In this wide-ranging, philosophically rich conversation, (linked here) Rochelle Owens reflects on aging, bodily transformation, philosophical influences, quantum mechanics, and poetic creation. The main question – what have been the core issues and ideas that animated you during COVID and after, are addressed. The answer starts with a frank acknowledgment of the physical body the houses the ideas that lead to production of art and literature.
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| Rochelle Owens, Patterns of Animus |
Owens connects deeply with Simone de Beauvoir’s acknowledgment of aging and the erosion of bodily confidence, and extends that to broader reflections on identity, creativity, and survival. Owens references Descartes, Wittgenstein, and quantum physics to explore the mystery of existence, the fragmented nature of perception, and the survival-driven evolution of the brain. Her poetic practice is framed as deeply bodily, rooted in the mammalian, the grotesque, and the juxtaposition of horror with incantatory grounding through language. Owens touches on cultural archetypes, spiritual symbolism, and historical trauma, all while interweaving lived experiences and abstract concepts with profound emotional and intellectual insight.
Connecting the Conversation to The Aardvark Venus and Patterns of Animus
Rochelle Owens' reflections in this conversation are intimately tied to the thematic core of both The Aardvark Venus and Patterns of Animus. In The Aardvark Venus, Owens explores the visceral and grotesque aspects of female embodiment, often juxtaposing biological processes and spiritual crises. Her discussion of aging and Simone de Beauvoir’s quote—“to lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself”—echoes through The Aardvark Venus, where the speaker is often caught between decay and a raw, vital drive to speak, to create, to assert meaning through language. The poetic voice in that work occupies what Owens describes as “the edge of clarity and horror”—a place of dispassionate awareness of the body’s inevitable breakdown paired with ecstatic linguistic invention.
Similarly, Patterns of Animus engages in the ritualistic repetition Owens discusses in the interview. The incantatory refrain—“Black and hot my coffee. Work is a binding obligation”—functions as both mantra and existential acknowledgment. Her conversation expands on that theme by situating it in the biological and survivalist imperative of the body. The notion that “the brain is an organ that, like other human brains, is trying to survive” is palpable in Patterns of Animus, where the poetic self loops through trauma, memory, and obligation, always returning to grounding acts like drinking coffee, marking labor, or repeating phrases. These repetitions reflect a need for coherence amid the chaos of political, spiritual, and physical entropy.
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Ties to Owens’ Earlier Work
These ideas resonate with Owens’ earlier poetic experiments—particularly her I Am the Babe of Joseph Stalin’s Daughter (1972) and Black Chalk (1992)—which challenge traditional logic and syntax, offering instead a brutal, surreal body-consciousness. Her focus on the grotesque and spiritual in female embodiment can be seen even in these earlier works, where language is both medium and subject. The interview’s references to Wittgenstein’s notion—“not how the world is, but that it is, is the mystery”—echo the metaphysical tension in these earlier texts, where language fails even as it compulsively tries to name and frame the world.
Additionally, Owens’ reflections on the symbolic power of patterns, especially within Native American beadwork and clothing, align with her long-standing attention to ceremonial forms and mythic residues in language. Just as traditional patterns once served protective spiritual functions, Owens’ poetic structures function as psychic armor—often enacting their own brutalities in the service of deeper truths.
Final Reflection
Ultimately, Owens positions poetry as a biological and philosophical necessity: a defiant act of naming amid mortality and mystery. Her fusion of philosophical discourse, embodied awareness, cultural critique, and poetic intuition in this conversation deepens our understanding of her poetic voice—especially as it evolves in The Aardvark Venus and Patterns of Animus. Her voice remains fierce, mordant, grounded in paradox, and vibrantly alive with intellectual audacity.
