Cora Fry's Pillow Book

by Rosellen Brown

Through the persona of Cora Fry, a wife and mother living in a small New Hampshire town, Rosellen Brown explores the ambivalent ties of love, loyalty, marriage, and family in a series of related poems. This volume includes the entire text of Cora Fry (1977), a kind of dramatic monologue, written in spare, simple lines, which describes the young woman's daily life and troubled marriage. A sequel of newer poems, Cora Fry's Pillow Book (1994), confronts the challenges that come with a woman's growth toward middle age, reflecting an older Cora's place in her family, community, and the larger world.

Genres: Poetry

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Rosellen Brown (born May 12, 1939) is an American author, and has been an instructor of English and creative writing at several universities, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Houston. She has won several grants and awards for her work. The 1996 film Before and After was adapted from her novel of the same name.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read one line of this book before deciding to get it.

This is because the copy I found is in near-perfect condition despite being used. There are only two markings in the whole book: a small note written in pencil on the inside cover that says, “p. 152”, and a single highlighted line on that page which reads, “They have forgotten the childhoods we had/ together, they remember only their own.”

My immediate and totally unverifiable assumption was that these notes were left as a message to someone. This hunch informed my reading of the entire volume —I imagined that each poem was written with a particular intentionality; that it was designed at least in part to convey one specific message to one specific person.

This created a vastly different reading experience to my usual poetry-reading technique, which tends to be more analytical. The whole experience caused me to reflect on how poetry is inherently collaborative, and that it contains the potential to draw together the writer and readers in a unique and bizarre way that’s impossible to replicate anywhere else. Overall, I don't think I would have enjoyed this volume as much as I did if it wasn’t for the collaboration that happened between its previous owner, myself, and the text.

As a result, I’m honestly kind of unsure of what I can fairly say here. Can I even review this book, knowing that my understanding of it is so singular? I honestly don’t know, although I’d recommend it anyway. Also, I would definitely advise reading this collection through that same lens as I did, if you're so inclined. The second half especially (Cora Fry’s Pillow Book) was really captivating because of it.

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing!! I love it so much. You fall in love with Cora Fry and the poems stick with you years later. It would be a great book to teach because it blends the genres of poetry and fiction, and is short enough that high school students wouldn't be too intimidated. A lovely little book!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the original (Cora Fry) when my marriage was falling apart. This new edition contains the original text and the newer poems (Cora Fry's Pillow Book). I gave away my original copy and bought this new edition because there's some poetry that is wanting to be written about a woman in an old photograph that I bought at a flea market.

[Debra Hale-Shelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relevant, real-life poems. I loved this little book by novelist, poet, essayist Rosellen Brown.

[Paula Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well crafted, sharp, poignant with lines that you constantly think about and turn over in your mind. This is one that I borrowed from the library and I am going to buy!

[Barb Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written by a woman going through different stages of her life and about her real and personal interactions with family and people in her community. She was not all that happy of a person so the writing is a bit of a downer .

[Elana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know poetry could have a story line? This is a collection of two books of poetry about a small-town New Hampshire woman. Love it!