It's Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty...And Other Tragedies of Married Life, 1968
People & Other Aggravations, 1970
1999, Persephone Books Ltd.
This book of poems about marriage, first published in 1968, is a quick read and funny, in spite of the occasional offensive line.
Written during a time when many of the author's friends were going through divorces, the collection includes poems like The Honeymoon is Over, and Sex is not sexy anymore which take a look at the dilemmas of marriage. Where is it Written? explores unequal gender roles while pointing out the positives of being the woman and in Married is Better the benefits of singlehood versus marriage are contrasted.
I liked
True Love: ...When he is late for dinner and I know he must be either/ having an affair or lying dead in the middle of the street,/ I always hope he's dead.
Hmm, not sure if that sounds so funny or sweet out of context. Read True Love yourself and see what you think!
I didn't like
these stereotyped, patronizing lines from the poem It's Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty :
...And since we have to show up for the car pool/ Orgiastic pot parties with cool Negroes who say "funky" and "man" seem rather impractical
...all the perfect girls are switched-on or tuned-in or miscegenated, / But never over thirty/Trying hard/To be hip.
This edition also includes the collection People and Other Aggravations, dealing with the Woman's Liberation Movement and asking "must we choose a role?"
Other age-related poem collections by Viorst
When Did I Stop Being 20 & Other Injustices: Selected Poems from Single to Mid-Life
How Did I Get to Be 40 & Other Atrocities
Forever 50 & Other Negotiations
Suddenly 60 & Other Shocks of Later Life
I'm Too Young to Be 70 & Other Delusions
Unexpectedly 80 & Other Adaptations
Nearing 90 And Other Comedies of Late Life
Viorst, 90, has written a plethora of poems and books for adults and children.
And in case you're wondering, she and her husband are still together.
"I always hope he's dead" 😂
Those lines about the carpool sound awfully dated now and kinda offensive. Still I do like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I'll Fix Anthony, The Goodbye Book, and My Mama Says--they were all favorites to read aloud.