Poetry and economics

I finished Mary Swann today, and although there was a shaky point about a third of the way in, found it intriguing and impressive. Basic plot: In 1965 an Ontario farmwoman named Mary Swann visited a local publisher who agreed to publish her poems. On her return home, her husband brutally murders her. Fast forward about 25 years (the novel was published in 1990), and a small research community has grown up around her work. But apart from the poems, Mary Swann herself is almost non-existent in the trace she left on the world. And that even that trace is fading.

There are four main characters in the novel (apart from Mary herself). A young, feminist academic, Sarah Maloney, who actually 'discovered' Mary's poems. Mary's biographer, Morton Jimroy - the most unpleasant of the bunch - his section was the tough point for me! Rose Hindmarsh, the small town librarian of Nadeau, Ontario (Mary's home town). Frederick Cruzzi, the publisher of Mary's poems.

A literary mystery - a bit like Possession - with really well imagined characters, and a good amount of quirk in the telling. And the mysterious Mary Swann about whom we know almost nothing, and the universe is determined to keep it that way.

Mary Swann is the poetry from my post title, Spousonomics is the economics, or perhaps I should say 'economics'. The conceit of this book is that common marital/relationship areas of conflict such as unequal sex drives, housework, finances, children etc are analysed using economic principles. For example, moral hazard is invoked to cover the basic problem of taking your spouse for granted, and comparative advantage to look at how a couple might divide household chores equitably (if not equally). And the negative sloping demand curve covers sex - basically the idea that if something is cheap you do it a lot, if its expensive you don't. Expensive doesn't necessarily just mean straight cost but also what you have to give up. Their advice to couples frustrated about lack of sex - lower the costs, and in 3 case studies show what this might mean.

This book was an easy read, and I liked their approach, which is very solution focused. The cases were interesting and detailed and the solutions often unexpected.