Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Maxine Kumin’s "Selling of Slaves (Lexington, Kentucky)" is a searing critique of human exploitation and the dehumanizing commodification of life, delivered through a sharp juxtaposition of imagery and tone. Although the poem ostensibly focuses on the sale of brood mares in a Lexington pavilion, its title and underlying context evoke the historical legacy of American slavery, aligning the treatment of animals in this modern spectacle with the dehumanization of enslaved people in the past. This layering of meaning, along with Kumin’s vivid descriptions, forces readers to confront the persistent undercurrents of cruelty and commodification in human history.

The opening lines introduce the brood mares with delicate yet unsettling imagery: “ears as delicate as wine glass stems” and “eyes roll up and out like china dolls’.” These comparisons emphasize the fragility and beauty of the mares while simultaneously stripping them of agency, likening them to inanimate objects meant for display and possession. The mares’ physicality is described with visceral intensity, from the “thrust and suck of those flanks” to the jostling foals, highlighting their vitality even as they are reduced to commodities. This tension between life and objectification mirrors the historical objectification of enslaved individuals, drawing an implicit connection between past and present abuses.

The poem’s setting—the Tipton Pavilion—is rendered as a grotesque parody of a sacred space, complete with a “white-tie congregation” and a minister reciting a “liturgy of bloodlines.” This religious imagery underscores the perverse sanctification of the commodification process, where lineage and breeding are exalted as virtues. The auctioneer’s voice, described as “Old Testament,” invokes the authority of scripture, lending an unsettling gravitas to the transactional nature of the event. The attendees, depicted as affluent and decorous, fan themselves with the “order of the service,” a phrase that underscores the ritualistic nature of the proceedings. This veneer of propriety is sharply undercut by the lurking presence of violence, as suggested by the “snake whips” behind the curtain.

The horses themselves are described in terms that evoke human suffering and exploitation. The mares’ fear and the “hot manure” that “perfumes God’s chapel” signal the palpable tension and distress underlying the spectacle. The dehumanizing language used to market the mares—“consistent and highclass producer,” “dam of winners”—parallels the commodification of enslaved people, whose value was similarly reduced to their reproductive and labor potential. Kumin’s use of auction jargon, such as “knocked down at eleven thousand dollars,” reinforces the transactional coldness of this system, where life is measured in monetary terms.

The man from Paris, with his “diamond in his tooth” and “snake eye in his collar,” embodies the exploitative forces at play. He is both a literal buyer and a symbolic representation of greed and moral corruption. The reference to Paris, a city associated with refinement and culture, adds a layer of irony, highlighting the dissonance between surface sophistication and underlying brutality. The mention of the “sliding doors and decorum” through which money changes hands contrasts sharply with the violence implied by the “snake whips,” exposing the hypocrisy of this supposedly genteel world.

Kumin’s invocation of slavery is most explicit in the poem’s title and in the parallels drawn between the auctioning of horses and the historical sale of enslaved people. The chain-link tether and the air “ripening with droppings” evoke the inhumane conditions of slave markets, while the presence of “respectful attendants in white jackets and blackface” suggests a disturbing reenactment of racial exploitation. By drawing these connections, Kumin forces readers to confront the lingering echoes of slavery in contemporary practices of commodification and dominance over life.

The poem’s conclusion reinforces this critique, with the “gavel’s report” likened to a “hollow gunshot.” This metaphor connects the auction’s transactional violence to the literal violence of slavery and oppression, emphasizing the destructive impact of reducing living beings to objects of trade. The closing image of fear as a “perfume” that fills the chapel encapsulates the pervasive and enduring presence of cruelty within systems of power and commodification.

"Selling of Slaves (Lexington, Kentucky)" is a powerful meditation on the intersections of history, cruelty, and the commodification of life. Through its richly layered imagery and sharp contrasts, the poem challenges readers to reckon with the ways in which exploitative systems persist and evolve. Kumin’s ability to weave together the historical and the contemporary creates a haunting narrative that refuses easy resolution, demanding instead a deeper reflection on the moral costs of commodification.

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