Reflections on Siken and Poe – Jess Quintero
This edition of William Wilson explores the concept of duality by establishing a conversation with Richard Siken’s Unfinished Duet. The commentary for this edition will build on ideas explored in class such as exploration of the subconscious, specifically the repressed fears and desires of each of the narrators as they face manifestations of the self. Additionally, I will inquire into Poe and Siken’s personas as writers, and their relationships with their respective audiences. In an interview with TinHouse Press, Siken was asked about the conversation between mediums such as painting and writing, to which Siken replied, “the hand could say what the voice could not.” I will incorporate a web-weaving component to draw parallels using images, illustrations, fragments, excerpts, lyrics, etc. In creating a sort of collage using mixed media, I will highlight the overlapping themes of duality, obsession, and repression presented in the two pieces. This edition will ask:
- How do the narrators in each piece explore the subconscious and the self?
- What obsessions/fixations are presented in each piece?
- How do Siken and Poe interact with their audiences?
- How do the writers’ audiences interact with their works?
- Where does the work end and the author begin?
Sources: Poe, Edgar Allen. “Text: Edgar Allan Poe, ‘William Wilson’ (Reprint), the Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe, 1850, 1:417-436.” Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore – Works – Tales – William Wilson (Reprint), 1839, www.eapoe.org/works/tales/wilwilf.htm.
Siken, Richard. Crush. Yale University Press, 2020.
Mishler, Peter. “The Doubling of Self: An Interview with Richard Siken.” Tin House, 3 Dec. 2014, tinhouse.com/the-doubling-of-self-an-interview-with-richard-siken/.