeable darkness that comes with fighting.
Wingate also uses the letters to evoke an understanding of entrapment for the subject:
I feel like a little kid
having to sneak around
with my long hair
and being my real self (40).
With nowhere to go, each soldier’s letter is re-written by Wingate to focus not on the beauty of war that many see as honorable, but to consider the dark aspects that cloud life’s attempt at peace. Each letter begins by considering life’s beauty; one soldier describes the awards he received for his service: “Here is my Viet Nam patch, my VFW card/and my three purple hearts,” while another writes of wishing to find some “reassurance” that there are “people/who care about not only our nation/but the world community” (41, 43). However, each soldier finishes his letter by admitting that the atrocities of war take over the few aspects of battle they thought they could admire: “…and my three purple hearts./I’m getting sick of looking at them” (41);
I am writing to request
some help and some
reassurance….
That way I would not feel
as though I’m beating my head
against a wall of military minds,
that think more
of death counts and ss-9’s
than integrity (43).
Despite the common belief that serving in war is a heroic choice, Wingate chooses to demonstrate the frustration, anger, and discouragement of war by presenting soldiers seeking removal from one of life’s darkest histories. Because Wingate writes the letters as found poetry, she takes “a shift away from the unexpected poetic building blocks of classical allusion, metaphor, simile, rhyme and rhytm to focus instead on poetry’s ability to interrogate histories and engineer a critical space for dissention, commentary and argument” (Rhodes, 56). Instead of creating a story about life’s everyday beauty, which is found in many of Radio Weather’s other poems, Wingate writes of the everyday that no one but those constantly living it will see. As a result, she makes “commentary and argument” essential for the reader’s analysis of the very personal, desperate letters of the trapped (Rhodes 56).
Wingate’s “Letters from Vietnam” brings readers into the lives of those living the world’s evil each and every day, with no chance of escape except for their one letter. The poem details stories and dreams of ordinary lives to create a sense of desperation, enabling readers to understand the pain of the soldiers and the honorable sincerity of “Yours Truly” (46).
Works Cited (for analysis):
Rhodes, Shane. “Reuse and Recycle: Finding Poetry in Canada.” ARC Poetry Magazine. Ed. Monty Reid. Ottawa: ARC Publishing, 2013. pp. 47 – 57.
Wingate, Shoshanna. Radio Weather. Montreal: Véhicule Press, 2014, pp. 39-46.
In her debut book of poetry, Radio Weather, Shoshanna Wingate speaks about the dark aspects of life beautifully and of how life’s beauty contains an undercurrent of darkness. These contrasting aspects permeate Wingate’s storied memories, indicating her belief that “Our stories, though/tell us who we are” (12).
Wingate first creates this sense of storied memories in her eight page poem, “Letters from Vietnam.” This poem is an “assemblage from letters” sent to Wingate’s father, who was a conscientious objector counselor in New York from 1969-1972, from various World War II soldiers (39). These letters become what author Shane Rhodes defines as “found poetry” (47). The object of choice for such poetry – in this case Wingate’s collection of letters – “derives meaning from the relationship between the poem, poet, and source material” and creates “a new context” which “motivates new meaning” (Rhodes, 51). Essentially, Wingate writes a “new meaning” for the conscientious objector letters by comparing and contrasting the beautiful elements of war such as nations uniting and the victory over evil, with the unchangeable darkness that comes with fighting.
Wingate also uses the letters to evoke an understanding of entrapment for the subject:
I feel like a little kid
having to sneak around
with my long hair
and being my real self (40).
With nowhere to go, each soldier’s letter is re-written by Wingate to focus not on the beauty of war that many see as honorable, but to consider the dark aspects that cloud life’s attempt at peace. Each letter begins by considering life’s beauty; one soldier describes the awards he received for his service: “Here is my Viet Nam patch, my VFW card/and my three purple hearts,” while another writes of wishing to find some “reassurance” that there are “people/who care about not only our nation/but the world community” (41, 43). However, each soldier finishes his letter by admitting that the atrocities of war take over the few aspects of battle they thought they could admire: “…and my three purple hearts./I’m getting sick of looking at them” (41);
I am writing to request
some help and some
reassurance….
That way I would not feel
as though I’m beating my head
against a wall of military minds,
that think more
of death counts and ss-9’s
than integrity (43).
Despite the common belief that serving in war is a heroic choice, Wingate chooses to demonstrate the frustration, anger, and discouragement of war by presenting soldiers seeking removal from one of life’s darkest histories. Because Wingate writes the letters as found poetry, she takes “a shift away from the unexpected poetic building blocks of classical allusion, metaphor, simile, rhyme and rhytm to focus instead on poetry’s ability to interrogate histories and engineer a critical space for dissention, commentary and argument” (Rhodes, 56). Instead of creating a story about life’s everyday beauty, which is found in many of Radio Weather’s other poems, Wingate writes of the everyday that no one but those constantly living it will see. As a result, she makes “commentary and argument” essential for the reader’s analysis of the very personal, desperate letters of the trapped (Rhodes 56).
Wingate’s “Letters from Vietnam” brings readers into the lives of those living the world’s evil each and every day, with no chance of escape except for their one letter. The poem details stories and dreams of ordinary lives to create a sense of desperation, enabling readers to understand the pain of the soldiers and the honorable sincerity of “Yours Truly” (46).
Works Cited (for analysis):
Rhodes, Shane. “Reuse and Recycle: Finding Poetry in Canada.” ARC Poetry Magazine. Ed. Monty Reid. Ottawa: ARC Publishing, 2013. pp. 47 – 57.
Wingate, Shoshanna. Radio Weather. Montreal: Véhicule Press, 2014, pp. 39-46.
Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Wingate, Shoshanna. "Aids Ward." Fiddlehead. (2012): 59.
---. "A Very Windy Day." Newfoundland Quarterly, vol. 102, n. 3, Winter 2009/2010, p. 9.
---. Homing Instinct. Victoria: Frog Hollow Press, 2011.
---. "Origins of Fear." Fiddlehead, vol. 252, 2012, p. 62.
---. Radio Weather. Montreal: Véhicule Press, 2014.
---. "Red Currant Jelly." Fiddlehead, vol. 260, 2014, p. 121.
---. "Shipwreck." Fiddlehead., vol. 260, 2014, p. 119.
---. "Spring." Fiddlehead, vol. 247, 2011, p. 84.
---. "The Other Mother." Fiddlehead, vol. 252, 2012, p. 61.
Secondary Sources:
Bradbury, Tara. “Poetic Imprints.” The Telegram. Transcontinental Media, 7 May 2014, vol. 136, n. 29. www.pressreader.com/canada/the-telegram-st-johns/20140507/textview
Crymble, Phillip. “Show Me The Way to Go Home: Place & Belonging in Shoshanna Wingate’s Homing Instinct.” The Fiddlehead. The Fiddlehead Magazine, 14 Mar. 2012. www. thefiddlehead.ca/content/show-me-way-go-home-place-belonging-shoshanna-wingate%E2%80%99s-homing-instinct
Cull, Kerri. “Death Row Inmates & Anti-war Demonstrations: Shoshanna Wingate's Unconventional Childhood at the Core of Her Remarkable New Book of Poems.” The Overcast. 3 Sept. 2014. www.theovercast.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The-Overcast-September-2014-FA-11.pdf
Davidson, Emily. “Shoshanna Wingate's Radio Weather.” ARC Poetry Magazine. Arc, 5 May, 2015. www.arcpoetry.ca/2015/05/05/a-living-thing-with-ghosts-shoshanna-wingates-radio-weather/
Grasse, Monica. “Shoshanna Wingate, Radio Weather: Poetry Review.” Wording Around. Blogspot, 2 Mar. 2015.
The Literary Press Group of Canada. “Poetry Primer #11: Patrick Warner and Shoshanna Wingate.” All Lit Up. 21 April 2015. www.alllitup.ca/Blog/2015/Poetry-Primer-11-Patrick-Warner-and-Shoshanna-Wingate
Wingate, Shoshanna. Interview by Barbara Carter. Interview: In Shoshanna Wingate’s Secret Garden. The New Quarterly, 2009. www.static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/315224/25396005/1409755225667/Shoshanna+Wingate+Interview.pdf?token=xLFEQKkYJd0d7qL6yTuD4GPNi8k%3D
Wingate, Shoshanna. "Aids Ward." Fiddlehead. (2012): 59.
---. "A Very Windy Day." Newfoundland Quarterly, vol. 102, n. 3, Winter 2009/2010, p. 9.
---. Homing Instinct. Victoria: Frog Hollow Press, 2011.
---. "Origins of Fear." Fiddlehead, vol. 252, 2012, p. 62.
---. Radio Weather. Montreal: Véhicule Press, 2014.
---. "Red Currant Jelly." Fiddlehead, vol. 260, 2014, p. 121.
---. "Shipwreck." Fiddlehead., vol. 260, 2014, p. 119.
---. "Spring." Fiddlehead, vol. 247, 2011, p. 84.
---. "The Other Mother." Fiddlehead, vol. 252, 2012, p. 61.
Secondary Sources:
Bradbury, Tara. “Poetic Imprints.” The Telegram. Transcontinental Media, 7 May 2014, vol. 136, n. 29. www.pressreader.com/canada/the-telegram-st-johns/20140507/textview
Crymble, Phillip. “Show Me The Way to Go Home: Place & Belonging in Shoshanna Wingate’s Homing Instinct.” The Fiddlehead. The Fiddlehead Magazine, 14 Mar. 2012. www. thefiddlehead.ca/content/show-me-way-go-home-place-belonging-shoshanna-wingate%E2%80%99s-homing-instinct
Cull, Kerri. “Death Row Inmates & Anti-war Demonstrations: Shoshanna Wingate's Unconventional Childhood at the Core of Her Remarkable New Book of Poems.” The Overcast. 3 Sept. 2014. www.theovercast.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The-Overcast-September-2014-FA-11.pdf
Davidson, Emily. “Shoshanna Wingate's Radio Weather.” ARC Poetry Magazine. Arc, 5 May, 2015. www.arcpoetry.ca/2015/05/05/a-living-thing-with-ghosts-shoshanna-wingates-radio-weather/
Grasse, Monica. “Shoshanna Wingate, Radio Weather: Poetry Review.” Wording Around. Blogspot, 2 Mar. 2015.
The Literary Press Group of Canada. “Poetry Primer #11: Patrick Warner and Shoshanna Wingate.” All Lit Up. 21 April 2015. www.alllitup.ca/Blog/2015/Poetry-Primer-11-Patrick-Warner-and-Shoshanna-Wingate
Wingate, Shoshanna. Interview by Barbara Carter. Interview: In Shoshanna Wingate’s Secret Garden. The New Quarterly, 2009. www.static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/315224/25396005/1409755225667/Shoshanna+Wingate+Interview.pdf?token=xLFEQKkYJd0d7qL6yTuD4GPNi8k%3D
