In class on Wednesday we read Everett’s poem “Logic,” a poem that seemed to consist of six different poems instead of being one large poem. Whatever the case, in stanza/poem number six the number seven is given the spotlight. Initially, I didn’t think too much of the stanza (I’ll just call it a stanza for this blog) but when my group got into a discussion about it, we realized that there were a few strange things that stood out to us. Lael pointed out how of course Everett would write about the number seven in stanza number six. This is exactly the type of thing Everett would do, and it goes well with the title of this collection of poems, re: f(gesture). It’s possible that Everett had a meaningful reason for choosing to write about the number seven in stanza number six, but I personally think that this was yet another instance where Everett was sending an “f off” towards anyone who supports categorization.
“Seven is, will be. All men will die. But not seven” (70).
My group interpreted this as saying that while mankind has the capacity to die, a number, specifically seven, will always just be a number. This got me thinking about what numbers even are, and why we so often assign meaning to them. The number seven often seems to stand out from the rest. I see it everywhere: the seven wonders of the world, the seven deadly sins, seven continents, seven days in a week, and so on. But these are just the instances that I could think of off the top of my head. Upon further research, I also found that the number seven is mentioned 735 times in the bible (that’s a lot!). It is also the most popular favorite number in western civilization. According to author Alex Bellos, this can be attributed to the fact that the number seven is an outlier. In numbers one through ten all of them can be either multiplied or divided to equal another number within the group. But not seven. I doubt that most people consciously think to themselves “Oh, the number seven is prime so it must be my favorite now!” I think what Bellos meant was that our brains can subconsciously recognize when something is different from the rest. We naturally look for patterns and consistencies, so when something is inconsistent it’s noticeable. The fact that so many people like the number seven because it’s different from the rest is curious to me because as a society I feel as though we are often trying to blend in with one another. It seems almost hypocritical that we put the number seven on a pedestal because it is unique but then don’t embrace the uniqueness that we all have as individuals. We see it in the news everyday—people getting oppressed because of their race, their sexuality, their gender. And these are just a few examples—there are so many other cases of discrimination. There are of course other reasons for people preferring the number seven over others, but that depends on the individual and their past experiences.
Personally, my favorite number has been 19 since fifth grade. It was the number of my cubby for my backpack and ever since then I notice the number everywhere, and even get excited about seeing it sometimes. I don’t think the number is actually more prevalent in the world than others, but since it’s my favorite I subconsciously look for it. But it’s strange to me that a number could be a source of joy—I mean, it’s just a number. But myself and so many others assign meaning to them, giving them a sort of life. But as “Logic” said, a number cannot die.