Power, Jealousy, and the Pursuit of Perfection in Poetry

Title: All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost

Author: Lan Samantha Chang

In the spirit of keeping things (relatively) close to home this month, we chose Lan Samantha Chang's most recent novel. She is the Director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, an institution close to the hearts and part of the pasts of several of our membership.

From the publisher: "At the renowned writing school in Bonneville, every student is simultaneously terrified of and attracted to the charismatic and mysterious poet and professor Miranda Sturgis, whose high standards for art are both intimidating and inspiring. As two students, Roman and Bernard, strive to win her admiration, the lines between mentorship, friendship, and love are blurred.

Roman's star rises early, and his first book wins a prestigious prize. Meanwhile, Bernard labors for years over a single poem. Secrets of the past begin to surface, friendships are broken, and Miranda continues to cast a shadow over their lives. What is the hidden burden of early promise? What are the personal costs of a life devoted to the pursuit of art? All Is Forgotten, Nothing Is Lost is a brilliant evocation of the demands of ambition and vocation, personal loyalty and poetic truth."

Insights and Opinions

The title for this section should, more accurately, be renamed "So Many Questions." The word "thought-provoking" comes to mind. This book provokes.

Question #1: Jocey asked first. Was someone abusing power? And would the story have been different if Roman were a woman, or if the student and the teacher were of the same gender?

Reactions: The story begins in 1986. The #MeToo movement had not yet occurred. Romantic and sexual relationships between faculty and staff were not uncommon and raised few eyebrows. Linda: "The idea that a professor, no matter what, has power over a student...that was not something people would even think about back then."

Steve: "Faculty would have affairs with each other and with students, the faculty and students would socialize, it was just in the water." Shirley: "Was the culture so rampant that people crossed those lines without thinking of it?"

Question #2: Who was abusing power? Was it Miranda, the professor, who had power over Roman the student and the future trajectory of his career? Or was it Roman, the student, who had sexual power over Miranda and the power to withhold love? Or even Bernard who seemed innocent in so many ways, yet was a wily manipulator?

Reactions: Liz: "I think this story is more about people using each other than it is about power." Lois: "Roman was exerting the power that he felt was his."  

Chris: "Let's talk about Miranda. I've had professors who were unnecessarily cruel. And she is nasty. She enters into the relationship with Roman as her privilege. But then it flips on her and he is in the power position." Margy: "Do you think the author is making Miranda more of a Cruella De Vil because she was writing about a time when things were very different for women?"

Question #3: What about character development? Do we ever really get to know Lucy or the other characters in the book beyond Roman? Why are they so thinly developed?

Reactions: Chris: "You read the first half of the book, meet Lucy's parents, and then turn the page and they've been married for 15 years. So, what happened?" Shirley: "But I don't think Lucy is much of a character."

Liz: "All of the characters are ciphers to a degree because we see them only through Roman's eyes and that's all he sees.They are all undeveloped because, to him, they aren't important."

Question #4: Does Roman have a soul? Is he redeemed at the end when he stays by Bernard's side?

Reactions: Linda: "There is nothing in Roman except his regard for self. He was always about strategy." Liz: "I wouldn't say that Roman is redeemed. He just has a redemptive moment. He has a soul, but he hasn't found it."

Lois: "If there is a nuance to Roman, it's very well hidden." Margy: "That blind ambition. Seeing it that clearly is jarring."

Question #5: What is the message? What are we, as readers, to take away from this book?

Reactions: Chang's characters wax on about the importance of poetry, often proclaiming it as the highest of all art forms. Some members of our group rejected the notion that poetry is above it all, and Steve asked, "Is there something about all artistic pursuit that is inherently narcissistic and self-indulgent?"

Shirley: "This book is all about poetry. All of the sentences about the worth of poetry and that it is better than all other arts. I just don't dig it. I was impatient with the constant acclamation of poetry." 

Shirley takes a stand

 

Somebody (sorry, but you are only "S" in my notes. You could be either Steve or Shirley): Is Chang exploring the role of sexual relationships in teaching and writing? A rite of passage in the life of poets? Is she saying these teachers were imbuing their students with success through their bodies?" Lois: "She is just laying it out there, and not drawing a conclusion."

 

Question #6: Why is the name of the book what it is? What does it mean?

Reactions: Nobody knew. 

Conclusions: Overall, the group felt there were few redeeming characters in the book. For some, that makes a book a no-go. For others, that's a non-issue if the book is well-written and thought-provoking, which this one is. The fact that we could have spent another hour talking about it should tell you something.

What We Are Reading Next

There will be no meeting in December as everyone is busy. For January, we will be reading Day by Michael Cunningham.

Other books, which we are NOT reading for January but were discussed as possibles are listed here, should you be looking for added things to read that have been read and enjoyed by fellow book club members:

Trust (Pulitzer Prize Winner), by Hernan Diaz

Serena, by Ron Rash

Ms. Demeanor, by Eleanor Lipman

Old God's Time, by Sebastian Barry

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride

Steve's box of dissertation stuff.

 

These are serious book people.