Be Specific About Epithetical Books The Collected Poems
| Title | : | The Collected Poems |
| Author | : | Wallace Stevens |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 560 pages |
| Published | : | February 19th 1990 by Vintage (first published 1954) |
| Categories | : | Poetry. Classics. Literature. American |
Wallace Stevens
Paperback | Pages: 560 pages Rating: 4.27 | 10772 Users | 160 Reviews
Narrative To Books The Collected Poems
i fell in love with two men in my undergrad senior seminar. it was on wallace stevens and t.s. eliot.the way i loved both of these writers hurt. (i'll set eliot aside for another time).
stevens kills me when he uses very innocent symbols - making ice cream, in "the emperor of ice cream", for instance - to offset the tragedy that's occurring. front-loaded with the promise of the sugar stuff, it seems like the poem will go somewhere happy, maybe to a coming of age resolultion.
but it's not that simple. everything wallace does gets so much darker. when you find out why the ice cream is being made, what it's for, everything changes. and it's something that's resonated in my skull since the day i read it. when i teach this poem to students in my undergrad class, they struggle. they struggle for entire class periods. and when i explain it, they look as if they've been punched.
wallace turns the reader into a puzzle solver. each word is a piece and even if the pieces appear to fit one way, you must do a bit of thinking before you can begin to understand the picture that's really unfolding. it's an incredible skill. it still awes me.
my two favorite pieces from this collection were obviously "the emperor of ice cream" and the other was "the idea of order at key west" which i think i loved so much because it reminded me of the end of "the love song of j. alfred prufrock" by eliot. the sea, the singing, the questions posed - but i think that's up to the reader to figure out.
regardless, i love this collection. i deeply love this collection.
Mention Books In Favor Of The Collected Poems
| Original Title: | The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens |
| ISBN: | 0679726691 (ISBN13: 9780679726692) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (1955), National Book Award for Poetry (1955) |
Rating Epithetical Books The Collected Poems
Ratings: 4.27 From 10772 Users | 160 ReviewsDiscuss Epithetical Books The Collected Poems
Autumn RefrainThe skreak and skritter of evening goneAnd grackles gone and sorrows of the sun,The sorrows of sun, too, gone . . . the moon and moon,The yellow moon of words about the nightingaleIn measureless measures, not a bird for meBut the name of a bird and the name of a nameless airI have never -- shall never hear. And yet beneathThe stillness of everything gone, and being still,Being and sitting still, something resides,Some skreaking and skrittering residuum,And grates these evasions ofI understand more each time I read these poems.
Another wonderful, mostly opaque, poet. But I thoroughly enjoyed what I could understand. Stevens has a very strong philosophical bent, and his overtly humanistic stance celebrates in such bold and beautiful language the gift that every moment of life is with or without an eternal assurance. He wrote in his book Opus Posthumous, After one has abandoned a belief in God, poetry is that essence which takes its place as lifes redemption." Many people with religious sensibilities may wonder how one
Stevens wrote poetry like a jeweler cuts diamonds; his language is musical to the ear and prismatic in the mind's eye. He often writes about the power of art--specifically poetry--to transform Reality. She sang beyond the genius of the sea . . . It was her voice that madeThe sky acutest at its vanishing.....She was the single artificer of the worldIn which she sang. And when she sang, the sea,Whatever self it had, became the self That was her song, for she was the maker. Then we, As we beheld
Wallace Stevens. Read him. Now.
i have a couple of his poems on my wall in my art studio.great poeti mean to buy a good edition of his poetry and have not had a chance to investigate which anthology to get? any suggestions? which is the best to get?here is a taste: my favorite Wallace poem:The Idea of Order at Key WestWallace StevensShe sang beyond the genius of the sea.The water never formed to mind or voice,Like a body wholly body, flutteringIts empty sleeves; and yet its mimic motionMade constant cry, caused constantly a
I am re-reading this now. It's a bit wordy, but full of an elegant, Godly style. In the reading, I am among Greeks -- gods and ephebes --, strange flowers, outdated seraphs, the vulgate, Ozymandias, and constantly, the Poet struggling between two states to find a "Supreme Fiction."Maybe it should be four stars?? No. There's too much in here.
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