«A POETRY CRITICISM READER... edited by Jerry Harp & Jan Weissmiller [UNIVERSITY OF IOWA PRESS...0WA CITY‘airsoft es, oa hy 52342 copyigt ©2005 yh Unie of owe Pes Inipuowaetanspeee Pinedo he Unie Sate Ameen ‘Design by Sera. Sate No prof his book maybe eroded o eda ay fom oy ay mesa without pein i wing Fe ‘the ple al easnae sap ae been ken octet ‘pit oles of materi dn ths bok. Te paar oul! be plese o make aul arangemvats th sty hom thas not bes pol to each, The Unesy fon se ember of Gren Pest nies ie commited co preseing ntl sources ite se paper caegopinucaion data on leat be Libary of Congres oct Citic after Hit. JERRY MARP.t Of the Music of Poety..0NALD TUSTICE..A7 In Memory of Orpheus: Three Elegies by Donal Justice MARK JARMAN..29 ‘The Hpi Poes..sTEPHEN BURT..40 laity instead of Order: The Practice of Posmodernism inthe Poctry of ames Tate,.JAMES HARMS..52 (On Pel Muldoon'sHay.OSHUA WEENER ut (nJorie Graham's Sour. STEPHEN YENSER.67 Some Notes toward a Poetics. HLE}EN YAN .78 ‘A Lament in Thee Volees.ELEN VENDLER..B7 ‘tthe Border JORIE ORAMAM&«t07 iy Preto Seamus Heaney’ eri Light ‘Green, Pricky Humanity: Rural Wisconsin's lating Lost Poe AREN VOLEMAN 134 PERMISSIONS..145, InExaastIntroduction Poetry Criticism after Eliot JERRY HARP... ©. lie wa the las figure in English-language pety who could rake ex cathedra statements that commanded atension; whether ‘one agreed or dissented, he was dificult ignore. As Davi Per ‘is pein the second volume of his massive A History of Mod ‘om Po, “For oweny-sve years TS. lo exercise a authority in the literary world not possessed by sty writer before him for ‘more than a cent” Or at Seamus Heatey ps the mate, r= calling che growth of his own knowledge and sensiily, “one did ‘ot need to kxow any iteray thing in paticula in the 29508 in conde to know that Bit wa the way, the rath and the lght, and ‘hat unl one ad found him one had not entered the king of poet.” Surely one has oceupied such a position sine, and no doubé many of us find our eutrent moment beter suited to pl rat ideas than aieraryczrship woul like allow. While Bio's uchority might have kee the high modemist machinery up and running through many of ts best years of experimentation, ours [sa moment that favors conspicuously multiple, shitng, some times overlapping, often competing centers of authori. ay be that something like the current stations preciely what iscalled faceven thee fy yeas afer the atcendancy of power ental figue—a sination of robust fragmentation calling for multiple modes of expeiment and exploration,Nevertheless, we may yet ind some basis for our eaten pl ‘asm in Blt's thought abou radition,howerer obliga ou pice "st be, In his stay "Teaition andthe india Tale” (909, Blo famously asserts the necssy ofa pet conseucting 2 pe. Sonat dition composed ofthe voices fom the past tht ae to exer formative pressure on the poets own work. In Bio's version of the life of poe, engaging with such a personaly con structed tation is one ofthe conltions of « poets streng Further, such a tation “cannot be inherited, and iy want ie you mustobain i by great abou” Ofcourse, the ual naraine ofliterar history also points ou thatin lor’ ee a ret porn ofthe labor of inheritance, especialy that of choosing what one isto be ifuenced by, was carried out by institutions of higher learning with relately stable notions of lterry aon. No doubr, his version ofthe naeatvei in some way valid For et dence of what formes Eli's ide of tradi, one might begin by looking 2 lio’seurcicaum of sud asa Hanae undergraduate, one that included itera studies i Greek, English and French ‘ong with courses in mediera history and ancien and modem hilosophy+ Further cues to Blior’s notion of tradition maybe gleaned fom bis noes to The Waste and (0922) and his esay "What tsa Claw sc 944) Te short answer tothe question posed by th say's tt is Vig’ Ae wor that answers to there “clase” In li’ relatively narrow use of the wot oaths occasion, because ‘he ee peaks a “the consciousness of Rome and the supreme twice of her language. This language, Latin, is the one that re ‘mained for Blot the supreme and generative inheritance ofall uropeun ciiization, and forthe Eliot of tg, when be pub lished “Teadton and the tnividua Talent,” European elzaion ‘occupied the poston of central concer, for tis “the whole of the literate of Europe" tha reains the source of tain for poet writing n English. However, averting to the noes of The Waste Land, which include references to he Buddhas Fite Season tthe Upanisas, one can see that as eri as 922 lie bring ing at leas a smattering of Aska writing and thought into his ork. By opening his poem to these ater wor, Eliealows them ‘© exert an ntuence on his writing and thas o become para is oat wan. Te ey Mest wht cones ‘iiun rman on se ore ‘ori soms th Bt cud harley ion noe aly eon to ae one, res, oon ‘ores fr tuned ato tthe eatin er akon i ay wax now itso al one mi be Clap ink Ger Graf a mapped ot sae of eco ey hated thay dene of wench doeaton hich bee from the nent ey ena Screen te pat hihi pve’ holipand ee en rely humans eatin, Ror pra of he ite ost Son tmensoethelos af acommen costa come Th tii oer ino he ent pectonof Faith ean apse ame oy ht ‘uly gos on ude his nares der ao show tha we fave te dered anna coe gh" Tho, src ee of conan ro cig Concetta coe Tt Ha de as ware pre che ik om cous was = Eosice hat ie he oung Etec "Taio 3d then ie yee ng ee me rs espns fs anion of eee ci orn dwell eatin ind he comply fies ik ing he peed ci he ese pps inthe iis Teton ane nn ene esther toy arte see infor ofaton neler fren cn ants hl dasa in "What io” tolls upscale wot a taining ings cas a, be erogenous dei ins ot ats ge iar cla ped so nee [ogres On te one an, he fin the pounce of xp ing oor wee teks may ofl: Inn and manner, ong wih ampli, compresses Ind pro fs harmon common sete cs Sess ope that manera ei ten tromen. On the her han, be opine “that shone ests ihc he cll que ae sete Deen vationsauthors and several periods, may well be the schet™ In other words, it may betoalteratare's advantage to mi, and even due, its classi qualities with adversity of other sips eis not thet, lot foresaw the pluralism to come but rather that his complex vision, as manifested in both his poetry and his pose, bas anes ‘Sone to help bring about ou pluralist age and sess, TF Blots notion of tation was inherently dame, thea thay be tha our sense of tdiion atthe present moment is approp, ately even more expansive and exible. The tem “tradton* (om ‘Latin nade, o hand over, ge up, surrender) has rot in ancent Roman law and refers to the usual means whereby ownecship of Property was transferred o given ort The eymmoogy i inform ‘ven that implies the necessity of taking up and making use ‘of what is banded oer ifthe inheritance ito remain avible pat ofeultur. nother words, theo propery mst be integrated inte the contemporary lifeworld. The inheritance of riches works as 2 ‘benefit nly ifthe inheritor makes good ue of what the ded have lef bind Pare of what our age as become sensitive to ae che ches of multiple sources of inheritance. "No doul ou age sso does well tear in mind the sher labor required eo make good use of ou literary ithertances good toc that issues in the cretion of new vices, As Se Sidney ao doube ‘new, despite the conciusion of the frst sonnet of Atop ané Stl, its not enough simply to lokin one's heart and wrt, One "eston that sucha mode ofcompositio remains inadequate that, ‘uch ofwhatis most edly apparent and legibein the here has been inscribed thereby cultural frees, Looking int one’s heart, ‘o-wrte may be the best way to sound lke the blandest esion of ‘most ererone else. One ofthe striking paradoxes of wing i that tn achieve one's own distinc wie, one mustintemalize many ater strong voices itis only by engaging with other voices that, ‘one is able to achieve a wice of one's own. But this strug of ‘gaging with other voies is not the work ofthe poet only thee itis also the work of any strong o considerable eve Without thorough knowledge ofthe lierture and eric stances of the Past, one's understanding ofthe present moment's endeavor Sound to rng hollow: tthe same ime, without some fmiirny it the crcl and Ierary stances ofthe present moment one's sneer vetfep the wort ofthe ie demands the costco of ont wait, wich bad by gr bo ga, Bo antl hse concer a “The Faction of con age) begins by quoting pstag fo aon its nau Teno fs tha the wl fen reforms an over ha ale in aati when tating wal no node ete oes Om taser at he inion of rem sexs Be ely» probe of wero The new worka.ttinot ony one on re nt ys a “tayo ees ed Any ion Ra cary anti ac of uernding abd earthen avo sonver to Bsns sox salon. Ths ey phase way tape fd ew eons arying ot che Sea aor feng» ion fom he poet te ps Fae he esis at ti niin nes oi ea Cie iene hy conor the post of the peer theses slng ith hep they coal, popu ue wich sometimes wii inal te moe en trey nnn To on ts nny be thing mee than a ttm fee pss long wih he poche ves inn pooner eo ha come op soft ey at re con, Oo ‘Wotesnotenn rpc ws eof Chehigh mers modest Hl et oun, Wala Ste nner nt coe ome feral prep hcl yh saat ‘omen wren ler hong gee We de wee Fev om he lg ys fGen Rone, eo th snd Chan won, om the sds of Elghenment hough hese mle we flea thi anes na raves wer nolongeholingogle,nrwaay ing and Ising enough ee seg hl ger ce le In fac coring th nae of he oder‘he old mys and monuments that had enabled so much of our literature were in eagments, art Crane, who was born about a generation liter tha these ‘modernist poets, captures well the sense of ess in hs "Geneal ‘Aims and Theories," in which he describes "s world that fe 30 ‘in transition fom a decayed culture twatd a reorganization of ‘human evaluations that cher are fw common terms, gene! de Dominators of speech thar are solié enough or tit tag with any ibration or sprtualconition."« The high modernist made was ‘not eying to reconstruct the old monuments but rather atempt nto builé something grand and new and monumental ou othe old fragment and ruins. Pethaps the most conspicuous examples OF this mode of poetic composition remain Eliot's The Wat Lend and Pound’s Cantos, works tha receive frequen mention in A Paty com Rede, In contrast the high modemists, poets of the postmodern ‘mode are pleased to make use ofthe fragments leone fom past ‘moments while atthe same time allowing them to remtin age ‘ment. In other words, postmodernist sing among the mine of ‘he past, incorporating these runs ing thei performance without sttempring to form them int something coherently monumental, In fit, par-of what postmodern writers tend to find enabling ie ‘he very Fagmentarines ofthe rune. Fgments make for more Potable property to incorporate iso one's word. Postmodern ‘modes of writing cin both honor the monuments ofthe past and breakdown divisions benven high and popular culture. They eas- ‘combine bigh seriousness with slapstick humor. They eke ao ‘much pleasure in withholding asin diclsing. Thy tend wo speak ln various vices with contin that human identity smtp and shifting. Postmodern modes tend to engage in weing 38 4 Process coming o closures tht are always provisional. Posi. «msm includes an embrace of disorder without aching ar fm. lar reductions wonder Irimvlves the eagmentation of arate, ‘not only the grand narrates that hold together great sweeps of history bur also the bref and loa] natives that make anecdotes fain The foregoing description oF posmodemist writing and ‘thought—more suggestive than exhaustive—may prove uefa ia considering the work of such poets as Joie Gaba, Lyn Heian, Paul Muldoon, mies Tate, std those whom Stephen Bur spice cllipcl poets, A the same time, i is no doubt belpfil ako to ‘hink ofthese poets a part of the larger tejetory of wes tht, inclads the modersist ofthe erly twentieth century, long with weiter the more emote pas. The poets incded here contin, afterall t espond i strong poets ofthe past by seeking to make the language new todo something with words that has not been done befor. ‘Other poets considered in acy tis Reernotably Ce law ilies, Donald fustice, and Seamus Heaney—benr a closer relationship than tel younger counterparts to modes of writing whi have now clea become an established pat of tradition. “Thus, Helen Vener bens er considerations of Milos's AT ‘con Poy by setng it alongside Bio's The Was Land. But then Sep Yenser uses his ltr poem, alongwith Pound’ Cans, t0 hep illuminate ore Graham's Sour. And where might one pace ‘the poetry of Donald Justice, work tit sin many ways allied to that of the high modernists, especialy Eliot and Stevens, even a8 ‘the sensibly appeals er ch tothe present moment? eis quite aptthat Dana Gioia has deseibed use 28a “postmodern das sicit While the distinctions that separate poets into schools and modes have thee uses, its also impotantto remain anenive to the blasness of many boundaries. Because of che varie of perspectives represented in thes pages, ‘would e difcalto sum upthe work of A Pay ics Reade both the work ofthe cis and that ofthe poets whom the exis consider—ander a singe heading, Nor are the poets and exe, perspectives represented here meant to exhaust the posses Tur the mater gute simply these are essays that the editors feel represent some of the beter and more ltuminating poy extcism in English oF the last decade. We have favored ests and reviews that enat thir adgments inthe midst of thorough anwempts to understand and situate historically the poetry undee discsson, So ft a¢ we know, none ofthe pieces incdd here ‘was writen in direc esponse to any ofthe other; nevertheless, itis our hope that they wil complement each other, thus forming kind of dialogue. Because the editing OFA Poy tion Rakerhasbeen collaborative efor. its shape dir rom what would have been 2s the product of either editor working alone. One of ‘the power essons of postmodern thoughts hare yth ofthe Ingenious author working in olan sone that, for or present ‘moment, isis more thn itiltuminates or enables. Weng is. soca act that involves dialogue and mp infvences Dialogue jis as much apart ofthe proess of editing asi of composing poetry and weting exci, ‘Many of the pieces that we have chosen were writen by pac: ‘tics, and some ofthese pies were writen by pots as explora tions of poetics. One example of this ter kindof essay s Donald Wstce's “OF the Musi of Poeny” (957), whos te echoes Eie’s “The Music of Poeny” (942) In his essay Justice analyzes the old erary-xital trope that links poetry with musi, a trope about Which Justice's anitude i rather comple. As Jase points out, ‘one encounters musicality in ines tha, for example, include den sity of wuch devices a5 rym and alliteration a “the exact point at hich pain sense slips momentarily out ofeach.” Ofcourse, the validation of such sound efets requires “asumprions aboot the general nature of poe or else, cultural if ot exthetcly, a sort ‘of aura about the poet or poem." Justice Further notes that one of ‘the assumptions tat tends be inked with the tape of poet's ‘uti isthe notion of poetry's imitative sound eet, the idea that he sheer sound ofa given passage, apat fom the meanings ‘ofthe words involved, can imitate, for example, sotxes or anger ‘or comfort. By contrast to this notion of ntti, Jase holds ‘ut forthe effets of poetry at something in excess of meaning, Something constiuing 2 "gzacenote of nonsense." Such met ings as arse in 2 given passage of poetry have much more to do withthe deotations ofthe words than with any supposedly mimetic effets. None ofthis is to say that therein sch hing, atleast in some poems, 254 marvelous apeness between meaning, nd sound, an apiness that many devoted readers have no doubt, fat, but eather that chis marvelous congruence of meaning and sound cannot be aceounted or adequately by theory of iitation. Finally Justice maintains that one must acknowledge the ery idea sy's music a8 a “metaphor trek fin the heat of wishfal ofp thought” ‘of thc thuce posi explorations in this volume, wo were wet cqnopetaly aesthetic statements, While ore Graham fms ‘pate Border” (2002) that theoreti programs bavetheipace tec eaten moment, she holds out fr the importance of tm ‘erament inthe wetng of poet. What Graham understands he Penperamentto be leading her poetry sowad is experience of “ub rey and objectivity attheie most faye and il and morally ffeghted unetre” The poety resting from such expedence is idely 2 alto character, a g008-it vulueabily llowing one, inthe mids of the involutions and recusons of ones eonscous nes, to Be seized by moments of suprise inthe word. It isa posta that speaks in a oie of earnestness inthe midst of mul ple sophisticatons tis responsive to and formed more by pare box than by irony, This is & poetry alive eo the Auld boundary Derween subject ad object, a poetry formed by deep fith in lan ‘guage’s strength balanced by moments when "the human speaker fs reiched the point where the action of sind tales poe in lene." This aesthetic ideal i one open tothe many ways that Poetry haul into words what has hitherto remained ouside the reach of language Tn "Some Notes toward a Poetics” (2000), {yn Hejnian artiew- lates an aesthete ostion in philosophical language a engages ‘with uch igres as Marin Heidegger and Hannah Arend ike Graham, Heian aims poet thatdvels in uncertainties. The ‘ompleiy of Hejnian’s stance shows ia he elim ofa poctis of both afcmation and uncerainy, a poetics of “doubt, dificaly, anu strangeness.” She emphases that momen of encounter in numa experience happen wih the concurrence ofeoenstence and strangeness, momints when the stage and unmila draw near and cross into the realm ofthe otherwise fail. Ie sin such ‘moments of contact that aesthetic, tial, and political scoery ‘occurs, The place of such contact, the polis or space of "tbe shar Ing of words an ded” in Hana Arends word,7iswhereone also encounters rely, which snot to be distinguished from a pearance. Afterall ely or beng is hat which appears to others {swells to onesel Since every encounter has about it somethingofthe strange or othe, we enter cach experience in pat as srang, cers ourselves. Because ofthe challenges presented by encounters vith strangeness, i easy to approach sch moments withthe language of comparison, ce crossing over of one realm of dis course to anther, the dynamics of metaphor. But because these <émamics tend to elate the strange othe Fala, they can deny ‘he emergence of something new by covering over thedtferences ofthe other tthe same tine, one cannot adequately encounter, strangeness without the use of language. Inthe words of Heide. eit language tat “es people and things be therefor ust 'sthe work of poet toprovokea sente of newness, a sense ofthe revitalization ofthe human iewerld This work is not, howe, ‘hat of privileging experience or sensation over intellcion. For Hejinian, the experience of sensation swell asthe experience of experience, always ocutsenfolded in history and theory, ‘As mentioned above, several ofthe essay in A Poy Com ‘aaa relate tothe term “posemodernisn,” with ts array of mea ings. Some ofthe e's meanings come together in what Stephen Bur cals “The Epa Poets (998), aterm that he oined 20 Aeseribe the work of such contemporuy figures 2s Liat Recto, Markevine, Lucie Brock Boi, Susan Wheeler, and C.D. Weight, among others. These are poets whose work tends to hint ta hack story that is never uly disclosed, dus giving tse toa agmenta- tion of narrative. The persona o lips poems ace provisional ‘nd sometimes multiple, The poems tend towaed disjunction and confrontation. As Bure pus i “Elipicits seek the auchoiy oF ‘he rebellious they want to challenge thei tears, volte dec um, surprise or explode assumprions about what belongs in oem, or what mates in life, an to do so while meeting tad tional Irie gol.” These ae poets whose complicated relation ships to literary history leave plenty of room fr parody, as there is pleny of room in their poems for sis from high wo popu calure and back again. While these shifts occu, the poems also tend mo call nto question the very ditncion berseen high and opular culture. The contemporary poet nder whos influence the slipcises labors leary ove Graham, though they do no ey 0 imitate et. n the postscrp, writen in 2004 for this anthology, Bure indicates that he wrote “The Eligtical Poets” with he aim of ining out “ancmerging cof se rth a ofa otters or etc ean te pct ‘Staci ayia cone w bet kindof mami eo eng wes might yo na oa of Sv ee te igo footer mera pou hos wos as corsa wih athe lip ne eI Cary nt Ode 8 ass ams vena anv e's poet reesei deg oto igo tote In Ham hi Staion ith ot enn snd {Seg cae nny oe pie wh Ta works osmoder Tne sot ofthe poston most ay ‘atheroma oferta eaten op” ina wot of nye ony and Sure By yo oma to dcmodel ato mer poner Sem embraces dur ra condo oft ction eof Tht odo deonicane ado eae ice, rhve ganda onusig pine tt se aly he oni ern hc nd hn cet ae of argos Ino aniline Teves oe le io bea ein of et rahe tn ied wl as pou prc ofan alos conta page nich» en treat enor snd GA Retr cms ‘coe coniaed. Hore hecompletyundconiaon fee pours do not tr com ee oar’ een Shen tn poy sels cy abot hort iene tn sree of ado), x Wie comer tome ofthe ways inch Muon is ape pose totem tees despite aves dpe ons ofan acon bom den wes fenperees, Tots mo muses mole, high and poplar a fhe tsa wn wich nee apes of inept” Maton dene and aosep porn ae ao postmodern sens Malows const ee Tero wagleoruangs monument” hoon’ postmen impos fen havin siting te if mening we oat cong nol conte Ts ean operendetporty needy they para ead nes the a,Sch also is the poetry oF frie Graham, as Stephen Yenser em ‘Phisies in his review of Suan (2000). Yenser places Gra’ book ina ttion of lag pocms chat includes 8. Blot’ The Was Land, Bera Pound's Cons, and David Jones's Anathema Adverting tthe jacket copys defition ofthe verb “owaen™ aso leave behind a loeus of stably “in an attempt, by coming spat, ‘found new form tat wl hol," along with Grabam’sepigrans fiom St. Augustine his volume aswell a inher Rajon of Unie. ns (sg), Yenser notes that Grahams poet is metaphyseal in its energies Further, Yenser takes a a Keynote to Graham's wet. ingthe “Augustinian motiration wo conftont candidly whatever the cease may be" In its confonttions and its swacming, thi is 3 oeny of spittual agon, one whose reat precursor is the poetry of Emily Dickinson. The terms of the struggle ate thi: while the livin iin some sense encountered o reveled in the midst of nar ‘ative, Graham's naraives remain, like many of et sentence, feagmenced Inf, as Yenser points os, the book as 2 whole may be baer understood a enacting a process—somnething un redctable and on the move—than a presenting ise as a mere collection or sequence. The book does not so muuch conlade 4s pause “with an emblem sonorous, sensuous saturated with imception." Thus, even a the book draws toa else it is begin ing again, Several ofthe pieces in A Poetry Crit Reader are extended con sidecations of deepy established figures: Donald esice, Seaman Heaney. and Czeslaw Milos, In his In Memory of Orpheus Tee lgies by Donald Justice" ig), Mat Jarman takes up hstie’s devotion the ars ofboth music and pot. Although best known 35 poet, Justice sed musical composition as an undergrad ste, under Carl Rogals at the Univeristy of Mami, and ater ais lie ustice retuned othe composition of musi pices, several Of which were publicly performed, Jarman note the powerful Blending of nostalgia with an cegic mond in Justice’ poems, and ‘he argues that certain ofthe poems work as movngly as they do because oftheirrestion, whether overt implied othe Orpheus myth, “the story ofan a's excellence and loss.” tn Jarman’s timation, che Orpean journeys ofthese later poems conte "some vale present but secs in if,” a secre value tht Jarman conjures to be related to a, especily the ats of musi and poet. “A Lament in Thee Woices (2000, Helen Vender’s review of esa Milose's A Teton Poy (2001) and Mia's ABC (203), works ia par 2 a summing up ofthe poc’s distinguished caret endlrfivorably compares Milos’ A tion Psy to. li’ The Was Land, praising Nise’ oem fo its power to butst "xe bounds in which twas wien,” This book-length poem ex: lores the world of Poland before the Second World War and then Jn ts third Seton “erups"as “anew barbaric pms erases sll oF eleure—are, law, erature, architect.” Inthe course oF ter enay,Venler registers the modulations of texcure and tone that characterize the poem ast confronts the Spit of History on the move, “whistling appetite athe new postdiuvian oppor- ‘unis for cultural evolution.” Buta she goes ont emphasize, Milos's poetry is also made up of che “Language of the sense, the muscles, he Fingetps, the body that is at once corporal and ‘vrua" The fourth section ofthe Tat as Milos inthe United Stats seeking solace in nature but coming to the elization that ‘eis and must remain a poet of history rather than of nature Clio. ‘his mse, not the spc ofthe lke. This is the poe, the poet of history, whom we encounter in das ABC, collection of prose pieces that Vendlr describes as Milos “journal of memories, Vendler finds the writing in this oueol to be “entertaining, if sometimes inempert,” though she points out that suc 2 for- ‘molton cannot sum up the fill ange a he book’ subject mae and tone. This is after ala collection of complex philosophical ‘and theological reflections, 28 well a personal reminiscences and legis that do not oe thei analytical edge. Integration, soch as that beeen intellect and instinct, the keynote of “ax Fepeua® (2002), Dennis O'Descol's review of Seamus Heaney's Hei Light (20. ts Fe, ty be this inte ation, along with he resuting artistic negriy, chat sete che continuous ight" of O rico’ tle. O‘riseoll ensphaszes tht the poems in this colleston show an increasing density of easi- «al, biblical, and other literary allusion without losing touch with ‘the instinct life ehat, a8 has offen been note, courses though Heane’s poems. Inthe book’ tanslaons, many of them from Se eeVirgil Heaney integrates ieliy to ee iterate fom which he twanslites with responsiveness tothe demands ofa recognizably contemporary English language. Inthe elegie of the book's sec- ‘ond section, Heaney integrates his uses of various literary voices ith his tributes tothe dead. Atte end ofthe essay, O'Driscoll takes up the issue with which he began, Blake Morrison's obser- vation that a gven volume of Heaney’s poetry Begins where the previous volume et off O'Driscoll concuces with his own obser ‘ations about the complex ways that Hc ght connects with Heaney’ earlier work asthe poet eontine to appropriate the poet's own words-—"Steay under strain and strong through ‘One valuable, and perhaps underlie kind ofliterayendesvor fn the recovery of a neglected walte's work. Such the work that, Jenny enbercy has cad outin he edton of Lorine Nedecke’s Colted Wars (2002), Karen Volkman's review, "Green Prickly Humanity: Rural Wisconsi'sExhilrating Lost Poet (2003), ea. hasizes the seer variety ofNedecker’s poems, prose pices, and radio plays. IF Niedesker isa minimalist, as she has sometimes been labeled, she isan expansive minimalist, Because of Nie~ decke's relative isolation in the Wisconsin marshland of Black "ark Island,” she i ineitably compared to Emily Dickinson, a4 Votkman points ou, though Votkman also emphasizes the dif. ‘ces besween the wo poets. As one maves through the arous Sections ofthe Claud Wors, the poems of Niedeckr’s Nt Gos, “ntl imagined as an updating of Mother Goose eecting eon temporary folk speech" give way tothe poems writen for Louis Zukofity’s son, Paul, oom in which Niedecker "is more than ‘ever the shrewd apboris.” Nedecker refered to reading the Feb ‘ary 2931 issue of Pour, edited by Zukofsky and dedicated to Objectistpocty, 26 an important infuence on ht later devl- ‘opment As Volkman pus it, Niedecker's later poems took on “aie aus” that cases over “into the final ellctons, here ters fragments gain resonance by thelr cotiuities within longer sequences." Throwghout fer carer Niedecker was poet sttmed to place and sensitive wo the textres of words an ehings ne ea A Py ion Rk came fom Jn Werle Toe egeagcmeaos set ect pedal ingle eet te progres fhe rene, su at one poten conn $oiioc on arn ender 1m puedo spe ‘Sina foe sontinnd woe eed parte ‘Sits erpmene ch fcr ete ont ere ‘Bhat docs resents ou psy, ng ih aking Tapes boc hr ne might code Au ot xh ‘ous kinds of rime but of the meters as wel, Free verse in out time has often been justified onthe grounds tha iter iia speech than the old meters were blew, often withthe addtional suggestion tha tis is especialy re of American speech, forthe ‘old meters historically are easy to associate with English ways, cars‘seems to be shot through our whole way of thinking an aking bout poet: where amor any srt of possible imittion—any thing hom a ny glitch falliteracion toa sweeping general int pression ofa naan’ specch-ifit can be found ali ikl to be embraced and praised by someove "None ofthis sto deny that an illusion of expressiveness some- times envelops and hovers about line or prise, and poets may be pardoned for wishing wo supply such grit fr the t's ul. ‘Topetsuch areultatimesi, in any case, unavoidable, the nate ‘of lnguage being wha is ll the sume, on investigation such illusions well may disappear: the ectoplas proves tobe a ae dent of developing the photographic negative aad no proof ofthe oss presence, The fll expressive power of poetry i nat 50 simple as toresidegreatyin sound effects, Bena metrical pater, ‘with ts porentl for variation bull in is an abteet hing, ready to become expressive hough the denotation ofthe words andthe run of sense the phrases mak, but aot much one ting anor inand ofl. 1A. Richard long ago cautioned that “ve should ‘ot attribute tthe sound alone virtues which involve so many other factors Butmight not some sr of imitation of musicitslf lsat what we could legitimaely cll muse in poet? ess haunting thought and remains an allurement. nis inoduction to fe lsabton ‘Sm Bok, Auden touches on the point. He suggests thatthe writ ets and musicians who put together the Elizabethan songs, out ofthe need ro fllow with words what the musiowss doing, ds covered new ad fcsh metal tums and inventions. ‘TIAT shall PINCH BLACK and BLUE YOUR white HANDS AND fait ARMS ‘That DID not KINDIy RUE ‘our PARAMOUR'S HARMS.* The musical score dictates this placement of the stresses, a s- prising and atractve dislocation, impossible to active at except, ‘hough the masealseing. The effet sod, special, nd doubt: less musical (nome sense), though we might be less ean that musica isthe ight word fori ie had aot come aro this pas: sage ina song. What the movement ofthe verses here iaing le some etal elig of lon bony Fee wa ovement ue Se, wr orernaaree"womnmsa ome i or ces rl cs nde pr Fee cegmeay a page bareael ps Fe segs nerotsby pstnilig bse Cote eet eee Be ap nh acct ta een can ein touch scene a one ene cc he payor inked Tl ht eee Se eee ceeegeaedsaee areal aoe ae eect we tronce cm ofeowt inte mx Frey eee se Fs sagehypertnfiyiaterpdenetpubinantte {sraurinentere steps peel See ope eens aie ree preepeapesaeenrectebesgeper sirens te aren eet negtester known, feagain—fiom Ransom, who isa gretauthoiy ‘on such mater. The evil passages half centiy old by now, ‘util wort ooking t, considering the stange persistence ofthe view it prety well demlishes. Ransom is discussing our very topic unde the guise of reviwinga book on Edna St.Vincent Milly's poet, whose author appears to have ben al to bravely willing to be specifi about sound eet in Mila. Here isthe iti on the subj of Mila: Sometimes Millay ies an effec of spaciousness to pentame- terbya double sess before a pause, sin ‘On the wide heath, by evening overtaken, (ater on, wih he many sand ev and th’s fine fecing of Aafines i geno one in by the many unaccented sable Comin, sftes than the feathers ofits breast, sounds a sofas che ies downy breast feels.” would be hard w imagine a mor navy pt version of iation ‘theory than this and yet it has mucin common withthe discus slons of sound effets rgulny met within textbooks and eel articles. Ransom deals ith iin thi way Asto the eet of spaciousness caused by a double ses be forea pause. Too startling isthe coincldence that on te wie heath means spaciousness... the pace were in ht tomb, 1 think the ere of Milay] would be saying thatthe double stress indicated erowdedness" ‘There happens tobe popular notion, support by T , lot and no doubt by many of tase who atend readings given by fr gn poets, thats possible somehow ta grasp emotionally orn some other undefined way a good part oF a poem secited in an age of whic the lstener has no knowledge.*On such an occ lon one might expect 2 double tes before pause to produce sensation of spaiousnes ina listener who didnot understand what the words were saying. Not ral ely, should think, And itis probably just as well that sound effects ate ot s0 precisely coded. We respond more tthe timbre and tone of the reader's aa tn dhe en example the fet 2 fine feeling oF ness anda sofiness a of the bts downy reat, while he cause is sald to be the many unaccened syllables, assisted bythe many 1's, and ths, Bu wil subst line which pe serves al hese ficors and dears fom the ve ine mainy by rearangemient Cerumpts for the foster-fahers of he brats. ere (ys Ransom I mis the ufiness and the downines." ‘And yet pea theres something in al his imagined come spondence of sound and sense, eventhough forthe most par, when examined in bald deal is clealy nave and unrealistic, bused on the sort of simple faith poets ae not backward ia encouraging thatthe ae wizards of the Language, in control of‘ters more propery serie to chance. OF course there arty teres and magies in composition with which the poet may hope to bein lliance, though without great hope of exercising come pleteconcol aver them, As evm Ransom eiewhete cones, the 4" wondefl ess," harmony or prope ve an enduring stably, (hal seems to obtain in the combination ofthe semane ‘ie propecty andthe phonetic ropecy int a fine poetic phrase 4s something we al fect, and I Belicv is the fact we need to Account fr here. But wha isthe law of is existence?” Ransom eps to answer this essenal question in a eather philosophi- cal manner The law the suggests is an ontolgial one: the emo proper ties shall not be identical, or like, homogenous they shall be othe, unlike, and heterogenous. It isthe Iw of the atu word everywhere... Its ony the ale prejudice of ou fet vay ofthought. that makes us conceive that the (seman tic property and the phoaetic propery} must unite by views of their sameness, ‘That seems to me a most sviking poston, even a radical one, and directly opposed 0 common notions of correspondence and likeness. In any case, the muse of poet, such a it may be, fs musical ‘only or most in itself, and whether it an be taken to be in some ay the meaning a den fom it may nally be of ie sg nificance. In fact, it ough wo be incredibly dificult to argue the Point in terms of sameness and difference, since we ould hardly ‘agree on what might constinute ether 1 atdly think we em assign « speifc meaning co mos ofthe sound effects we spo in pocm, «certainly nothing ikea meaning xed and repeatable in diferent contexts. We must take what pleasure we can in thee liberation fiom hvingto bean “echo the sense. Te inability to fi such ‘meanings is by no means tragic. Berto acknowledge thatthe sound effects in poems can hardly be pinned down t exactness they keep always bic of magicor mystery about hem, something tilde and innocent perhaps, surely something attractive play fl. They coesst withthe meaning, noe without suficent honor of ther own, Words do incuitably make sounds when spoken ds when magne sow and the is heise ey attention and even spy should gin the passing atentin , ur ear for reasons no imitation theory can nay fe hat i ieon of 8 ye Eo hyehums of poetry have litle in common. Composers have aa ae ule tying to match thers of ep eet ong cane ‘oa vs, the choice is to override oF ignore the verbal rhythms canon pea A for anyother sores able De Sets ermalc pene act Beno mamas cermice Vibe campon st fuse of poetry must be understood 25 no more than a metaphor fuck off inte het of wishful thought. fan “he Wask fteDeand") 1 eenite Mts and etn iO On end sa re ey ine Pes 999 9-581 "tom "oe Wek be Desc {thomas mpin Ha To dies” ly of Dike ch tesop att oval ac ed by Nosh Grebe, et ‘teow ann a hve alle oro 1 Noon, 970 Smal ese wert ee Bese Sng Bo, Doty ids tien Rewrpec in tina Bg fe Pad cd wh sninvouconby 1H one ew Deon, 949) ota Cows Reson The eae Worn Th oy (chats Sina Sons si wth a aero he ator Son tog ana Se ery ev 98,79 Rasom wing eel Ayr ov Ml Tn Chea: Ur ‘percha Pse 0 repeated Ramon se Sha! tt, 9969Dr en Yo tS nd Sh te Rano, “The Pett Women” p63 1 [Alexander Pope, “ha Esa on Coin 365) In Memory of Orpheus ‘Three Elegies by Donald Justice -MARK JARMAN... anyone fiir with tows that an elepae mood pervades Don- ia ustice’s poetry. Many of his best known poems have been wet tenn memory of fiends and relatives oto commemorate places, Tike Miami, Florida, and South Georgia, where he grew up and whch have changed 3 much that remember them instil the pin of nostalgia. The eleglae andthe nostalgie are in fic, so losely eat in his poem, at times they are impossible to tll apart. None of this is news for those who now and Tove Dal Fustie’s work, Lam sure that each of us ha a ore Justice poem that represents this intimate wedding of wo powerful emesions Mine fs "On the Death of Friends in Childhood,” fiom his ist book, The Summer Ariss, published in 960 (the Death of eds in Cho We shall ot ever mest them beaded in heaven, Nor sunning themselves among the bald of hell Wanye, in the deserted schoolyard at eight, Forming tng, petaps,o joining hands tn games whose very names we have frgoten. Come, memory, le us eel them therein the shadows. Memory is invited to reencounter not only the lost ends buc the los childhood ina place made meaning by tha loss We canfind the same compelingfeling in Justice's poems about Miami and the South, This sense of losis o perfected in fst’ work that cannot hk of another poet whe has equaled his exresion ‘oft, though here are many, all inthe Romantic ration which he prov embraces, which we might pu beside him Having begun with the most salieneandimportant aspect of bis vwork-its emotional charge—tam now going to tlk about some thingie different. ater, in order to understand, perhaps, ‘why his invitation to mtemoy inthe ast ine of “On the Death of Friends in Childhood” isso moving, am going wo tak about a special aspect ofthe elgic that have found ina few poems whieh 1 belicte ae central to Justice's work, Two of them, “ln Memory ‘oF My Friend, the Bassoons, Jon Lenox” and *In Memory ofthe ‘Unknown Poe, Robert Boardman Vaughn," ae fom Juste’ 987 ook, Te Suns Malay the thir, “nition wo 2 Ghost,” isincladed inthe section of ew poems in the 195 New en eed Poe. Each ofthese three poems allude in someway othe fe and death of the mythical musician and poet Orpheus, figure of some impor tance to Justice whose newest book includes as an epigsaph an cpigram about Orpheus’ temp tortie his beloved Eurydice fiom death, On the dedication page ofthe New on eet Poems, ‘vend the Following thre ines Crpheus, thing to look forward, looked bac They aye sang then, bur the song is los. Atleast he bad seen once more the beloved back. "thopeto show thatthe emotive power of Orpheus ancent try, the story ofan artist's excellence and los, 2 itis echoed in these thee eleges by Donald asic, provides them wit some oftheir ‘wn emotional impact. {want to suggest 2s wel that the oe of the legit oneJstice has taken on many ies in his are, pa allel the descent af Orpheus 2 he attempt bring his ove bark to the worl of the ving, co retrieve what he as lost. anna anaen Jn Memory of My ried he Bassons, J Lex ornate ‘One winter he wa the Best ‘Contabssso0rist south (OF Washington, D.C— “The oaly one. Loney Imeminence he st Like some lost island king, High on a second-story porch Overtooking the bay (tis blue font laws, his kingdom) ‘snd presided over the Shakespearean eads and passions ofthe eve pigeons. Who, daring the missile exis ad stocked bis boat with booze, ‘Chars, and the ster Mate He taught mse play, Cosualy, one evening. nd taught himself se, Sailing tick glasses ot blindly (ver some llj-coked canal (O autodidace supreme! Joh, where you ate now can you se? Do the pigeons there bicker ike ours? Does the deep bassoon not moan Orthe Sue sigh ver? ‘No ane cou think twas you, Slumped there onthe soft, despairing, The hideous green soi No, you ae off somewhere,Off with Gaugin and Chistian Ami hibiscus, Red-mustached, pink bearded Again asin eal manhood, Teis wel Shark waters Never did Fe you bal 0 much As the rere adios ‘And booboiseries ofthe neighbors, Her, ifyou cre, the bay 1s printed with many boas now, “Thick as was tha high porch is gone, Gone up inthe smoke of money, money ‘The hatbarians Butenough, ou ate missed. Across the way Someones practicing sonatas, “Ani the sea ac smells agin of good gi, “ta Menon fy end he Bani, oh Let sce nti ats Pon wh eae psi pia eto ling bth his prs end leg tee ste tans ‘thou nT ose elon pe Be ete coer meetmacyareeeuaeraee: Pencmamaiey comune tens Tabs gg peice tacos ‘outa tml omar nS canon na te ps ew eh eieehru enor 9 ob thefts nln et ay cess ea fndln ine gore nde scneoreaoaseer en oer Gite nubcarutaninaeewe ee eo aoe ae ee cee fF with Gaugin and Christan ami ibiscas'disles, Red-mostached, pink bearded ‘ain, asin ely manhood. In is ene onthe elegy in The rine Endoeta of Py ond ‘acts, Stephen Fogle obseres thatthe fom often includes “he consolation of some pecmanentpincipe." The idea of consolation ‘may sound religious notethat, despite the echo of Milton, we do rot associate with Jastice, He could hardly be called religions poet, eacept ashe shares Wallace Stevens's affirmation in “inal Solleguyof te Interior Patamour'—that “God and the imagins tion are one” et the absence ofthe Orpean Lenox isnot filed in by ers substitutes alone. Thee is also hin that his kind of sn persis inthe face of vulgaris “Someone, the poet infoms|his ost hen, “a}eross the way... praticing sonatas.” And 8 if displ the drunken aftereffects of those local barbarians andthe smoke of hls money, the sel of the sea ats rerini ‘ent one again of "goo not bd gin, The endurance of the craft. and charm of genuine asi indeed consolaon. I» Mono ofthe Uninou Pot, Raker Borden Vaughn Butte cal aage 2 ot toe Bentler ioelete een bot esa a ugliness wae the oman, and the or ade glo 8 lot Tewas is tory. would abays be his on. Ie fllowed bins i ovetoot ht inaly— ‘The boredom, and ce hora, andthe ony. Probably athe end he was not ye srry, rena the boots were brtalizng him inthe alley leas his try. would aby Be his stony, Bown ona blue hor, fl f sound ad fay, Bat sgutyng, O signing magnificently The boredom, and the horor, an the gon. {picture the snow a5 ling without hoery “To corre cobbles and the wppled ashcans comple Teas his story. Iewould always be bis try. Lately he had wandered beowcen St Mak’s Place andthe Bower, Already hala spit, mumbling and muterng sadly Othe boredom, and the hoor, and he glo. {All done now. But remember the fey Hypnocc ev and the essed voice basing with poety. eas his story and would aba be hie sto4y— The boredom, and the horog and he glo. "emay be a stretch to imagine the connection between con trabassonist and the Iyre-strumming Orpheus, but the assoc ‘on beowcen Rober Boardman Vaughn and Orphens is one tat Justice has made himselFin another poem. In “Porat with One ye” fom the 1973 book Diaries and dedicated to Vaughn, Jus- tise adceses him playflly as “Oreus" lenperihable ast ‘Your lifes a poem stl Broken lambs and al, Jazz, jils—the complete works. ‘iat poem rcounts the outlandish, comical, even poetic behaw- Iorofa living individual, whose syle oie seems tobe a reproach tothe speaker's In contrast, “In Memory ofthe Unknown Poe, Rober Boardman Vaughn" is laden with wagie sens offs, not only ofa ife but of talent villanle, it has to e one ofthe ‘andfal—and by that | mean fire or six—essenial poems inthe fonm in English, Start thinking ofthe others worth remembering an youl sce what | mean ‘he Orpheus of “In Memory ofthe Unknown Poet” i poet and nota musician though music stil seongly associated with him, His stor is “(low on abv bor, Fl of sound and fy.” ‘tthe Orpheus we see here is notte wity, aki igure of Poe teat with One By.” This one is bezf, “allready hal pit, ‘mumbling and muttering sadly in the nether world of Menkat ‘ann ths case the barborog throngs represented bythe “boots talizng him inthe ale.” Though the poet as ost i, ‘the clegst can remember its enchantment, "the fer Hypnotic ‘jean the aed vice blazing wih pet” Ionically, Vaughn’ Ife is*a poet sil,” as Josie claims itis in “Porat with One ye" bat this poem isthe one. Eot deserbes inthe epigaph and which the vilanele employs as one ofits refains. The Orie ‘Vaughn, degraded oa mere ghost of himself sill embodies try that signifies “magnificently (The boredom, andthe hors, and the glow” Beneath the beauty and upiness of ik ‘Vaughn’ ate a Orpheus i ooving in part because hes obscu. Fame did noe spare Orpheus of course, but a certain obser is an aspect of those Justice ecebrtes in these legis, a fit were part of their uniqueness, each of chem, like John Lenox, being fomehow “the only one” They are located in unlikely places, ke ‘Arkansas, of Coconut Grove, on an ley in lower Manatta, of inthe ease of Hen Coe, though itis unstated, Los Angeles.