The Summer I Was Sixteen

“Lydia” by Geraldine Connolly (1988)

Connolly’s poem, “Lydia,” was originally published in the June issue of Poetry magazine (1988). The poem situates another of Connolly’s childhood memories within the context of United States history, adding a nuanced, adult perspective to an otherwise mundane moment from the poet’s youth.

“Lydia” discusses the world events contemporary with Connolly’s childhood, making explicit connections between World War II and its ramifications on the poet’s nuclear family. “Lydia” moves beyond the subtlety of “The Summer I Was Sixteen,” exposing how national conflict directly impacts the personal.

Enjambment appears in both “Lydia” and “The Summer I Was Sixteen,” creating a continuity between lines and leaving Connolly’s memory uninterrupted. “Lydia” thematically resembles “The Summer I Was Sixteen,” discussing gender as a performative identity and characterizing girlhood as a time of questioning, of constant learning and growth.

“The Entropy of Pleasure” by Geraldine Connolly (1990)

“The Entropy of Pleasure” first appeared in the February issue of Poetry magazine (1990). Connolly compares emotional turmoil to whitecaps roiling in the ocean, using concrete imagery to describe the abstract feeling of sadness. “The Entropy of Pleasure” is melancholy in comparison to the upbeat “The Summer I Was Sixteen”; however, Connolly creates the distinct atmospheres within each of these poems similarly: through her skillful diction.