"Not Waving but Drowning" is a poem by the British poet Stevie Smith. It was published in 1957, as part of a collection of the same title.[1] The most famous of Smith's poems,[2] it gives an account of a drowned man, whose distant movements in the water had been mistaken for waving.[3] The poem was accompanied by one of Smith's drawings, as was common in her work.
The poem's personal significance has been the topic of several pieces of literary criticism, because Smith was treated for psychological problems. She contemplated suicide at the age of eight, after what she described as a difficult childhood and her struggle with the fact that her father abandoned her.[4]
Like many of Smith's poems, "Not Waving but Drowning" is short, consisting of only twelve lines. The narrative takes place from a third-person perspective, and describes the circumstances surrounding the "dead man" described in line one. In line five, the poem suggests that the man who has died "always loved larking," which causes his distress signals to be discounted.[2]
The image that Smith attached to the poem shows the form of a girl from the waist up, with her wet hair hanging over her face. Although the image goes with a poem about a man drowning, the girl's expression appears incongruous with the text of the poem, as it forms what Smith scholar Laura Severin describes as a "mysterious smile".[5] Jannice Thaddeus suggests that the speaker of the poem, like other figures in Smith's works, changes from male to female as part of a theme of androgyny that exists in many of the poems found in Selected Poems.[6] Severin suggests that the figure might be Mary, a character in another poem by Smith titled "Cool as a Cucumber". The drawing was used as the accompanying image for the poem "The Frozen Lake" in Selected Poems, a self-edited compilation of Smith's works published in 1962.[5][7]
Although Ingrid Hotz-Davies suggests that the "drowning man" is Smith herself, she also states that there are problems with reading the poem as a cry for help, due to the humorous tone of the poem, yet at the same time she also notes that the representational form of the poem "may easily be misread as a friendly wave of the hand".[2] The poem's simple diction led Clive James to suggest that Smith attempted to write the poem so that the diction appeared ignorant of poetic convention, yet was carefully crafted to appear more simple than it was.[8] James describes the relationship between Smith and the speaker in "Not Waving but Drowning" by saying, "her poems, if they were pills to cure Melancholy, did not work for [Smith]. The best of them, however, worked like charms for everyone else."[8]
In other mediaEdit
The poem was performed as part of the 1976 album Tears of Steel & the Clowning Calaveras released by Australian singer Jeannie Lewis (Track 4b), and recited by two actors: Lex Marinos as the "Narrator" (...but still he lay moaning), and Nick Lathouris as the "Dead Man" (I was too far out...)[citation needed]
Australian ambient and alternative music group Not Drowning, Waving take their name from the poem.[9]
A track on Julian Cope's 1991 album Peggy Suicide was titled "Not Raving but Drowning" after the poem.[10]
The poem was set to music by singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt on his debut album Little, with a spoken introduction from a Stevie Smith recording.[citation needed]
Erin McKean wrote a short story entitled "Not Waving But Drowning" which was published in Machine of Death, a collection of short stories. In it she talks of the poem and the author.[citation needed]
British confessional rapper Loyle Carner used the poem's title for his sophomore album of the same name. The title track features Stevie Smith commenting on the poem over piano chords composed by Jordan Rakei.
Scottish rock band Big Country recorded the song "Not Waving But Drowning" as part of the sessions for the Peace In Our Time album. The track would ultimately end up as a bonus track on the single "King Of Emotion".[12]
In the first episode of the 2020 Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, the poem is taught and recited in an English class, while chess prodigy Beth Harmon furtively studies a book of chess openings.
The final track of the Welsh art punk band The Victorian English Gentlemens Club's album Bag of Meat is titled "Not Waving But Drowning". Alongside the title, the track's lyrics seem to loosely reference and paraphrase parts of the poem.
ReferencesEdit
^Sternlicht, Sanford V.Stevie Smith. Twayne Publishers (1990) p. 63.
^ abcHotz-Davies, Ingrid. "My Name is Finis: The Loneliness of Stevie Smith". Rodopi (1994) p.233.
^Rose, Gillian. Mourning becomes the law: philosophy and representation. Cambridge University Press (1996) p.38.
^Walsh, Jessica. "Stevie Smith: Girl Interrupted"Papers on Language and Literature" Vol.40.
^ abJames, Clive. As of This Writing. W. W. Norton & Company (2003) p.127.
^Nimmervoll, Ed. "Not Drowning Waving". Howlspace. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012.
^Liner notes to album Peggy Suicide by Julian Cope.
^"Tanita Tikaram – I Might Be Crying". Discogs. discogs.com. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
^"Not Waving But Drowning". www.bigcountryinfo.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
External linksEdit
Stevie Smith reading "Not Waving But Drowning" (includes poem text)
September 01, 2023
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For other uses see Not Waving but Drowning disambiguation Not Waving but Drowning is a poem by the British poet Stevie Smith It was published in 1957 as part of a collection of the same title 1 The most famous of Smith s poems 2 it gives an account of a drowned man whose distant movements in the water had been mistaken for waving 3 The poem was accompanied by one of Smith s drawings as was common in her work The poem s personal significance has been the topic of several pieces of literary criticism because Smith was treated for psychological problems She contemplated suicide at the age of eight after what she described as a difficult childhood and her struggle with the fact that her father abandoned her 4 Contents 1 Interpretations 2 In other media 3 References 4 External linksInterpretations EditLike many of Smith s poems Not Waving but Drowning is short consisting of only twelve lines The narrative takes place from a third person perspective and describes the circumstances surrounding the dead man described in line one In line five the poem suggests that the man who has died always loved larking which causes his distress signals to be discounted 2 The image that Smith attached to the poem shows the form of a girl from the waist up with her wet hair hanging over her face Although the image goes with a poem about a man drowning the girl s expression appears incongruous with the text of the poem as it forms what Smith scholar Laura Severin describes as a mysterious smile 5 Jannice Thaddeus suggests that the speaker of the poem like other figures in Smith s works changes from male to female as part of a theme of androgyny that exists in many of the poems found in Selected Poems 6 Severin suggests that the figure might be Mary a character in another poem by Smith titled Cool as a Cucumber The drawing was used as the accompanying image for the poem The Frozen Lake in Selected Poems a self edited compilation of Smith s works published in 1962 5 7 Although Ingrid Hotz Davies suggests that the drowning man is Smith herself she also states that there are problems with reading the poem as a cry for help due to the humorous tone of the poem yet at the same time she also notes that the representational form of the poem may easily be misread as a friendly wave of the hand 2 The poem s simple diction led Clive James to suggest that Smith attempted to write the poem so that the diction appeared ignorant of poetic convention yet was carefully crafted to appear more simple than it was 8 James describes the relationship between Smith and the speaker in Not Waving but Drowning by saying her poems if they were pills to cure Melancholy did not work for Smith The best of them however worked like charms for everyone else 8 In other media EditThe poem was performed as part of the 1976 album Tears of Steel amp the Clowning Calaveras released by Australian singer Jeannie Lewis Track 4b and recited by two actors Lex Marinos as the Narrator but still he lay moaning and Nick Lathouris as the Dead Man I was too far out citation needed Australian ambient and alternative music group Not Drowning Waving take their name from the poem 9 A track on Julian Cope s 1991 album Peggy Suicide was titled Not Raving but Drowning after the poem 10 The poem was set to music by singer songwriter Vic Chesnutt on his debut album Little with a spoken introduction from a Stevie Smith recording citation needed Tanita Tikaram set the poem to music as the b side to her single I Might Be Crying 11 Erin McKean wrote a short story entitled Not Waving But Drowning which was published in Machine of Death a collection of short stories In it she talks of the poem and the author citation needed Composer Nina C Young set the poem in a piece scored for solo viola piano and mixed choir citation needed English experimental post punk band This Heat paraphrase the title and theme of the poem in their song Not Waving from their 1979 eponymous debut album citation needed British confessional rapper Loyle Carner used the poem s title for his sophomore album of the same name The title track features Stevie Smith commenting on the poem over piano chords composed by Jordan Rakei Scottish rock band Big Country recorded the song Not Waving But Drowning as part of the sessions for the Peace In Our Time album The track would ultimately end up as a bonus track on the single King Of Emotion 12 In the first episode of the 2020 Netflix series The Queen s Gambit the poem is taught and recited in an English class while chess prodigy Beth Harmon furtively studies a book of chess openings The final track of the Welsh art punk band The Victorian English Gentlemens Club s album Bag of Meat is titled Not Waving But Drowning Alongside the title the track s lyrics seem to loosely reference and paraphrase parts of the poem References Edit Sternlicht Sanford V Stevie Smith Twayne Publishers 1990 p 63 a b c Hotz Davies Ingrid My Name is Finis The Loneliness of Stevie Smith Rodopi 1994 p 233 Rose Gillian Mourning becomes the law philosophy and representation Cambridge University Press 1996 p 38 Walsh Jessica Stevie Smith Girl Interrupted Papers on Language and Literature Vol 40 a b Severin Laura Stevie Smith s Resistant Antics Univ of Wisconsin Press 1997 p 71 72 Thaddeus Janice Stevie Smith and the Gleeful Macabre Contemporary Poetry Vol 111 No 4 1978 pp 36 49 Smith Stevie Collected PoemsNew Directions Publishing 1983 pp 393 396 a b James Clive As of This Writing W W Norton amp Company 2003 p 127 Nimmervoll Ed Not Drowning Waving Howlspace Archived from the original on 26 July 2012 Liner notes to album Peggy Suicide by Julian Cope Tanita Tikaram I Might Be Crying Discogs discogs com Retrieved 13 April 2019 Not Waving But Drowning www bigcountryinfo com Retrieved 21 June 2019 External links EditStevie Smith reading Not Waving But Drowning includes poem text Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Not Waving but Drowning amp oldid 1165335498, 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