“The Star’s Whole Secret"
“The Star’s Whole Secret," The New Yorker, 1998
This poem features Louise and Ham who are recurring characters in Bang’s collection Louise in Love (Grove Press, 2001). Their dialogue stages interiority as a kind of performance where Louise reflects on will through the image of the “mill moth” and the “lavish wick.” Bang uses persona to externalize the inner life, which allows her characters a vivid interiority on the page.