Heart to Heart

In an interview with The University of Arizona Poetry Center, Dove describes herself: “I would say I’m obsessed with the underside of history [...] My obsession with the underside of history really has to do with everything that gets lost when a person dies, all of the moments that get lost in each of us” (Gzemski, Sarah. An Interview with Rita Dove. 2016. The University of Arizona Poetry Center). Much of Dove’s poetry follows this trajectory. For example, Dove’s Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, Thomas and Beulah (1986), tells a slightly fictionalized story of Dove’s maternal grandparents in which she draws on events from her grandparents’ lives and embellishes them through art; yet, the collection is largely about ordinary people going through everyday aspects of life.

“Heart to Heart” is similarly concerned with the lost—or, in this case, the locked away—elements of life, as well as human experiences that are common but nevertheless profound. The poem indicates a heartfelt conversation, between two people, about unsuccessfully trying to access and express one’s feelings. “Heart to Heart” also makes use of clichés, drawing on well-worn descriptions of hearts, feelings, and love. Many poets walk in this tradition of finding the extraordinary within ordinary experience. For example, Audre Lorde’s “Coal” and Dove’s “Dusting,” which is a poem from Thomas and Beulah. There is also Carl Phillips’ poem “White Dog” and Marie Howe’s collection What the Living Do (1997).