For me, what makes art art is its ability to evoke strong feelings in the audience. Art can snap us back to a memory; fill us with the feelings of a moment long past.

One piece of art that is extremely powerful in my mind is the Star Trek: Voyager theme. When I hear it, I am flooded with feelings of nostalgia for the late ’90s. I know this is kind of strange. I was a small child in the late ’90s and I didn’t watch Voyager until I was 22 years old. For me, though, it embodies that era’s zeitgeist. I have constructed an idea of what that time means to me: when Superboy wore an earring, when priests spoke out against Magic: the Gathering, when the Game Boy was commonplace. I have constructed a sense of what that time means to me, and this song brings it to my mind.

Take a listen:

Star Trek: Voyager theme by Jerry Goldsmith

What I love about Duffy’s poetry is that it does the same thing for me. Some of her poems just slam a memory into my head, so vivid I cannot help but relate to the text. I loved Borrowed Memory for this reason. I can completely relate to the scene of remembering happy moments, so long gone that I can hardly remember more than the happy feeling. I, too have constructed narratives to explain these memories. My invented stories were probably untrue, but they’re my memories now.

“These fictions are as much a part of them as fact, for if you said, Are you quite sure of this? they would insist”

This has happened to me.

I completely relate.

I relate to a bunch of Duffy’s poems, or parts of many of them.

They are:

• Head of English
• You Jane
• Ash Wednesday, 1984
• A Provincial Party, 1956
• Poker in the Falklands with Henry and Jim
• Saying Something
• Where We Came In