“My Love Sent Me a List” is a contemporary sonnet written by the Ukrainian American poet Olena Kalytiak Davis. Published in her 2014 book The Poem SheDidn’t Write and Other Poems, the poem draws heavily from the work of English poet William Shakespeare, though Davis subverts some well-known Shakespearean forms, tropes, and characters to create a distinctively modern confessional, comedic, feminist love poem. It’s not just the form of the poem that's modern; the message is too. The poem presents an honest look at the nastier side of love—a side defined by spite, self-consciousness, scorn, and jealousy. But Davis presents these negative things with a light touch, choosing to focus on self-deprecation to create self-empowerment. The poem was included in Davis’s most well-known poetry collection, and it serves as a prime example ofher straightforward and honest lyrical style.

Poet Biography

While the literary community knows Davis as a poet, she makes her living as a lawyer. Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1963, Davis is a first-generation Ukrainian American. She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan and her Master of Fine Arts from Vermont College.

While Davis’s reputation as a poet is strong, her output is minimal. She has only published four books of poetry since 1997. However, her poems have consistently been anthologized, well-reviewed, and she has won numerous literary awards, including the distinguished Guggenheim Fellowship in 2004.

Davis is somewhat unique among established writers in that she does not do much self-promotion, including having an author website or any social media. Coupled with her small output, Davis leads a relatively private life for a well-known author. This is exemplified by the fact that she lives in Alaska while many established writers choose to live in metropolitan areas like New York City or San Francisco.

Davis’s literary influences range widely from Shakespeare to Emily Dickinson to more contemporary writers and other artistic influences, including Kendrick Lamar. She freely alternates between free verse and formal poetry, though she has also experimented with a hybrid style—something on display in “My Love Sent Me a List.”

Poem Text

Davis, Olena Kalytiak. "My Love Sent Me a List." 2014. Poetry Foundation.

Summary

The poem discusses a list sent to the speaker from their “Love.” The list is a breakup letter of sorts, as it only contains insults of the speaker by way of self-involved boasts of grandeur and superiority. After starting the poem by telling the reader about a “lusty list” (1) the “Love” has sent, the speaker laments the negative tone of the list by comparing it to a Shakespearean sonnet. Unfortunately for the speaker, this list is not about how beautiful the speaker is or about how in love the speaker’s “Love” is with the speaker; instead, this list is a detailed rundown of the ways the “Love” is better than the speaker.

Next, the speaker quotes portions of the list. The “Love” boasts about how he is smarter, more capable, more cultured, more intuitive, better looking, more artistic, more social, and more sexual than the speaker. Throughout the quoted list, the speaker inserts (by way of parentheses) small bits of commentary on some of the things the “Love” has noted. These range from corrections—“politic(al)” (11)—to sarcasm—“academic (I dare say!) social / (In many ways!) and (ditto!) sexual!” (11-12).

After quoting the list, the poem ends with an assessment of both the “Love’s” and the speaker’s character. The speaker declares themself “the Greater Moor” (14) and suggests the excessiveness of the “Love’s” boasts has undone his claims.