Olds, Sharon : Waste Sonata

Literature Annotations

Genre	Poem
Keywords	Alcoholism, Children, Empathy, Family Relationships, Father-Daughter Relationship, Human Worth, Illness and the Family, Love, Marital Discord, Ordinary Life, Suffering, Time, Trauma
Summary	A powerful lament over a father’s wasted life, and the "purgatory" of living in a household dominated by alcoholism and marital discord. Strong and graphic language weaves a complex web of conflicting emotions: hatred and self-hatred, scorn and pity, condemnation and forgiveness.
Commentary	This is from the collection of poems written by Olds about a father’s terminal illness and death, and retrospectively, about a life together (see also in this database The Waiting, The Pulling, The Dead Body, Beyond Harm).
Source	The Father
Publisher	Knopf
Edition	1992
Place Published	New York
Annotated by	Aull, Felice
Date of Entry	02/09/94