A student of mine pointed out that “The Emperor of Ice Cream” endorses living in the moment. That, he thought, … More
Tag: American poetry
252. (Hart Crane)
It’s been more than fifteen years since I’ve taken a surprisingly beat-up copy of The Complete Poems of Hart Crane … More
233. (Samuel Menashe)
The poetry of Samuel Menashe is illuminated by the thought that, even the smallest lyric poem, when successful, will … More
232. (John Berryman)
Although it would be wrong to read John Berryman’s Dream Songs as a poem about the madness of a nation, … More
224. (Emily Dickinson)
In this third and last in a series of posts on Emily Dickinson and decorum, I’ll try to bring decorum … More
223. (Emily Dickinson)
To begin with recapitulation and self-remonstration: poetry must, in F.H. Bradley’s persuasive formulation, get within the judgment the condition of … More
222. (Emily Dickinson)
This post is the second of a series of evolving sketches about “decorum” in poetry. This is the messiest of … More
207. (Amy Clampitt)
Amy Clampitt’s “Nothing Stays Put” opens with an allusion to Wordsworth’s “The World is Too Much With Us,” and the … More
152. (Wallace Stevens)
When you start out with a feeling of alienation—from an unspoken, blank, or meaningless past—from a mass of others, or … More
149. (Robert Lowell)
“Self-accusation,” writes Geoffrey Hill, “is the life-blood of Romanticism.” For a long time, I thought Lowell a late-Romantic, working back, … More
Critical Provisions 