William Carlos Williams (1883–1963)

Although I don't think it's WCW's greatest work (except in spots, and what spots!), this is kinda beyond any attempt I could make to evaluate it. Like the other great American 'long' poems of the 20th century (Pound, Olson, etc) this work pulls in a lot of stuff ... with which it deals in one way or other. Or doesn't.

If you want to read this, and you should, I recommend getting hold of the newer edition prepped by Christopher MacGowan, because it includes copious notes, which really show more illuminate some of the chunks that Williams threw in (letters, newspaper articles, etc.)

Bits of this will stay with me forever, but my own humble opinion is that it doesn't really cohere. Maybe it wasn't meant to ... you decide. show less

This short collection of short stories reveals Williams as a physician to the most needy people. His style is deceptively direct; he rarely uses 'he said' or 'she said', and it makes the reader pay a little closer attention to these very compact stories, deducing the speaker by the writing. I was never confused, but I had to pay attention. I suspect this is Williams's way of teaching us the attention that he as a physician paid to all the little details of his patients, and the stories often show more point these details out to the reader.

Coles' introduction is very personal, as he knew Williams when he himself was in school and afterward. Equally affecting is Williams' son's afterward, as he described his father's dual life as doctor and poet.

Williams' reward came too late, a Pulitzer after he died. But in a way the writing was the reward of his other profession, offering him the intensity of connection to other people and thus to himself. show less

Reading Books I-IV (especially Book II) was the most exciting, energetic, and formally refreshing reading experience I've had, I think, ever. I haven't been this convinced on the merits and distinctions of poetry since I read Ondaatje's The Collected Poems of Billy the Kid. Paterson feels like something one re-enters half a dozen times in their lifetime. I feel like carrying it around like a bible.

La gran novela americana (1923) es una novela experimental de William Carlos Williams. Aunque se le conoce sobre todo como poeta, Williams amplió con frecuencia los límites de la prosa a lo largo de su carrera. En la década decisiva del modernismo, Williams intentó probar la llamada “Gran Novela Americana”, un concepto que alimentó un apasionado debate en los círculos académicos y artísticos de todo el país. Lejos de ser convencional, la novela de Williams es una incursión show more metaficcional en asuntos más posmodernos que modernos, un comentario disfrazado de narración y una sátira de la excesiva dependencia de los clichés en forma y contenido. “Si hay progreso, hay novela. Sin progreso no hay nada. Todo existe desde el principio. Yo existía al principio. Yo era un bebé baboso. Hoy he visto hierbas sin nombre… He golpeado la tierra con el nudillo. Sonaba a hueco. Estaba seca como el caucho. Eones de sequía. No ha llovido en quince días. No ha llovido. Nunca ha llovido. Nunca lloverá”. La novela de Williams comienza con la palabra y un nacimiento. El lenguaje describe la experiencia de despertar a la experiencia, de llegar a la conciencia como un ser vivo en un mundo vivo. Utilizando palabras del habla cotidiana, construye una novela a partir de observaciones, un libro que permanece consciente de sí mismo en todo momento. Al igual que el niño cuya primera experiencia con la palabra escrita suele provenir de nombres y eslóganes extendidos sobre camiones y vallas publicitarias, el lector acaba aceptando su nueva realidad, un mundo en el que la gente ama y triunfa y fracasa, en el que la historia y el arte interceden para dar sentido a lo que pueden. La Gran Novela Americana muestra la forma experimental de Williams, estirando el significado de “novela” hasta su límite más lejano. show less