The Penelopiad

Introduction i. A Low Art ii. The Chorus Line: A Rope-Jumping Rhyme iii. My Childhood iv. The Chorus Line: Kiddie Mourn, A Lament by the Maids v. Asphodel vi. My Marriage vii. The Scar viii. The Chorus Line: If I Was a Princess, A Popular Tune ix. The Trusted Cackle-Hen x. The Chorus Line: The Birth of Telemachus, An Idyll xi. Helen Ruins My Life xii. Waiting xiii. The Chorus Line: The Wily Sea Captain, A Sea Shanty xiv. The Suitors Stuff Their Faces xv. The Shroud xvi. Bad Dreams xvii. The Chorus Line: Dreamboats, A Ballad xviii. News of Helen xix. Yelp of Joy xx. Slanderous Gossip xxi. The Chorus Line: The Perils of Penelope, A Drama xxii. Helen Takes a Bath xxiii. Odysseus and Telemachus Snuff the Maids xxiv. The Chorus Line: An Anthropology Lecture xxv. Heart of Flint xxvi. The Chorus Line: The Trial of Odysseus, as Videotaped by the Maids xxvii. Home Life in Hades xxviii. The Chorus Line: We're Walking Behind You, A Love Song xxix. Envoi Notes Acknowledgements