A Study Guide for May Swenson's "Southbound on the Freeway"

Southbound on the Freeway

May Swenson

1963

Introduction

May Swenson is known as much for the content of her poems as she is for the form and sound of many of her writings. Her style is often compared to the styles of e. e. cummings, Elizabeth Bishop, and Marianne Moore. Swenson experimented with poetic language, using such devices as metaphor, alliteration, assonance, and dissonance. By using these devices, many of Swenson’s poems are not only intriguing to listen to, but also to read, through her visual inventiveness. May Swenson’s poetry is filled with imagery in how it is heard and how it is laid out on the page, with her flowing personal and imaginative observations. As a testimony to her wide range of interests, Swenson wrote books of poetry for children, Poems to Solve, and More Poems to Solve, along with a book of very personal, very erotic poetry, Love Poems. After reading Southbound on the Freeway, a person will take a second look at what a passing car may truly represent.

Author Biography

Swenson was born May 28, 1919, in Logan, Utah. Following her graduation from Utah State University, she worked as a reporter in Salt Lake City. In 1949, Swenson moved to New York City, where she held various jobs before becoming an editor for New Directions Press in 1959. She resigned the position seven years later to devote her time to writing. In subsequent years, Swenson was featured as poet-in-residence at several colleges, including Purdue University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Lothbridge University in Alberta, Canada, and the University of California at