18 pages • 36 minutes read
Dana GioiaPrayer
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1991A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“The Sunday News” by Dana Gioia (1983)
In contrast to “Prayer,” this poem shows Gioia’s fondness for rhyme and is written in an ABCB scheme. However, the poem resembles “Prayer” in that it deals with loss and the passage of time, although its tone is less grave. The speaker looks back on an old relationship after reading about their former lover’s marriage in the newspaper. Although the speaker feels envy, they still save the announcement to cling to the past. Even though the announcement is “[a] scrap I knew I wouldn’t read again / yet couldn’t bear to lose” (Lines 19-20).
“The Gods of Winter” (1987)
This poem appears in The Gods of Winter, in the same section in which “Prayer” appears. It also involves grief, and it notes the passage of time and the arbitrary moment “one still winter must / arrive without us” (Lines 21-22). The speaker reflects that “our life together” (Line 7) was the “briefest of joys” (Line 7), which was “no more permanent / for being perfect” (Lines 9-10). Much of the same language and imagery is used in this poem as in “Prayer,” including whispers and deities.
“Majority” by Dana Gioia (2009)
This poem was written for what would have been Michael Jasper’s 21st birthday. In it, the speaker imagines their son’s life as they grew, noting how he might have swum or studied. Imagining his son’s “most / mundane action” (Lines 13-14) chokes up the speaker, who notes, “you have moved away / into your own afterlife” (Lines 19-20). Here the process of grieving is different, as the speaker has been doing so for 21 years, but the idea that the son exists in the afterlife reminds the reader of the earlier poem’s plea.
Further Literary Resources
“An Interview with Dana Gioia” by Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum (2010)
The Poem of the Week website includes a discussion with Gioia about “Prayer” as well as two other poems written about his son’s death—“Planting a Sequoia” and “Majority.” Answering questions about the poem’s composition, Gioia discusses musicality, autobiography, and why he generally writes with the same number of lines per stanza. Gioia also notes why the identification of “him” occurs late in “Prayer.”
“The Case for Dana Gioia” by A. M. Juster (2016)
For this article for the Claremont Review of Books, Juster discusses Gioia’s work leading the NEA, his role as poet laureate, and the history of the controversy over the essay “Can Poetry Matter?” (1991) before offering a review of 99 Poems. Juster looks specifically at Gioia’s Catholic influences and especially how the poem “Prayer” shows the struggle over “how a just God allows such a loss.” Juster believes “Prayer” is one of the “finest religious poem[s] of our era,” and he specifically notes its cadence and how the poem closes with a “powerful statement of faith that accepts the failure of that faith to eliminate [. . .] continuing heartache.”
“The Man Who Saved Reading” by Scott Thomas Anderson (2018)
This article for Sacramento News and Review discusses Gioia’s reign as the head of the NEA as well as his appointment to the position of poet laureate of the State of California. Anderson talks about Gioia as a California poet and a poet of the people, and he mentions the history of the firestorm around his essay “Can Poetry Matter?” (1991). The article explores Gioia’s dedication to poetry as a healing art and mentions the 1987 death of Michael Jasper. He quotes Gioia as saying “Wisdom begins by recognizing that, while we control some things, ultimately our lives are beyond our control [. . .] we should not try to hide from our own grief. You need to accept the sorrow and trust where it will lead you.” This thought process is evident in “Prayer.”
Listen to Poem
At his home in Sonoma County, California, Gioia recites “Prayer” at a picnic table. This video includes a short introduction in which he notes that he wrote the poem for his son who died in infancy.
