→ Literary analysis - Poetry
North Carolina State Univ. 
SPRING 2023



Recognizing the Inclusion of Taboo in Poetics:
The Significance of Anthologizing E.E. Cummings’ “she being Brand”



An easy way to experience poetry in its one of its most daring and unconventional forms is to reach into the work of E. E. Cummings. An overwhelming majority of his work challenged structural poetic norms, forcing his readers to consider meaning and experience beyond the text. However, a lot of Cummings’ most highlighted and celebrated work is not always the work that pushes social boundaries regarding the erotic, reinforcing the very censorship that Cummings sought to challenge in his writing. His poem “she being Brand,” originally published in is 5, not only showcases his significant contributions to modernism but also delves fearlessly into the taboo, reminding readers of the raw power that lies within the socially forbidden realms of poetic expression. The inclusion of E. E. Cummings’ “she being Brand” in an anthology would highlight Cummings’ unique contributions to modernism as well as the crucial nature of the taboo in poetics.

It is possible to suggest that though E. E. Cummings’ “she being Brand” is a significant poem in Cummings’ body of work, its inclusion in an anthology solely to highlight the attention he paid to the taboo in poetics would not be without issue. While Cummings was undoubtedly a notable figure in modernist poetry, his contributions extend beyond the exploration of taboo subjects. However, in an anthology such as Rita Dove’s—which includes a number of Cummings’ other famous poetic works—it is crucial to note that none of the selected poems include any reference to the erotic beyond falling in love. For the erotic to be such a significant portion of Cummings’ body of work, it is crucial to include at least one example of his playful references to sexuality. It is also important to remember the censorship that Cummings wanted to challenge with his work. Cummings wrote sarcastically to a friend that he was “ever so pleased to discover that [his] most personal work [read: erotic work] had been carefully omitted” from the original Tulips and Chimneys manuscript, and requested that they be published at some point (Huang-Tiller 111). With this, a reader may infer that the recognition of eroticism and the taboo at large was of critical importance to Cummings. Therefore, the inclusion of “she being Brand” in this anthology in addition to Cummings’ other included work would enable a reader to have a fuller understanding of his work. 

The poem “she being Brand” addresses the taboo of eroticism head-on, portraying the experience of a sexual encounter in a unique and playful manner. The poem uses metaphor, punctuation, and wordplay to describe the experience of driving a car as a sexual encounter, a taboo subject during a period of American history that often shamed open expressions of sexuality. Cummings' unique use of language and unconventional syntax captures the complexity and sensuality of the experience, elevating it beyond a mere description of a sexual encounter. Each line of the poem is a fairly clear reference to the erotic, but it is perhaps most obvious with the punctuation in the following lines: “again slo-wly;bare,ly nudg.   ing(my // lev-er Right-” (l. 15–16). The pause created by the punctuation and the use of spacing in this line break highlights the slow, deliberate movements of using a new car and the strange intimacy of the first sexual moment with another. The deliberate breaking of syntax, such as the absence of capitalization, adds a playful and experimental quality to the work. This technique serves to blur the lines between the literal and the metaphorical, further emphasizing the complexity of the sexual encounter.

The inclusion of “she being Brand” in this anthology would also provide a valuable counterpoint to more traditional love poems, which Dove’s anthology contains plenty of. Traditional love poems have always been a staple of poetry, and Cummings himself even wrote a number of them, a few of which are included in the anthology as well (Cummings 100, “somewhere i have never travelled”). However, these poems often idealize romantic love and ignore the messier, more complicated aspects of relationships. “she being Brand,” on the other hand, portrays a sexual encounter in all of its messy, raw, and unidealized glory (see especially l. 15–16). By including this poem in an anthology alongside more traditional love poems, readers are able to see the full range of human experience and emotion that can be captured in poetry. This helps to expand the definition of what poetry can be—which was, again, one of Cummings’ main goals within his work—and encourages readers to think more critically about the messages and themes conveyed in poetry.

Cummings' poem challenges the censorship of artistic expression by pushing the boundaries of what is considered acceptable in poetry. Cummings' use of metaphor to describe the sexual encounter challenges traditional ideas about sexuality and eroticism, which were often considered taboo in early 20th century American culture. By using the metaphor of a car as a stand-in for sexual experience, Cummings is able to explore the subject in a way that is both playful and subversive (l. 6–14). The poem's unconventional structure and use of language were groundbreaking in their time, and continue to inspire contemporary poets. Cummings’ willingness to experiment with language and structure, and his refusal to conform to traditional poetic conventions, serve as an example of the power of artistic expression and the importance of pushing boundaries. The censorship of eroticism and taboo subjects in literature is a significant issue, and including "she being Brand" in an anthology is a way to challenge this censorship. Cummings’ work pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable in poetry, and including this poem in an anthology is a way to continue his legacy of artistic expression and pushing against censorship. By including works that challenge traditional ideas of what is appropriate to be written about, this anthology would have the potential to expand readers' understanding of poetry and what it can achieve—nothing should be off limits.

In order to genuinely establish a lineage between poetic motifs, it is crucial within the anthology to provide clear connections between different poets and their different works. Perhaps one of the most significant jobs of an anthology is to create  connective meaning between all of the works that it includes. Admittedly, this is a difficult if not near impossible task. However, the undeniable connection between the erotic works of E. E. Cummings and erotic work by poets that came after him help to clearly establish the significance of the lineage among American poetic movements and their respective poets. The inclusion of the Beat generation’s Diane Wakowski, specifically her poem “The Mechanic,” is an excellent parallel piece for Cummings’ “she being Brand.” (Wakoski 346). The hypothetical opportunity to read both of these works mere pages from one another would assist any reader to truly see and understand the lineage of the erotic throughout 20th century American poetics. Certainly the erotic has played a significant role in poetics since the art form’s genesis, but for a reader to be able to identify not only the same subject matter but also a very similar metaphor would absolutely be enough to be able to trace its impact. Especially with a parallel presentation, readers are more likely to recognize and understand the significance of these themes and perhaps even these metaphors throughout different poetic movements and poets. By experiencing both works in close proximity, readers can trace the impact of the erotic and its influence. This inclusion adds depth to the anthology and offers readers a comprehensive view of the development and exploration of the erotic theme in American poetry. 

The inclusion of E. E. Cummings’ “she being Brand” in an anthology solely to highlight the taboo in poetics could still be considered controversial—again, Cummings was a significant and notable figure in modernist poetry, and his contributions extend widely beyond exploring taboo subjects. However, Rita Dove's anthology includes a number of these famous poetic works, and none of them refer to the erotic. Given the significance of eroticism in Cummings’ body of work as well as the censorship that he sought to challenge, at least one example of his playful references to sexuality ought to be included. Cummings also explicitly expressed his desire for his “most personal work” to be published, emphasizing the importance of recognizing eroticism and the taboo at large in his poetry (Huang-Tiller 111). Therefore, the inclusion of “she being Brand” in addition to Cummings’ other works in this anthology would provide readers with a fuller understanding of his impact and the critical importance of challenging censorship through artistic expression. The inclusion of this poem in an anthology is not to solely highlight the taboo in poetics, but rather to emphasize Cummings’ unique contributions to modernism and the significance of recognizing the taboo in his writing. By including this poem alongside his other famous works, a reader can gain a fuller understanding of his impact and his intention to challenge censorship through artistic expression. The inclusion of “she being Brand” serves as a way to showcase the complexity of Cummings' poetic style and his fearless exploration of societal boundaries.

E.E. Cummings’ “she being Brand” is a significant work of modernist poetry that challenges the boundaries of traditional poetic conventions and explores taboo subjects. The inclusion of this poem in an anthology along with Cummings’ other works can provide readers with a fuller understanding of his contributions to modernism and the significance of the taboo in poetics. His playful and experimental use of language and structure in “she being Brand” serves as an example of the power of artistic expression and the importance of pushing such boundaries. The connection between Cummings’ work and that of other poets who explore similar themes, such as Diane Wakoski’s “The Mechanic,” highlights the lineage of the erotic throughout 20th century American poetry. The inclusion of “she being Brand” in an anthology can provide readers with a deeper understanding of the complexity and sensuality of Cummings’ work and its place within the broader context of American poetry.


Cummings, E. E. "she being Brand." "is 5." C: A Journal of Poetry, vol. 1, no. 5, 1961, p. 7.

Dove, Rita, editor. The Penguin Anthology of 20th Century American Poetry. Penguin Books, 2011.

Huang-Tiller, Gillian. “A(r)mor amoris: Modernist Blason, History, and the Body Politic of E. E. Cummings' Erotic Sonnetry in &.” Modernism/modernity, vol. 27, no. 4, Nov. 2020. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/mod.2020.0068.