In Her Fifties

Sheila Martindale is poetry editor of Canadian Author and Bookman and
the author of No Greater Love.

This collection is cleverly divided into two parts. In Part 1, the
author paints thumbnail sketches of her childhood in the 1950s, while
Part 2 is about being “in her fifties,” as in middle age.

Though classified as poetry, Part 1 is really prose. The language is
certainly poetic, and the author is economical in her use of words,
which makes for a pleasing clarity. Those of us in a similar age group
will find much to relate to here—the relative freedom of children of
that era, the “us” and “them” situation between children and
adults, the bullying of children by other children and also by adults
such as sadistic teachers. The emotional bullying perpetrated by girls
is documented, as well as visits by truant officers and other
bureaucrats. It was a time when women stayed home and cared for the
house and family, when fathers went to work and tended to be distant.
The writer also describes the bomb-shelter routines at the height of the
Cold War. This part of the book is evocative and beautifully written.

Part 2 is where the “real” poems begin, and these are also
wonderfully descriptive, about menopause, the death of parents, attempts
to get rid of accumulated memorabilia. A couple of strong poems deal
with the near-loss of an only son. Struthers notes that a woman of her
age is invisible to young people. She also writes about the satisfaction
of having a retreat with women peers, even if the plumbing is out of
order!

Betsy Struthers writes wise and mature words, but her book’s appeal
will not be restricted to middle-aged readers.