Robert Duncan (1) (1919–1988)

It is as if I were moving towards
the wastes of water all living things remember the world to be,
the law of me
going under the wave.

Doubt was rather high. My approach to this collection was almost reluctant. Timid. There were early aspects I found to be inscrutable. Poundian cryptograms. Words carefree on foreboding space. I feared my limitations, not the impossible---though the sum of which hardly differs, no?

Then I found sections on grieving, Palpable human loss, the mad work to show more construct to satisfy, to allow matters to linger. Then there was the outrage: Vietnam.
From the height of the endless towerwhere Ecstasy carried me:
I have gazed at the cold and sad world, black and agitated. . .

The structure of this verse is pretty amazing, even to a roustabout layman like myself: a Beckett in greasy overalls. show less

Although many of these poems and pieces contain imagery that can all but freeze a reader's breath, I fear it's not a collection I could really recommend. As a whole, the collection feels more experimental than powerful, and as much as I love poetry, I didn't find myself enjoying much of this read. I'm not the biggest fan of Duncan's work, though I read him enough in poetry courses, but this collection left me less engaged even than others, and although I could appreciate the works, I simply show more didn't get any real enjoyment from them. show less

The most powerful poems here are those dealing with language and art/creation. It's an interesting and complex collection, but one which requires concentration and an acceptance of complexity. I'm not always sure that Duncan isn't more concerned with experimentation and language-play than any meaning, but there are Some poems here which I know I'll be returning to---those poems alone made it well worth my time.

This was a bit obscure, for my taste, I'm afraid. I'd recommend it to fans of poetry that has a heavy use of allusions, or for fans of T.S. Elliot, but it's not what I'd call generally accessable. There were a few poems here that I'll come back to, primarily those that were religiously themed, but for the most part the poems were too detached and dense for my taste. I have enjoyed Duncan's poetry before though, when I've come across it, so I feel like this just wasn't the collection for me. show more For anyone curious, I'd recommend reading some of his anthologized pieces for a taste, and then going with a different collection unless it's his allusions and uses of unexpected or foreign language that really draws you in. show less