60 for 60: Agreement

By rhoni blankenhorn

John Ashbery, "Strawberry Bed" [Issue 54, 2016]

Published in the thirty-fourth issue of Columbia Journal, “Agreement” by poet Kay Ryan is as deceptive as it is delicious. Ryan’s ease with sound and rhythm lulls the reader into first considering the poem as simple as a piece of candy. Form reflects content, heightening the impact of what is being said; the em dash dramatizes “sugar,” the unusual break on “the” in the fourth line demonstrates a structural melting, and “granular” evolving into “syrup” in the same line embodies the physical transformation. The ultimate line, set alone as it is, comes as a shock. While flat-toned and truthful, it functions as a wry accusation that opens multiple lines of inquiry. Does agreement seduce? Is agreement a concession, or could it be a moral choice? If “many prefer it,” what is implied about those who don’t? Given the time of the poem’s publishing in 2001, I can’t help but wonder if the political atmosphere following the 9/11 attacks influenced Ryan’s writing. Regardless, these eight distilled lines remain provocative. 

Born in San Jose, California, Ryan is the author of Flamingo Watching (2006), The Niagara River (2005), and Say Uncle (2000). Her book The Best of It: New and Selected Poems (2010) won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. From 2008 to 2010, she was the sixteenth US Poet Laureate. 



Agreement

Kay Ryan

The satisfactions
of agreement are
immediate as sugar—
a melting of the
granular, a syrup
that lingers, shared
not singular.
Many prefer it.


About the author:

Rhoni Blankenhorn is pursuing an MFA in Poetry and Literary Translation at Columbia University, where she is a Chair’s Fellow and Columns Editor for Columbia Journal. Her words can be found in Hyperallergic, Pigeon Pages, 92Y’s Podium, and Some Kind of Opening.