Category: Vocal Music / Art Song
Instrumentation: female voice, piano
Duration: approximately 1.5 minutes
Text / Source: Poem by Linda Pastan
Publisher: North Star Music, LLC

Marks is an upper-intermediate to advanced art song for female voice and piano, setting Linda Pastan’s sharp and humorous poem. It is the only song in Three Poems by Linda Pastan intended specifically for a female voice.

The song portrays a modern woman standing up for her dignity, using humor and wit to expose the pressures of being judged, graded, or evaluated by others. The setting is through-composed, though similar melodic ideas recur throughout, giving the song coherence while preserving its quick dramatic energy.

Marks is especially effective in recital programs that call for intelligence, comic timing, and strong textual presence. It is well suited for singers who can combine vocal precision with character, irony, and a clear sense of personal authority.