This is Poetry Moment on WPSU – a weekly program featuring the work of contemporary Pennsylvania poets. Your host is poet and author Marjorie Maddox, a 2023 Monson Arts Fellow, author of more than 20 books, and Professor Emerita of English and Creative Writing at the Lock Haven campus of Commonwealth University.
Welcome to Poetry Moment.I’m Marjorie Maddox.
How much does word choice reveal your geographical home? Do you typically say “youse” or “yinz,” “pop” or “soda,” “crick” or “creek” Your answer may pinpoint your region or even your town. In today’s poem, “Mother Tongue,” Lisa McMonagle examines how growing up in Northern Appalachia affected both her speech and her identity.
Lisa McMonagle grew up on the Allegheny Front of Central Pennsylvania and received her BA in Spanish with a concentration in Education from The Pennsylvania State University. She studied in Mexico and Germany where she taught English as a Second Language. Before retiring, she served as the Coordinator of English as a Second Language for an Adult Education program in State College, PA. Her work has appeared in The Women’s Review of Books, West Branch, and other publications. Today’s poem, “Mother Tongue,” is from her first collection, Allegheny Women, published by Kelsay Books in 2024. Sadly, Lisa died on March 30, 2025. She became a vibrant part of the State College poetry community and will be sorely missed.
Like many, you may have been judged by your appearance. But have you also been judged by the way you speak? Longing for the “languages” of other counties and countries, poet Lisa McMonagle worked hard to escape the Appalachian dialect of her childhood. In doing so, she also examined the concept of “home.”
Here’s “Mother Tongue” by Lisa McMonagle from her book Allegheny Women:
Mother Tongue
I climbed the maple tree,
pretended it was another country,
whispered foreign words
over and over, rolled syllables
in my mouth like jaw breakers,
silently at first, then out loud,
savoring the sound.
Words like cul-de-sac,
a French word that makes
dead end sound palatable―
meringue to the mashed potatoes of
the Appalachian dialect
I spoke as a child
and abandoned as a teenager
for sharply enunciated
vowels and consonants.
I honed my tongue on the whetstone of elocution
to pare away the slack in my words
crick to creek
critter to creature
until each string of phonemes
stood up straight and alert.
Vigilant against elision,
my words no longer
held hands like a string of cut-out
paper dolls creased into accordion folds
like the hills and hollows of home.
That was “Mother Tongue” by Lisa McMonagle. Thanks for listening.
Listen for Poetry Moment with Marjorie Maddox, Mondays during Morning Edition and All Things Considered on WPSU. You can view more episodes at wpsu.org/poetrymoment.
Our theme music is by Eric Ian Farmer.
