SOURCE: “Lorna Goodison in the Context of Feminist Criticism,” in Journal of West Indian Literature, Vol. 4, No. 1, January, 1990, pp. 1-13.

In the following essay, Baugh discusses feminist interpretations of Goodison's poetry, giving special consideration to her treatment of race and sexuality.

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That is his,

—Oscar Wilde

Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.

—Toni Morrison, Beloved

Lorna Goodison has said that the title-poem of her second volume, I Am Becoming My Mother, has two levels of meaning. At both these levels the poem bears out or throws light on certain considerations of feminist literary criticism. I propose, by examining the poem, and Goodison's poetry in general, in relation to these considerations, to indicate aspects of the poem(s) which might otherwise be overlooked, and at the same time, to...