Kim Wade is a poet and writer with two self-published poetry collections: They All Look Like Philip and Bulldogs and Other Touchy Subjects. She is currently working on a memoir.
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I came late to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, starting Season 1 about the time the final Season 7 was premiering. Having renounced television in the 1990s, Buffy was the catalyst which brought me back into the fold thanks to the many wonderful writers on the series. When I started watching Buffy, I was married and living in Missoula, Montana. By the time I completed the series, I was single and living in San Francisco.
Buffy was a comfort and guide through the emotions of divorce and the rediscovery of myself as a woman, feminist and poet. As soon as I finished the series, I immediately started back at the beginning of Season 1, watching it all again, often marveling at how a show featuring a group of teenagers battling demons and the inequities of high school could mean so much to a middle aged woman navigating the dating scene again and trying to stay creative amidst the soul sucking daily grind of corporate America. Of course, that’s the beauty. They aren’t really so misaligned.
I fell hard for Buffy and Xander and Willow and Giles and learned to love Angel, although at first I found him one dimensional and aggravating, later rooting for Spike as best boyfriend, contrary to the masses. By my third watching of the series, I was regularly writing poetry and reading at open mics around the City. Bored with myself as topic, I determined that Buffy was to be my new inspiration, vowing to write a poem for each episode. Eight years later, the result of this vow was over 144 completed poems, which I have shared on this blog.
While Buffy was the inspiration behind these poems, you don’t have to be a Buffy fan or even know anything about Buffy the Vampire Slayer in order to dive inside. All you need is your own life experience and the ability to read. Poetry is never as much about what inspired it as it is about what it inspires in the reader.
Buffy was one of the first female superheroes on television, not only battling vampires and demons, but coping with the joys and struggles of daily life. By the end of the series, Buffy’s super strength was shared among all girls and women – the chance to fight for what we believe in. Women now have more power in the world than ever, but still find ourselves fighting to maintain basic rights and respect.
It has taken me too long to dole out the posts for these poems and, during that time, our world has been shaken by a global pandemic, repeated hatred and violence, and the creator of our beloved Buffy has had his true face revealed, and it is ugly to look upon.
Thankfully, there are so many contributors to the Buffyverse – writers, directors, producers, crew, and the talented, devoted cast who brought the characters we love to life. I will continue to champion the show for its depiction of girl power, friendship, and the way it helped me find my way back to life after some sad and disorienting times. But one powerful man behaving badly, especially after so many of us allowed ourselves to trust him, has left a murky film through which the show will now be viewed. And this makes me incredibly sad.