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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "School's Out," what is there power in?

2. In "Pan," what does pandemonium mean?

3. In "At First," what are our sentences as stilted as?

4. In "Good Grief," what were we once barbed and brutal as?

5. In "Essex I," what were whales killed for?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Captive," what is "stereotypic behavior" in animals?

2. What does Gorman say is the origin of the word "trauma" in "Good Grief"?

3. What is harder than harping in "& So"?

4. What is life if it is not what is promised in "Life"?

5. How does Gorman play with the idea of homesickness in the poem "There's No Power Like Home"?

6. What does Gorman say would be a blessing for our children in the poem "What We Did in the Time Being"?

7. How does Gorman describe the entirety of what we've lost in "The Shallows"?

8. What piece of pop culture does the title "Who We Gonna Call" refer to?

9. In "Erasure," what are "erasure poems"?

10. In "Essex I," what famous piece of literature does Gorman evoke?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who are some literary influences that Gorman references throughout this collection, and how does she use their work and/or their ideas in her own poems? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Through which poems does Gorman most directly discuss the topic of grief, and how does she treat this topic generally? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

What do you think the meaning of the title Call Us What We Carry is? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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