Michelle McGrane was born in Zimbabwe and spent her childhood in Malawi. She is a freelance writer and reviewer. Her poetry has been published in local literary journals and internationally in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Michelle has published two collections of poetry, Fireflies & Blazing Stars (2002) and Hybrid (2003). She was the recipient of the South African Writers' Circle Hilde Slinger Poetry Award in 2003 and the Quill Award in 2004. She is the English Poetry Editor of the South African literary website, Litnet. Michelle lives in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

MICHELLE'S FAVOURITE POETS:

CHARLES BUKOWSKI

Click image to listen to audio clips of Bukowski reading and discussing his work on the Mindspring site; for biography and poetry by Bukowski on the Beat Page, click here or for related books and cd's on Amazon, click here

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LEONARD COHEN

Click image for the official Leonard Cohen website; for the Leonard Cohen Files site, a comprehensive information source Cohen's career and life, click here; for profile and links on the Bird on a Wire site, click here; for the Leonard Cohen Concordance, a word index to Cohen's poems, songs and novels, click here or to view his work on Amazon, click here

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DIANE DI PRIMA

Click image to listen to audio clips of Bukowski reading and discussing his work on the Mindspring site; for a poem, profile and links on the Levity website, click here or for related books and cd's on Amazon, click here

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LOUISE GLUCK

Click image to read next U.S. poet laureate, Louise Glück's poem, 'Happiness'; to read about Gluck on the Modern American Poetry website, click here; for Image and Emotion website, with news, excerpts and a forum dedicated to the poet's work, click here or to view her work on Amazon, click here.

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PABLO NERUDA

Click image for a profile and selected poems of Neruda on the Academy of American Poets website; for a further selection of Neruda's poems on the Instar website, click here or for related books and cd's on Amazon, click here

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MARY OLIVER

Click image for a profile and selected poems of Oliver on the Academy of American Poets website; for a further selection of Oliver's poems on the Modern American Poetry website, click here or for related books and cd's on Amazon, click here

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SYLVIA PLATH

Click image to visit the Sylvia Plath Forum website; for the Plath Online website, click here or for related books on Amazon, click here

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ANNE SEXTON

Click image for biography, bibliography, online poems and sounds clips of Sexton on the Poetry Exhibits site; for a selection of online bibliographical works by and about Sexton, click here or for related books on Amazon, click here

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ANNA SWIR

Click image for a selection of poems by Swir on the Plagiarist website; for Adam Jones's essay on 3 poems by Swir on the Campbell Corner website, click here or for related books on Amazon, click here

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WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS

Click image for a wide selection of links relating to Williams on the Modern American Poetry website; for a biography, bibliography and selection links relating to Williams on the Poetry Exhibits website, click here or for related books on Amazon, click here

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MICHELLE'S TEN WRITERS WHO HAVE MADE THE WORLD A MORE INTERESTING PLACE:

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William S. Burroughs

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Joan Didion

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Bret Easton Ellis

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Erica Jong

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Aryan Kaganof

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Lorrie Moore

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Anais Nin

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Chuck Palahniuk

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Tom Robbins

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Elizabeth Wurtzel

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MESSAGE
BOARD

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SELECTED POETRY

by
Michelle McGrane

SKIN OFFERINGS

you surprised,
no - terrified -
me,
when i visited the hospital.

you'd committed yourself -
after all -

i'd thought you wanted
to get better.

sullen silence, anger, despondent tears,
i was prepared for any eventuality,
except
sharp-edged, smiling, anorexic resolve.

your body, turned cannibal,
is devouring itself.

i wonder, elf-girl,
where you find
the strength, determination,
to starve yourself
when there is
so little
of you left.

with shadowy satisfaction
you tell me
you are still
refusing to eat;
the nurses have threatened to
put you in "lock-up".

you proudly exhibit mutilation marks:
angry red welts, fluid-filled blisters,

sin-offerings, skin-offerings,

on bony wrists, on
your neck, for god's sake!
you've burnt patterns
on your skin
with a lighter.

your religion: concave stomach,
protruding bones;
offered prayers: laxatives &
valium.

dying to be thin,
an emaciated sacrifice
to a relentless god -
this crucified flesh is innocent,
it's the mind that is not.

© Michelle McGrane
Reproduced with permission

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A GIRL LIKE THAT

The newspaper report said
the young woman was
repeatedly raped, kicked,
beaten within an inch
of her life, while her mama
cried behind the door.

Two manly relatives decided
to straighten her out
once and for all, give
her strong medicine down
on her knees, the cheeky
cunt had it coming.

A girl like that, what did
she expect? Shameful lesbian
bitch brought dishonour
to the family name,
refused to come round
to their way of thinking.

© Michelle McGrane
Reproduced with permission

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ON RECEIVING A BOOK OF BUKOWSKI'S POEMS

goddamn, he was ugly,
I thought, lying in the bath
looking at the picture
on the
back cover.
I'd never seen his
photograph before.

sure, I'd have fucked him,
even at 73,
but would he have
fucked me,
even drunk?
hell, probably
not.

I reached for the towel,
smiled to myself.
lit another cigarette,
got the
carpet
wet.

© Michelle McGrane
Reproduced with permission

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THE SUITABLE GIRL

The suitable girl is not temperamental,
does not throw tantrums, have rages
in public places,

or swear.

She does not take drugs or
stay out late, she is the daughter
of family friends.

She does not 'phone you drunk
in the middle of the night or ignore
your calls, she does not

make you happy.

© Michelle McGrane
Reproduced with permission

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THE PRIVATE EUCHARIST

The old woman behind the pharmacy counter
passes forward a brown paper packet, her
shrivelled hands mottled, liver-spotted;
the accusatory, tight-lipped mien pronounces,
You young women destroy your health.

Listen Ouma, you're tempted to explain,
you don't know the half of it.
Instead, you smile, fade to nothing,
concentrate on crackling paper, your fingers
fidgety, thin-skinned animals.

Consecrated capsule on outstretched tongue,
squatting in a darkened room, you receive
the Holy Sacrament for Hungry Girls;
a private Eucharist to appease
your bare boned God of Reduction.

Give me this day my daily resolve,
the grace not to let a single morsel
pass through these lips,
amen.

After mass, spiritual ebullience: dry mouth
dizziness jaw-clenching palpitations…
Clutching the rosary of your martyrdom,
speedy strong in occult absolution,
you shrug with the insouciance
of the pardoned penitent;
every true believer pays a price.

© Michelle McGrane
Reproduced with permission

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