Know Thyself through RESISTANCE
Per Wikipedia: Toi Derricotte (pronounced DARE-ah-cot ) (born April 12, 1941) is an American poet. She is the author of six poetry collections and a literary memoir. She has won numerous literary awards, including the 2020 Frost Medal for distinguished lifetime achievement in poetry awarded by the Poetry Society of America, and the 2021 Wallace Stevens Award, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets. From 2012–2017, Derricotte served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. She is currently a professor emerita in writing at the University of Pittsburgh. Derricotte is a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
Joy is an act of resistance.
-Toi Derricotte
I wholeheartedly agree. In Wikipedia the 1st definition for the word Resistance is as follows:
the act or power of resisting, opposing, or withstanding.
4th definition for the word Resistance is as follows:
opposition to an attempt to bring repressed thoughts or feelings into consciousness.
To me, the word Resistance was chosen for a mashup of these two definitions.
withstanding an attempt to bring repressed thoughts or feelings into consciousness.
I think the poet likens the welcomed feeling of Joy to an act or resistance because Joy has become an unnatural feeling that we must fight to bring to our own notice.
What do YOU think?
Last Updated on 07/08/2026 by Death of Hypatia Inc.
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