To Be Of Use

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1973

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Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

“For the young who want to” by Marge Piercy (1982)

This poem, written in 1980, appears in 1982’s Circles on the Water and deals with the varying responses people make to aspiring writers. As in “To Be of Use,” Piercy uses stanzas to organize her message, offering up descriptions of the insults people give to those who struggle with their craft, assuming its “a tedious / delusion, a hobby like knitting” (Lines 5-6).

Piercy’s speaker gives advice at the end of the poem to combat this just as the speaker in “To Be Of Use” offers ways to navigate working. “The real writer is one / who really writes” (Lines 31-32), the speaker says, noting that the process itself is “its own cure” (Line 35), much like “work that is real” (Line 26) satisfies the worker in “To Be of Use.”

“Pushing the Clock Hands Back” by Marge Piercy (2006)

Published in The Monthly Review, this poem, like “To Be of Use,” details those who watch others work, like “parlor generals” (Line 15). In this later poem, “[i]mportant bloated men squat on the facts / thinking they can hide them with their weight” (Lines 1-2). The speaker declares that they are “mad with power and drunk with riches, / building war machines” (Lines 10-11).

These actions affect those who labor since they “drain hope / and money from the poor” (Lines 12-13). While this is a more directly political poem than “To Be of Use,” it does address concerns about labor equity.

“A hundred years since the Triangle Fire” by Marge Piercy (2011)

In 1911, one of the biggest industrial disasters in America occurred in New York City at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Young immigrant seamstresses were trapped in a locked factory when a fire broke out. The women could not exit, and many plunged to their deaths from the upper floors as the building was consumed. The event caused a protest movement that changed labor laws.

Piercy uses this past event to comment on current labor problems in the United States and “overseas” (Line 10). Here, again, she talks about those who use their power to abdicate responsibility: “I learned early how replaceable / we all were to those with / power to replace us” (Lines 18-20).

While being useful is lauded in “To Be Of Use,” this poem offers a darker side of labor, where “greed ignited” (Line 28) crimes that cannot be “rectif[ied]” (Line 28) either in the past or the present.

Further Literary Resources

“Introduction” Circles on the Water by Marge Piercy (1982)

This Introduction by the poet to her selected works mentions the poem “To Be of Use” directly. Piercy names it as one of her “favorites.” Piercy also discusses how in creating poetry she tries to “give utterance to energy, experience, [and] insight” and make her “poems work for others.”

Besides discussing her desire for usefulness, Piercy also addresses her activism, her love of nature, and her use of craft, including internal rhyme.

“Marge Piercy: On Feminism, Politics, and Writing” by Monica J. Casper (2014)

Casper interviewed Piercy for Trivia: Voices of Feminism the year before the publication of Made in Detroit, a collection released in 2015. Piercy talks about a range of topics, including her involvement in feminism and her present feelings regarding gender and sexuality.

She also talks about other concerns, including the state of the worker and the poor in the United States. She positions herself as a working writer who is trying to achieve as much as possible—to be of use—“in the time left me."

Margepiercy.com (Author Website) (2023)

Piercy’s website features descriptions of her significant works, including links to those books still in print. Under the “About” tab, there is an extensive biography that covers her childhood, marriages, early career, and dedication to social causes, including labor issues. Her interest in workers and equity applies directly to “To Be of Use.”

Also under the “About” tab are links to a series of interviews with Piercy regarding her poems and her career, which might prove useful for further study.

“‘To Be of Use’ Considered: A Conversation with Marge Piercy” by Charles Coe (2014)

This short exchange between Coe and Piercy for the Best American Poetry blog specifically discusses the reading of “To Be of Use” at funerals for those in public service. Piercy notes that “isn’t a lot of poetry that praises ordinary work” and is happy that it is “accessible,” reaching more people than just the “poetry community.” She discusses the popularity of this poem and her poems that address Judaism.

Listen to Poem

Marge Piercy reads “To Be Of Use”

The poet reads her poem at the Massachusetts Poetry Festival. Piercy notes it’s the poem she “always reads first.” She also notes it is read regularly at “memorials for lawyers and activists.” Piercy is 79 in this video recording.