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Loading... Selected Poems (original 1968; edition 1985)by William Carlos Williams
Work InformationWilliam Carlos Williams: Selected Poems by William Carlos Williams (1968)
Poetry Corner (47) Modernism (81) Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I love the concept that Williams tried to invent a poetic form centered on everyday circumstances and “images” in America, and I also love that he tutored young poets including Allen Ginsberg, but sadly I’m not a fan of his poetry. The “Red Wheelbarrow” is oft-quoted but I include it here; it’s what attracted me to give him a try: so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water besides the white chickens. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesPenguin Poets (D190) Awards
Before William Carlos Williams was recognized as one of the most important innovators in American poetry, he commissioned a printer to publish 100 copies of "Poems" (1909), a small collection largely imitating the styles of the Romantics and the Victorians. This volume collects the self-published edition of "Poems", Williams' foray into the world of letters, with previously unpublished notes he made after spending nearly a year in Europe rethinking poetry and how to write it. As "Poems" shows his first tentative steps into poetry, the notes show him as he prepares to make a giant transformation in his art. Shortly after "Poems" appeared, Williams went through a series of experiences that changed his life - a trip to Europe, a marriage to the sister of the woman he genuinely loved, and the establishment of his medical practice. In Europe he was introduced to a consideration of an unlikely trio: Heinrich Heine, Martin Luther, and Richard Wagner, resulting in an exposure that subsequently influenced his developing style. Williams looked back on Poems as apprentice work, calling them, "bad Keats, nothing else - oh well, bad Whitman too. But I sure loved them...There is not one thing of the slightest value in the whole thin booklet - except the intent", and never republished the collection. Now that Williams' work is widely read and appreciated, his reputation secure, his development as a poet is a matter worth serious study, "Poems" can be seen as a point of departure, a clear record of where Williams began before his life and ideas about poetry made seismic shifts. Virginia M. Wright-Peterson's succinct introduction puts "Poems" in the context of his life and times, discusses the reception of the volume, his reconsideration of the poems, and what they reveal about his poetic ambitions. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)811.5Literature English (North America) American poetry 20th CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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as toward the light
there is no detail extraneous
You know, I credit Mike Puma with this turn, oh and Robert Zimmerman and maybe Ezra Pound. All these loose associations led a curious thrust into verse these last days of 2015. It might prove habit forming. There is something remarkable to wake from a deep slumber and find traction into verse. My initial encounters were ill defined. Form was found as I progressed.
Without other cost than breath
and the poor soul,
carried in the cage of the ribs,
chirping shrilly
The world of Williams appear to exist as a collection of things. There's stuff and some of it is alive. We are enriched by this awareness, if not the distinction. There doesn't appear to be any greater point. There is a melody then of thing-ness. I am quite tempted to now approach his long-form verse. ( )