| Author | Message | ||
| Will Eastland
Advanced Member Username: dwillo Post Number: 1079 Registered: 07-2006 |
So, what do you think of him? I know the basics; I've read the major poems and some of his essays, read lots about him. But I'm still not sure what to make of the guy. Right now I'm leaning toward "great intellect/semi-philosopher whose most prominent tone was playful and whimsical yet (incongruously) formal." Progress is a comfortable disease. ~e e cummings | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 6556 Registered: 05-2006 |
A brilliant mind. A poet for other poets and puzzle-solvers. Unlike Frost and Auden, Stevens made little or no effort to communicate to a wider literate audience. Fred YOUR FOOTNOTE ADVERTISEMENT HERE. Call 1-555-555-5555 and ask for Fred. 10% discount if you mention Wild Poetry Forum. | ||
| M
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 35001 Registered: 11-1998 |
"great intellect/semi-philosopher whose most prominent tone was playful and whimsical yet (incongruously) formal." That sums it up pretty well, Will. There are plenty of others around who still don't know quite what to make of him, so you're not alone. And people run the gamut from hating him to loving him. Some people even insist the only good part about his work was his selection of titles. *LOL* I can appreciate his work. But I don't think I'd make a steady diet of him. Life is short and other poets speak more strongly to me. That's just personal opinion, of course. But I guess that's what you asked for. Love, M | ||
| Dan Tompsett
Intermediate Member Username: db_tompsett Post Number: 792 Registered: 07-2007 |
I just browsed some of his poems. Clever. Definately had a voice of his own. I think his poem "Sunday Morning" is excellent: http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2017.html "People who believe a lot of crap are better off." Charles Bukowski | ||
| Zefuyn
Advanced Member Username: zefuyn Post Number: 1420 Registered: 12-2006 |
A friend recently just introduced me to him, so I'm in that honeymoon phase, but stepping aside from the current enthusiasm for his work and poems like The Man with the Blue Guitar (wow), I can see that I would need a light lunch of him. Will, I like your first description... Melanie | ||
| Christopher T George
Senior Member Username: chrisgeorge Post Number: 7950 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hello Will Frankly, for me, a bit high-falutin' as it were, out in the ether, not hands-on. Clever, no doubt, thought provoking as well. But not exactly visceral, down to the bone. Interesting poet but not one of my absolute favorites. Chris Editor, Desert Moon Review http://www.thedesertmoonreview.com Co-Editor, Loch Raven Review http://www.lochravenreview.net http://chrisgeorge.netpublish.net/ | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 6571 Registered: 05-2006 |
I hugely prefer Philip Levine. YOUR FOOTNOTE ADVERTISEMENT HERE. Call 1-555-555-5555 and ask for Fred. 10% discount if you mention Wild Poetry Forum. | ||
| Will Eastland
Advanced Member Username: dwillo Post Number: 1080 Registered: 07-2006 |
Dan, While Sunday morning is one of his better arguments, "Complacencies of the peignoir" encompasses all that is wonderful and obtuse about Mr. Stevens and proves Chris's high-falutin' and lack of common touch charge in a single phrase. I think though that he may represent a bridge from or a legacy of the likes of Milton, and it may be that every generation or two needs a philosopher-apologist poet. Fred, I've read What Work Is, The Simple Truth, and a portion of one of his selected collections. He's a mixed bag for me, although part of my lack of complete enthusiasm may stem from his politics. Progress is a comfortable disease. ~e e cummings | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 6573 Registered: 05-2006 |
Then of course we have Stella Stevens -- Bundle of Vanity YOUR FOOTNOTE ADVERTISEMENT HERE. Call 1-555-555-5555 and ask for Fred. 10% discount if you mention Wild Poetry Forum. | ||
| Will Eastland
Advanced Member Username: dwillo Post Number: 1081 Registered: 07-2006 |
Sir, you have polluted my thread. Pistols at dawn! Progress is a comfortable disease. ~e e cummings | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Moderator Username: garydawg Post Number: 28942 Registered: 07-2001 |
The elder Stafford, William. A peace poet and best of this era... Smiles. Gary Celebrate Walt with Gary: http://www.poetrykit.org/pkl/tw10/tw4conte.htm | ||
| Andrew Dufresne
Senior Member Username: beachdreamer Post Number: 2831 Registered: 01-2006 |
My favorite story about Wallace Stevens is the time he was accepting a poetry award somewhere. He looked out into the audience, chuckled and said, "Man, if the boys in the office could see me now..." (Stevens was a vice president of the Hartford Insurance Company.) ad I'm too lazy to update my blog so I'm embarrassed to invite anyone to it. | ||
| Will Eastland
Advanced Member Username: dwillo Post Number: 1082 Registered: 07-2006 |
For some reason I find the story of WS's fisticuffs with Ernest Hemmingway much more amusing. Two literary giants acting like such little boys . . . Progress is a comfortable disease. ~e e cummings | ||
| Fred Longworth
Senior Member Username: sandiegopoet Post Number: 6576 Registered: 05-2006 |
Will, The Earnest Hemming Way was a little instructional book for seamstresses, originally published in 1924. Stevens took it as an insult to his masculinity. YOUR FOOTNOTE ADVERTISEMENT HERE. Call 1-555-555-5555 and ask for Fred. 10% discount if you mention Wild Poetry Forum. |
