Jim Asher's Blog, page 2
July 23, 2012
When "Complete" is Incomplete
When is “complete” not complete? I recently found out that my volume The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson” is, in fact, incomplete. It is missing more than a dozen poems by Dickinson, and I had no idea until a few months ago. Here’s how I discovered this incongruity:
During the summer of 2011 I was in Chicago for a conference. On a free afternoon, I stopped by the Poetry Foundation and spent some time in their public library. I thumbed through a book of Dickinson’s poetry, and I came across a few poems that I was not familiar with so I jotted down their first lines. I figured I would re-read the poems once I returned home. One of the poems was Fly – fly – but as you fly. However, once I got home and checked for that poem in my copy of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, it was not included. I couldn’t even find the poem on the Internet. I began to wonder if, perhaps, it was discovered at some point that Fly – fly – but as you fly was not , in fact, written by Dickinson and therefore not included in The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.
Then, about a year later, when I wrote my blog entries on July 14 and 16, 2012, about my “TOP TEN” list of references to time in the poetry of Emily Dickinson, I remembered that the poem Fly – fly – but as you fly had a particularly clever reference to the passage of time, so I renewed my search for the poem. Once again, I had no luck in locating it.
I mentioned this mystery of the missing poem in a blog entry dated June 16, 2012, but, alas, no one responded with any information. Then I remembered that I had a contact who could probably solve this mystery for me. When I worked on my books, Great American Poems – REPOEMED, I e-mailed back and forth with a contact at Harvard University Press about copyright information and permission to include copies of Dickinson’s poems in my two volumes – so I wrote to her to ask about the missing poem.
Here’s what she told me about Fly – fly – but as you fly:
“Johnson published in 1955 and was unaware of this one, which was hiding in fragments of prose. It had been discovered by the time Franklin revisited Dickinson’s work in 1998. It looks like there are several dozen more that Johnson missed but that were captured by Franklin.”
The poems missing from Johnson ‘s “complete” edition are the following:
No rose yet felt myself a’bloom F 190
Let others show this Surry’s grace F 290
Life is death we’re lengthy at F 502
The lovely flowers embarrass me F 808
Fly – fly – but as you fly F 1244
It is the meek that valor wear F 1252
When continents expire F 1321
Incredible the lodging F 1452
One note from one bird F 1478
Ferocious as a bee without a wing F 1492
I do not care – why should I care F 1534
The blood is more showy than the breath F1 558
If I should see a single bird F 1591
Show me eternity and I will show you memory F 1658
I held it so tight that I lost it F 1659
But that defeated accent F 1660
A chastened grace is twice a grace F 1676
Well, once I received this information, I went immediately to a book store and purchased Franklin’s “complete” edition of Dickinson’s poetry – so maybe now I have all of her poems?
The other night I wondered just how similar or different the two “complete” editions are, so I began a comparison of Johnson’s compilation to Franklin’s collection. I’ve compared the first 250 poems in the books, and I have to admit – I was more than a bit surprised by what I discovered. In the coming days, I’ll post information about how the two books compare. I think you’ll be surprised too!
During the summer of 2011 I was in Chicago for a conference. On a free afternoon, I stopped by the Poetry Foundation and spent some time in their public library. I thumbed through a book of Dickinson’s poetry, and I came across a few poems that I was not familiar with so I jotted down their first lines. I figured I would re-read the poems once I returned home. One of the poems was Fly – fly – but as you fly. However, once I got home and checked for that poem in my copy of The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, it was not included. I couldn’t even find the poem on the Internet. I began to wonder if, perhaps, it was discovered at some point that Fly – fly – but as you fly was not , in fact, written by Dickinson and therefore not included in The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson.
Then, about a year later, when I wrote my blog entries on July 14 and 16, 2012, about my “TOP TEN” list of references to time in the poetry of Emily Dickinson, I remembered that the poem Fly – fly – but as you fly had a particularly clever reference to the passage of time, so I renewed my search for the poem. Once again, I had no luck in locating it.
I mentioned this mystery of the missing poem in a blog entry dated June 16, 2012, but, alas, no one responded with any information. Then I remembered that I had a contact who could probably solve this mystery for me. When I worked on my books, Great American Poems – REPOEMED, I e-mailed back and forth with a contact at Harvard University Press about copyright information and permission to include copies of Dickinson’s poems in my two volumes – so I wrote to her to ask about the missing poem.
Here’s what she told me about Fly – fly – but as you fly:
“Johnson published in 1955 and was unaware of this one, which was hiding in fragments of prose. It had been discovered by the time Franklin revisited Dickinson’s work in 1998. It looks like there are several dozen more that Johnson missed but that were captured by Franklin.”
The poems missing from Johnson ‘s “complete” edition are the following:
No rose yet felt myself a’bloom F 190
Let others show this Surry’s grace F 290
Life is death we’re lengthy at F 502
The lovely flowers embarrass me F 808
Fly – fly – but as you fly F 1244
It is the meek that valor wear F 1252
When continents expire F 1321
Incredible the lodging F 1452
One note from one bird F 1478
Ferocious as a bee without a wing F 1492
I do not care – why should I care F 1534
The blood is more showy than the breath F1 558
If I should see a single bird F 1591
Show me eternity and I will show you memory F 1658
I held it so tight that I lost it F 1659
But that defeated accent F 1660
A chastened grace is twice a grace F 1676
Well, once I received this information, I went immediately to a book store and purchased Franklin’s “complete” edition of Dickinson’s poetry – so maybe now I have all of her poems?
The other night I wondered just how similar or different the two “complete” editions are, so I began a comparison of Johnson’s compilation to Franklin’s collection. I’ve compared the first 250 poems in the books, and I have to admit – I was more than a bit surprised by what I discovered. In the coming days, I’ll post information about how the two books compare. I think you’ll be surprised too!
July 21, 2012
Double Talk -- Part 2
Only July 20th, I began a “TOP SEVEN” list of my favorite images, words and lines of E. E. Cummings’ poetry where there are at least two meanings as a result of the way Cummings divided the word(s). In that blog entry, I included numbers 7, 6, 5, and 4 from my list. Below are my top three:
3. The representation of time and place during a silent snow in "Beautiful":
Beautiful
is the
unmea
ning
of(sil
ently)fal
ling(e
ver
yw
here)s
Now
As I said in #5 on my list of “Top Seven” favorites, Cummings often represented loneliness, silence and isolation with images of snow and snowflakes. In “Beautiful,” though, snow represents an allure and serenity associated with some state of nothingness or some condition of “unmeaning,” not worthless emptiness. In lines 7 to 11, Cummings splits the word “everywhere” and “snow” so that the pure, unblemished state represented by the ubiquitous snow is falling “everywhere,” “here” (line 10), and “now” (line 11).
2. The emphasis on singularity by dividing the word "loneliness" and by using a lower case “L” in "l(a":
l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness
In “l(a,” Cummings offers the concrete image of a leaf falling to represent the abstract concept of loneliness. Of course, he structured the poem to reflect the path of the leaf, but he also split “loneliness” in ways to reinforce the image:
Line 1: The lower case “L” looks like a “1,” and it is separated by a parenthesis from the singular article “a”
Line 7: The word “one” appears.
Line 8: The lower case “L” appears as a “1.”
For more on this poem, please see my blog entry dated June 11, 2012.
1.. The concept of “growing old” and “owing old” in "old age sticks":
old age sticks
up Keep
Off
signs)&
youth yanks them
down(old
age cries No
Tres)&(pas)
youth laughs
(sing
old age
scolds Forbid
den Stop
Must
n't Don't
&)youth goes
right on
gr
owing old
I love covering this poem with students. Before I begin any discussion of the poem, though, I set the stage by explaining that there are TWO VERY IMPORTANT WORDS in the poem – TWO WORDS that elevate the poem beyond its fundamental meaning. Then we start the conversation.
Of course, students quickly pick up on the aspects of the poem that convey old age versus youth, and it’s always fun to discuss generational differences (especially with examinations of music, dance, clothing, hair styles, trends, fads, and so on). Particularly astute students notice that all of the language in the poem representing “old age” is confined within parentheses while the words representing “youth” are not.
After we examine the words, the mechanics and the structure of the poem, I remind them about the TWO VERY IMPORTANT WORDS– and the students try to figure out what I’m talking about. We examine their ideas, and then I underline what I think are the TWO VERY IMPORTANT WORDS: “owing old” – taken from the words “growing old” in the final two lines of the poem.
I explain that while there are always generational differences and that teenagers always rebel and stretch the limits, they really “owe” those who came before them: What past musicians influenced the styles of current musicians? What past artists paved the way for the work of contemporary artists? What historical thinkers opened doors for the ideas of modern-day thinkers?
Yes, there are always generational gaps and rifts – but youth “goes right on growing old” – just as we are all always “owing old.”
So there you have it—my “TOP SEVEN” uses of words/phrases with double meanings brought about by the ingenious placement of letters and/or syllables in the poetry of E. E. Cummings. Do you have other favorites?
3. The representation of time and place during a silent snow in "Beautiful":
Beautiful
is the
unmea
ning
of(sil
ently)fal
ling(e
ver
yw
here)s
Now
As I said in #5 on my list of “Top Seven” favorites, Cummings often represented loneliness, silence and isolation with images of snow and snowflakes. In “Beautiful,” though, snow represents an allure and serenity associated with some state of nothingness or some condition of “unmeaning,” not worthless emptiness. In lines 7 to 11, Cummings splits the word “everywhere” and “snow” so that the pure, unblemished state represented by the ubiquitous snow is falling “everywhere,” “here” (line 10), and “now” (line 11).
2. The emphasis on singularity by dividing the word "loneliness" and by using a lower case “L” in "l(a":
l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness
In “l(a,” Cummings offers the concrete image of a leaf falling to represent the abstract concept of loneliness. Of course, he structured the poem to reflect the path of the leaf, but he also split “loneliness” in ways to reinforce the image:
Line 1: The lower case “L” looks like a “1,” and it is separated by a parenthesis from the singular article “a”
Line 7: The word “one” appears.
Line 8: The lower case “L” appears as a “1.”
For more on this poem, please see my blog entry dated June 11, 2012.
1.. The concept of “growing old” and “owing old” in "old age sticks":
old age sticks
up Keep
Off
signs)&
youth yanks them
down(old
age cries No
Tres)&(pas)
youth laughs
(sing
old age
scolds Forbid
den Stop
Must
n't Don't
&)youth goes
right on
gr
owing old
I love covering this poem with students. Before I begin any discussion of the poem, though, I set the stage by explaining that there are TWO VERY IMPORTANT WORDS in the poem – TWO WORDS that elevate the poem beyond its fundamental meaning. Then we start the conversation.
Of course, students quickly pick up on the aspects of the poem that convey old age versus youth, and it’s always fun to discuss generational differences (especially with examinations of music, dance, clothing, hair styles, trends, fads, and so on). Particularly astute students notice that all of the language in the poem representing “old age” is confined within parentheses while the words representing “youth” are not.
After we examine the words, the mechanics and the structure of the poem, I remind them about the TWO VERY IMPORTANT WORDS– and the students try to figure out what I’m talking about. We examine their ideas, and then I underline what I think are the TWO VERY IMPORTANT WORDS: “owing old” – taken from the words “growing old” in the final two lines of the poem.
I explain that while there are always generational differences and that teenagers always rebel and stretch the limits, they really “owe” those who came before them: What past musicians influenced the styles of current musicians? What past artists paved the way for the work of contemporary artists? What historical thinkers opened doors for the ideas of modern-day thinkers?
Yes, there are always generational gaps and rifts – but youth “goes right on growing old” – just as we are all always “owing old.”
So there you have it—my “TOP SEVEN” uses of words/phrases with double meanings brought about by the ingenious placement of letters and/or syllables in the poetry of E. E. Cummings. Do you have other favorites?
July 20, 2012
Double Talk
On July 18, 2012, I posted a quick and fun activity to use with students as an introduction for a unit of study on poetry. In a nutshell, the activity involves a short passage whereby students have to explain “what is happening here” and then “what ELSE could be happening,” using specific words and phrases from the passage to support their ideas.
The notion of “what is happening” and “what ELSE could be happening” brought to mind various poems of E. E. Cummings, so today I thought I would post my “TOP SEVEN” images, words and lines of Cummings’ poetry where there are at least two meanings as a result of the way Cummings divided the word(s).
7. now, here, and nowhere from “this man’s heart”:
A central theme of Cummings’ “this man’s heart,” the unpredictable and indifferent nature of life, appears in the center of the poem:
(by the
look
feel taste smell
& sound
of a silence who can
guess
ex-
actly
what life
will do)
The randomness and arbitrary nature of life is suggested in various ways throughout the poem. For example, in the 5th and 6th lines of the poem, anyone else’s world simultaneously “does” and “doesn’t” interest the “man” of the poem. Also, in the lines above (from lines 6 – 15 of the poem), Cummings included the word “guess,” and he incorporated the word “actly” (i.e. a form of “act”?) when he split “exactly.”
However, my favorite use of multiple meanings suggested by a split word in this poem occurs in the final two lines of the poem when “nowhere” also becomes “now” and “here.” Here is the concluding image in the final five lines of the poem:
a snowflake twi-
sts
,on
its way to now
-here
A snowflake twists on its way to “nowhere” in this man’s indifferent world (and in his cold heart?), and yet by the way Cummings’ split the word, the snowflake falls now, here and nowhere – all at the same time. Perfectly unpredictable.
6. “Fellow Citizens” from the poem “Applaws”:
Cummings’ poem “Applaws” is very short –just five words: “applause,” “fellow,” “citizens,” and “a pause." However, through the way Cummings cleaves, conceives and presents the words, he evokes the shady and corrupt nature of a disreputable politician (and calls to mind his famous quip, “A politician is an arse upon which everyone has sat except a man”). Here’s the poem:
Applaws)
“fell
ow
sit
isn’ts”
(a paw s
First there is “applause,” but the word is misspelled (“Applaws”) which suggests that someone has been introduced to a group of uneducated, misinformed, and/or witless supporters. The speaker, a politician, then begins his speech with, “fellow citizens” – but the two words are chopped and misspelled as “fell,” “ow,” “sit” and “isn’ts.” Finally, the speaker stages the practiced pause of a career politician, presumably for more “Applaws” – and the pause is rendered as “(a paw s.” Does “paw” suggest, again, the clumsiness and vulgarity of the crowd (and/or of the speaker)?
My favorite use of split words to suggest multiple meanings in this poem are the four words in lines 2 – 5 that fashion “fellow citizens”: each individual division suggests its own meaning; for example: decline (fell), harm (ow), inaction (sit), and negativity (isnt’s).
5. “one” and "gravestone” from Cummings’ poem “one”:
one
t
hi
s
snowflake
(a
li
ght
in
g)
is upon a gra
v
es
t
one
NOTE: The formatting rules for a GoodReads’ blog does not allow me to type the poem above exactly as Cummings structured it.
In many poems Cummings suggested loneliness, silence and isolation through the image of snow and snowflakes. Also, in many poems, Cummings played with the construction and symmetry of the poem with the patterns and arrangement of words and letters. In “one” he opens and closes the poem with the same word, “one,” while the final word is actually a part of a singular “gravestone.”
4. The emphasis of “man” in “as joe gould say in”:
as joe gould says in
his terrifyingly hu
man man
ner the only reason every wo
man
should
go to college is so
that she never can(kno
wledge is po
wer)say o
if i
‘d
OH
n
lygawntueco
llege
Is there any character more chauvinistic and boorish than Joe Gould in Cummings’ poem “as joe gould says in”? And Cummings’ use of split words to emphasize “man” – from “human,” “manner,” and “woman” – is effective in highlighting Joe’s narrow-mindedness and sexist views.
So those are numbers 7, 6, 5 and 4 in my TOP SEVEN images, words and lines of Cummings’ poetry where there are double meanings as a result of the way Cummings divided the word(s).
I'll post my top three in a day or two.
The notion of “what is happening” and “what ELSE could be happening” brought to mind various poems of E. E. Cummings, so today I thought I would post my “TOP SEVEN” images, words and lines of Cummings’ poetry where there are at least two meanings as a result of the way Cummings divided the word(s).
7. now, here, and nowhere from “this man’s heart”:
A central theme of Cummings’ “this man’s heart,” the unpredictable and indifferent nature of life, appears in the center of the poem:
(by the
look
feel taste smell
& sound
of a silence who can
guess
ex-
actly
what life
will do)
The randomness and arbitrary nature of life is suggested in various ways throughout the poem. For example, in the 5th and 6th lines of the poem, anyone else’s world simultaneously “does” and “doesn’t” interest the “man” of the poem. Also, in the lines above (from lines 6 – 15 of the poem), Cummings included the word “guess,” and he incorporated the word “actly” (i.e. a form of “act”?) when he split “exactly.”
However, my favorite use of multiple meanings suggested by a split word in this poem occurs in the final two lines of the poem when “nowhere” also becomes “now” and “here.” Here is the concluding image in the final five lines of the poem:
a snowflake twi-
sts
,on
its way to now
-here
A snowflake twists on its way to “nowhere” in this man’s indifferent world (and in his cold heart?), and yet by the way Cummings’ split the word, the snowflake falls now, here and nowhere – all at the same time. Perfectly unpredictable.
6. “Fellow Citizens” from the poem “Applaws”:
Cummings’ poem “Applaws” is very short –just five words: “applause,” “fellow,” “citizens,” and “a pause." However, through the way Cummings cleaves, conceives and presents the words, he evokes the shady and corrupt nature of a disreputable politician (and calls to mind his famous quip, “A politician is an arse upon which everyone has sat except a man”). Here’s the poem:
Applaws)
“fell
ow
sit
isn’ts”
(a paw s
First there is “applause,” but the word is misspelled (“Applaws”) which suggests that someone has been introduced to a group of uneducated, misinformed, and/or witless supporters. The speaker, a politician, then begins his speech with, “fellow citizens” – but the two words are chopped and misspelled as “fell,” “ow,” “sit” and “isn’ts.” Finally, the speaker stages the practiced pause of a career politician, presumably for more “Applaws” – and the pause is rendered as “(a paw s.” Does “paw” suggest, again, the clumsiness and vulgarity of the crowd (and/or of the speaker)?
My favorite use of split words to suggest multiple meanings in this poem are the four words in lines 2 – 5 that fashion “fellow citizens”: each individual division suggests its own meaning; for example: decline (fell), harm (ow), inaction (sit), and negativity (isnt’s).
5. “one” and "gravestone” from Cummings’ poem “one”:
one
t
hi
s
snowflake
(a
li
ght
in
g)
is upon a gra
v
es
t
one
NOTE: The formatting rules for a GoodReads’ blog does not allow me to type the poem above exactly as Cummings structured it.
In many poems Cummings suggested loneliness, silence and isolation through the image of snow and snowflakes. Also, in many poems, Cummings played with the construction and symmetry of the poem with the patterns and arrangement of words and letters. In “one” he opens and closes the poem with the same word, “one,” while the final word is actually a part of a singular “gravestone.”
4. The emphasis of “man” in “as joe gould say in”:
as joe gould says in
his terrifyingly hu
man man
ner the only reason every wo
man
should
go to college is so
that she never can(kno
wledge is po
wer)say o
if i
‘d
OH
n
lygawntueco
llege
Is there any character more chauvinistic and boorish than Joe Gould in Cummings’ poem “as joe gould says in”? And Cummings’ use of split words to emphasize “man” – from “human,” “manner,” and “woman” – is effective in highlighting Joe’s narrow-mindedness and sexist views.
So those are numbers 7, 6, 5 and 4 in my TOP SEVEN images, words and lines of Cummings’ poetry where there are double meanings as a result of the way Cummings divided the word(s).
I'll post my top three in a day or two.
July 18, 2012
What ELSE Could Be Going On?
Here’s a quick, fun way to introduce a unit on poetry.
1. First, post the following statements:
A businessman had just turned off the lights in the store when a man appeared and demanded money. The owner opened a cash register. The contents of the cash register were scooped up and the man sped away. A member of the police force was notified promptly.
2. Second, using a “think-pair-share,” ask students to think about and then discuss “what is going on here?” After pairs of students have had an opportunity to discuss “what is going on,” have students report what they discussed. In most if not every case, students will report that there was some sort of crime committed.
Ask what evidence they have from the statements to support their ideas – and ask for specific words from the statements. Most students, for example, will point out “turned off the lights,” “a man appeared,” “opened a cash register,” the contents were “scooped up,” and so on.
As you discuss this, ask the students, “What time of day is it?” They will likely say “night time.” Again, ask which word(s) led them to this conclusion – especially since no specific time of day is mentioned. Students will note that the business “had just turned off the lights.”
3. Next, after you have discussed “what is going on here” and you have asked students to give specific words/phrases to support their ideas, ask, “WHAT ELSE could be going on?” Have them think about and discuss in pairs some OTHER story that could have happened where these statements fit. After students have had time to discuss this in pairs, have volunteers tell what stories they devised where these statements would make sense. Again, have them explain how specific words and/or phrases support their new accounts.
That’s it! That’s a quick and easy way to introduce a unit of poetry – by discussing the short passage above and noting how it can be understood in various ways simply by interpreting the language differently. At this point, you’re ready to introduce the first poem in your unit! Read your poem with your students and ask, “What is going on here? What ELSE could be going on? What specific words and phrases led you to your interpretations?”
1. First, post the following statements:
A businessman had just turned off the lights in the store when a man appeared and demanded money. The owner opened a cash register. The contents of the cash register were scooped up and the man sped away. A member of the police force was notified promptly.
2. Second, using a “think-pair-share,” ask students to think about and then discuss “what is going on here?” After pairs of students have had an opportunity to discuss “what is going on,” have students report what they discussed. In most if not every case, students will report that there was some sort of crime committed.
Ask what evidence they have from the statements to support their ideas – and ask for specific words from the statements. Most students, for example, will point out “turned off the lights,” “a man appeared,” “opened a cash register,” the contents were “scooped up,” and so on.
As you discuss this, ask the students, “What time of day is it?” They will likely say “night time.” Again, ask which word(s) led them to this conclusion – especially since no specific time of day is mentioned. Students will note that the business “had just turned off the lights.”
3. Next, after you have discussed “what is going on here” and you have asked students to give specific words/phrases to support their ideas, ask, “WHAT ELSE could be going on?” Have them think about and discuss in pairs some OTHER story that could have happened where these statements fit. After students have had time to discuss this in pairs, have volunteers tell what stories they devised where these statements would make sense. Again, have them explain how specific words and/or phrases support their new accounts.
That’s it! That’s a quick and easy way to introduce a unit of poetry – by discussing the short passage above and noting how it can be understood in various ways simply by interpreting the language differently. At this point, you’re ready to introduce the first poem in your unit! Read your poem with your students and ask, “What is going on here? What ELSE could be going on? What specific words and phrases led you to your interpretations?”
July 16, 2012
Time and Time Again -- Part 2
In my blog entry dated July 14, 2012, I started a “Top Ten” list of my favorite references to the passage of time in the poetry of Emily Dickinson. In that post, I listed the first five of my favorites, numbers 10 – 6. Below are my top five favorites.
5. The optimism of #888:
When I have seen the Sun emerge
From His amazing House –
And leave a Day at every Door
A Deed, in every place –
Without the incident of Fame
Or accident of Noise –
The Earth has seemed to me a Drum,
Pursued of little Boys
My wife’s father used to greet people every morning by affirming it as “another day in which to excel.” In that regard, I love Dickinson’s image of the emerging Sun, leaving a “Day at every Door.”
4. The paradox of time presented in the 5th and 6th lines of #1715
Consulting summer’s clock,
But half the hours remain.
I ascertain it with a shock –
I shall not look again.
The second half of joy
Is shorter than the first.
The truth I do not dare to know
I muffle with a jest.
Of course, how could the “second half” of any event differ in length than the first half? However, Dickinson was exactly right – “Time flies when you’re having fun” – and in stating this maxim, she was much more eloquent.
3. The opening lines of #624
Forever – is composed of Nows –
’Tis not a different time –
Except for Infiniteness –
And Latitude of Home –
Just as in #4 above, I love Dickinson’s simple yet ingenious way of expressing a simple truth – that “forever is composed of nows.”
2. The boldness and originality of the opening image of #712
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
I believe that “Because I could not stop for Death” was the first Dickinson poem I ever read, and I remember being startled (in a good way) at the inventiveness of the opening image.
1. The extraordinary image of expressing grief that opens the final stanza of #341: “This is the Hour of Lead”:
After great pain, a formal feeling comes –
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs –
The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,
And Yesterday, or Centuries before?
The Feet, mechanical, go round –
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought –
A Wooden way
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone –
This is the Hour of Lead –
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow –
First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –
This is one of my favorites of all of Emily Dickinson’s poems. Her depiction of sorrow and mourning is both affective and complete. The severity and formality of grief is emphasized throughout the poem with precise images, from tomblike nerves to mechanical feet to stone-like contentment. Dickinson even indicates the stages of grief of a mourner in the final line of the poem – long before modern-day psychologists identified them.
My absolute favorite image of Dickinson’s allusion to time, though, occurs in the tenth line of the poem, “This is the Hour of Lead.” In many of her poems, Dickinson notes the paradoxical nature of time: even though time passes ceaselessly at a constant pace, one’s emotional ties to an event causes time to retard or accelerate, and in the case of tremendous loss, the initial minutes, hours and days seem to slow to a crawl. Then – in what could be the blink of an eye – the event will be one, two or ten or more years in the past. However, in the case of momentous tragedy, the experience, as it unfolds, begins with an “Hour of Lead.”
There you have it – my “Top Ten” images of the passage of time in Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Do you agree? Do you have others? Which is your favorite?
5. The optimism of #888:
When I have seen the Sun emerge
From His amazing House –
And leave a Day at every Door
A Deed, in every place –
Without the incident of Fame
Or accident of Noise –
The Earth has seemed to me a Drum,
Pursued of little Boys
My wife’s father used to greet people every morning by affirming it as “another day in which to excel.” In that regard, I love Dickinson’s image of the emerging Sun, leaving a “Day at every Door.”
4. The paradox of time presented in the 5th and 6th lines of #1715
Consulting summer’s clock,
But half the hours remain.
I ascertain it with a shock –
I shall not look again.
The second half of joy
Is shorter than the first.
The truth I do not dare to know
I muffle with a jest.
Of course, how could the “second half” of any event differ in length than the first half? However, Dickinson was exactly right – “Time flies when you’re having fun” – and in stating this maxim, she was much more eloquent.
3. The opening lines of #624
Forever – is composed of Nows –
’Tis not a different time –
Except for Infiniteness –
And Latitude of Home –
Just as in #4 above, I love Dickinson’s simple yet ingenious way of expressing a simple truth – that “forever is composed of nows.”
2. The boldness and originality of the opening image of #712
Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
I believe that “Because I could not stop for Death” was the first Dickinson poem I ever read, and I remember being startled (in a good way) at the inventiveness of the opening image.
1. The extraordinary image of expressing grief that opens the final stanza of #341: “This is the Hour of Lead”:
After great pain, a formal feeling comes –
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs –
The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,
And Yesterday, or Centuries before?
The Feet, mechanical, go round –
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought –
A Wooden way
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone –
This is the Hour of Lead –
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow –
First – Chill – then Stupor – then the letting go –
This is one of my favorites of all of Emily Dickinson’s poems. Her depiction of sorrow and mourning is both affective and complete. The severity and formality of grief is emphasized throughout the poem with precise images, from tomblike nerves to mechanical feet to stone-like contentment. Dickinson even indicates the stages of grief of a mourner in the final line of the poem – long before modern-day psychologists identified them.
My absolute favorite image of Dickinson’s allusion to time, though, occurs in the tenth line of the poem, “This is the Hour of Lead.” In many of her poems, Dickinson notes the paradoxical nature of time: even though time passes ceaselessly at a constant pace, one’s emotional ties to an event causes time to retard or accelerate, and in the case of tremendous loss, the initial minutes, hours and days seem to slow to a crawl. Then – in what could be the blink of an eye – the event will be one, two or ten or more years in the past. However, in the case of momentous tragedy, the experience, as it unfolds, begins with an “Hour of Lead.”
There you have it – my “Top Ten” images of the passage of time in Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Do you agree? Do you have others? Which is your favorite?
July 14, 2012
Time and Time Again
A few days ago (July 9, 2012) I posted an entry about one of my favorite images from an Emily Dickinson poem. The image was from poem #1715, “Consulting summer’s clock,” and it has to do with the idea that "time flies when you're having fun." In that poem, Dickinson offered the paradox, “The second half of joy / Is shorter than the first.” Of course, how can the second half of anything be unequal to the first half? Yet Dickinson was spot on with her perceptive insight about the passage time.
That blog entry brought to mind other references to the passage of time in Emily Dickinson's poety, so I thought today I would list my “TOP TEN” – those images of time that I consider to be Dickinson's most effective and creative. Below are numbers 10 to 6, and in a day or two I’ll post my top 5.
10. The opening lines to #478:
I had no time to Hate –
Because
The Grave would hinder Me –
And Life was not so
Ample I
Could finish – Enmity –
This poem reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I have decided to stick with love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
9. The combination of the sluggish and swift passage of time in #1120:
This slow Day moved along –
I heard its axles go
As if they could not hoist themselves
They hated motion so –
I told my soul to come –
It was no use to wait –
We went and played and came again
And it was out of sight –
It certainly is amazing how time can pass so quickly – even on what seems to be the “slowest” of days. In the blink of an eye, a day will pass – as will a month, a year, and a decade.
8. The “Wonderful Rotation” of the twelve months in #6:
Frequently the woods are pink –
Frequently are brown.
Frequently the hills undress
Behind my native town.
Oft a head is crested
I was wont to see –
And as oft a cranny
Where it used to be –
And the Earth – they tell me –
On it Axis turned!
Wonderful Rotation!
By but twelve performed!
I love how Dickinson depicts the change of seasons in the first four lines of the poem – especially with the use of personification of the hills “undressing.”
7. The paradox of time brought on by joy or loss in #1295:
Two Lengths has every Day –
Its absolute extent
And Area superior
By Hope or Horror lent –
Time is constant, so every day passes at the same rate as any other day – so every day has “its absolute extent.” However, the anticipation of some joy or an experience of some loss will seemingly deliver a second and different “length” to the day.
6. The beauty and the joy of the opening lines to #232:
The Sun – just touched the Morning –
The Morning – Happy thing –
Supposed the He had come to dwell –
And Life would all be Spring!
I love the beauty and the simplicity of the personification to signify the onset of another day.
In my “Top Ten” references to the passage of time in the works of Emily Dickinson, those are my picks for numbers 10 to 6. I’ll post my top five soon!
Do you have any favorites? I wonder if your top pick would match mine.
That blog entry brought to mind other references to the passage of time in Emily Dickinson's poety, so I thought today I would list my “TOP TEN” – those images of time that I consider to be Dickinson's most effective and creative. Below are numbers 10 to 6, and in a day or two I’ll post my top 5.
10. The opening lines to #478:
I had no time to Hate –
Because
The Grave would hinder Me –
And Life was not so
Ample I
Could finish – Enmity –
This poem reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I have decided to stick with love…Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
9. The combination of the sluggish and swift passage of time in #1120:
This slow Day moved along –
I heard its axles go
As if they could not hoist themselves
They hated motion so –
I told my soul to come –
It was no use to wait –
We went and played and came again
And it was out of sight –
It certainly is amazing how time can pass so quickly – even on what seems to be the “slowest” of days. In the blink of an eye, a day will pass – as will a month, a year, and a decade.
8. The “Wonderful Rotation” of the twelve months in #6:
Frequently the woods are pink –
Frequently are brown.
Frequently the hills undress
Behind my native town.
Oft a head is crested
I was wont to see –
And as oft a cranny
Where it used to be –
And the Earth – they tell me –
On it Axis turned!
Wonderful Rotation!
By but twelve performed!
I love how Dickinson depicts the change of seasons in the first four lines of the poem – especially with the use of personification of the hills “undressing.”
7. The paradox of time brought on by joy or loss in #1295:
Two Lengths has every Day –
Its absolute extent
And Area superior
By Hope or Horror lent –
Time is constant, so every day passes at the same rate as any other day – so every day has “its absolute extent.” However, the anticipation of some joy or an experience of some loss will seemingly deliver a second and different “length” to the day.
6. The beauty and the joy of the opening lines to #232:
The Sun – just touched the Morning –
The Morning – Happy thing –
Supposed the He had come to dwell –
And Life would all be Spring!
I love the beauty and the simplicity of the personification to signify the onset of another day.
In my “Top Ten” references to the passage of time in the works of Emily Dickinson, those are my picks for numbers 10 to 6. I’ll post my top five soon!
Do you have any favorites? I wonder if your top pick would match mine.
July 13, 2012
You Animal!
On July 11, 2012, I posted comments about Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom in relation to its theme song, Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, and at the end of that entry I mentioned that there was “one more bit of genius with music” included in the film. However, before I discuss that bit of brilliance, let me first add a few comments about my recent visit to the Roy Lichtenstein exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago (discussed in my blog entry dated July 5, 2012).
The Lichtenstein exhibit opened with a bright red, blue and yellow canvas featuring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Unaware that he has snagged his own coattails with a fishing line, Donald exclaims, “Look Mickey, I’ve hooked a big one.” Caryn Rousseau of the Associated Press noted in a recent article about the Lichtenstein retrospective that the piece is “considered a landmark that helped transform the perception of commercial art into fine art while placing Lichtenstein, along with Andy Warhol, at the forefront of the pop art movement.” Lichtenstein later said of the painting, “This was the first time I decided to make a painting really look like commercial art. The approach turned out to be so interesting that eventually it became impossible to do any other kind of painting.” Lichtenstein realized the enormous potential of his cartoon-like creation, and in the caption of this painting, he seemed to be acknowledging it by declaring, “I’ve hooked a big one.”
How does this relate to Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom? This is where that other “bit of genius with music” comes in. At one point in the movie, Anderson includes a passage of Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. This work is similar to Britten’s Young Person’s Guide in at least two ways. First it is a narrated piece, and second, like Brittan’s deconstruction and reconstruction of the orchestra, Saint-Saens’ work includes individual pieces representing the various animals and a finale which brings them all together.
The portion of Carnival of the Animals included in Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom is from the 11th movement, representing the “Pianists” in the “Carnival.” Of course, Saint-Saens was poking a little fun at musicianship and musicians with the piece. By using the “Pianists,” was Anderson using his soundtrack to poke a bit of fun at film makers and making movies? Alfred Hitchcock used to add a bit of humor to his movies when he would show up unpredictably in quick cameo appearances. Perhaps, through the inclusion of Saint-Saens’ musical jest of musicians as just another “beast” in the carnival, Anderson was subtly acknowledging – through the use of sound editing – the “beasts” who had had a hand in creating the magic of Moonrise Kingdom. Just as Lichtenstein had teased the public about hooking “a big one,” I suspect that Anderson purposefully included the Saint-Saens’ excerpt from the “Pianists” to reveal, albeit subtly and cleverly, his “beastly” self.
The Lichtenstein exhibit opened with a bright red, blue and yellow canvas featuring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Unaware that he has snagged his own coattails with a fishing line, Donald exclaims, “Look Mickey, I’ve hooked a big one.” Caryn Rousseau of the Associated Press noted in a recent article about the Lichtenstein retrospective that the piece is “considered a landmark that helped transform the perception of commercial art into fine art while placing Lichtenstein, along with Andy Warhol, at the forefront of the pop art movement.” Lichtenstein later said of the painting, “This was the first time I decided to make a painting really look like commercial art. The approach turned out to be so interesting that eventually it became impossible to do any other kind of painting.” Lichtenstein realized the enormous potential of his cartoon-like creation, and in the caption of this painting, he seemed to be acknowledging it by declaring, “I’ve hooked a big one.”
How does this relate to Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom? This is where that other “bit of genius with music” comes in. At one point in the movie, Anderson includes a passage of Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. This work is similar to Britten’s Young Person’s Guide in at least two ways. First it is a narrated piece, and second, like Brittan’s deconstruction and reconstruction of the orchestra, Saint-Saens’ work includes individual pieces representing the various animals and a finale which brings them all together.
The portion of Carnival of the Animals included in Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom is from the 11th movement, representing the “Pianists” in the “Carnival.” Of course, Saint-Saens was poking a little fun at musicianship and musicians with the piece. By using the “Pianists,” was Anderson using his soundtrack to poke a bit of fun at film makers and making movies? Alfred Hitchcock used to add a bit of humor to his movies when he would show up unpredictably in quick cameo appearances. Perhaps, through the inclusion of Saint-Saens’ musical jest of musicians as just another “beast” in the carnival, Anderson was subtly acknowledging – through the use of sound editing – the “beasts” who had had a hand in creating the magic of Moonrise Kingdom. Just as Lichtenstein had teased the public about hooking “a big one,” I suspect that Anderson purposefully included the Saint-Saens’ excerpt from the “Pianists” to reveal, albeit subtly and cleverly, his “beastly” self.
July 11, 2012
The Now & Here of Freedom
My daughter was pleased and perhaps a bit surprised when I told her that I enjoyed Wes Anderson’s blend of realism and fantasy in his new movie Moonrise Kingdom. She knows that I’m not a huge fan of Anderson’s work. As a matter of fact, his The Royal Tenebaums is one of the few films my wife and I walked out on.
Moonrise Kingdom is a magical tale of romance between skilled scout Sam Shakusky and misunderstood romantic Suzy Bishop. When the two run away together on the island of New Penzance, Suzy’s parents, the island’s sole police officer, and Troop 55 of Camp Ivanhoe set out to find (rescue?) the two.
Since I’ve always had a (mostly negative) mix of reactions to Anderson’s works, I wondered what critics had to say about his latest work, so last night I read a number of recent reviews. I wasn’t surprised that many critics declared this to be Anderson’s best film to date. However, I was very surprised to find that very few of the reviewers even mentioned the interplay with and the importance of music in the movie, particularly with the movie’s theme, Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.
Britten begins his work with the entire orchestra playing a theme by Henry Purcell and then has the various instrumental groups of the orchestra play variations on this theme. Once the opening theme has been played by the percussion section, Britten deconstructs the entire orchestra. He has individual or small mixes of instruments play variations on a new theme. Finally, he rebuilds the entire group with a lively fugue which ends with the full orchestra in a dramatic mix of the fugue and the opening Purcell theme. This is exactly what Anderson does with his characters on New Penzance: lives are deconstructed and then re-assembled in a climax where universes comingle and collide.
In some ways the contrapuntal nature of Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide reminded me of one of my all-time favorite movies, Robert Altman’s Nashville. Certainly, Altman’s opus focused on a much more complex fugue, but it too swelled to a clash of universes in a hyperbolic climax. In each of their works, Anderson, Altman and Britten emphatically express a universal truth of synthesis and synergy, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Paradoxically, though, these same works also convey the prominence and magnitude of the distinct individual. Aren’t we each at the center of our own personal universe or kingdom as we comingle and collide on a daily basis with the universes/kingdoms of others? I know that I am at the center of my universe, and the “here and now” belongs solely to me and me alone. This solipsistic concept, reflected by the idiosyncratic characters of Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, reminded me of a poem by E. E. Cummings (where the “here and now” is proclaimed to be the “now and here of freedom”) :
let’s,from some loud unworld’s most rightful wrong
climbing,my love(till mountains speak the truth)
enter a cloverish silence of thrushsong
(and more than every miracle’s to breathe)
wounded us will becauseless ultimate
earth accept and primeval whyless sky;
healing our by immeasurable night
spirits and with illimitable day
(shrived of that nonexistence millions call
life,you and i may reverently share
the blessed eachness of all beautiful
selves wholly which and innocently are)
seeming’s enough for slaves of space and time
—ours is the now and here of freedom. Come
Of course, since I enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom, my daughter thinks that it’s time I take a second look at Anderson’s The Royal Tennenbaums – and maybe I will – once she agrees to take another look at my favorite, Robert Altman’s Nashville.
Note: There was one more bit of genius with music in Moonlight Kingdom, and I’ll talk about that in my next entry.
Moonrise Kingdom is a magical tale of romance between skilled scout Sam Shakusky and misunderstood romantic Suzy Bishop. When the two run away together on the island of New Penzance, Suzy’s parents, the island’s sole police officer, and Troop 55 of Camp Ivanhoe set out to find (rescue?) the two.
Since I’ve always had a (mostly negative) mix of reactions to Anderson’s works, I wondered what critics had to say about his latest work, so last night I read a number of recent reviews. I wasn’t surprised that many critics declared this to be Anderson’s best film to date. However, I was very surprised to find that very few of the reviewers even mentioned the interplay with and the importance of music in the movie, particularly with the movie’s theme, Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.
Britten begins his work with the entire orchestra playing a theme by Henry Purcell and then has the various instrumental groups of the orchestra play variations on this theme. Once the opening theme has been played by the percussion section, Britten deconstructs the entire orchestra. He has individual or small mixes of instruments play variations on a new theme. Finally, he rebuilds the entire group with a lively fugue which ends with the full orchestra in a dramatic mix of the fugue and the opening Purcell theme. This is exactly what Anderson does with his characters on New Penzance: lives are deconstructed and then re-assembled in a climax where universes comingle and collide.
In some ways the contrapuntal nature of Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide reminded me of one of my all-time favorite movies, Robert Altman’s Nashville. Certainly, Altman’s opus focused on a much more complex fugue, but it too swelled to a clash of universes in a hyperbolic climax. In each of their works, Anderson, Altman and Britten emphatically express a universal truth of synthesis and synergy, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Paradoxically, though, these same works also convey the prominence and magnitude of the distinct individual. Aren’t we each at the center of our own personal universe or kingdom as we comingle and collide on a daily basis with the universes/kingdoms of others? I know that I am at the center of my universe, and the “here and now” belongs solely to me and me alone. This solipsistic concept, reflected by the idiosyncratic characters of Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, reminded me of a poem by E. E. Cummings (where the “here and now” is proclaimed to be the “now and here of freedom”) :
let’s,from some loud unworld’s most rightful wrong
climbing,my love(till mountains speak the truth)
enter a cloverish silence of thrushsong
(and more than every miracle’s to breathe)
wounded us will becauseless ultimate
earth accept and primeval whyless sky;
healing our by immeasurable night
spirits and with illimitable day
(shrived of that nonexistence millions call
life,you and i may reverently share
the blessed eachness of all beautiful
selves wholly which and innocently are)
seeming’s enough for slaves of space and time
—ours is the now and here of freedom. Come
Of course, since I enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom, my daughter thinks that it’s time I take a second look at Anderson’s The Royal Tennenbaums – and maybe I will – once she agrees to take another look at my favorite, Robert Altman’s Nashville.
Note: There was one more bit of genius with music in Moonlight Kingdom, and I’ll talk about that in my next entry.
July 9, 2012
Shock and Awe
I’m a principal at a middle school, and I’ve just returned from a short summer vacation trip. Mulling over all of the work I have to do to prepare for the new school year, I looked at the calendar this morning to see how many weeks are left before teachers return. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised to discover that just as many weeks remain for summer break as those which have passed since the school year concluded – and this reminded me of one of my favorite poems by Emily Dickinson:
Consulting summer's clock,
But half the hours remain.
I ascertain it with a shock --
I shall not look again.
The second half of joy
Is shorter than the first.
The truth I do not dare to know
I muffle with a jest.
Not only does this poem relate to my current situation (although I know for sure that I shall “look again” at “summer’s clock” to pace all of the work I need to complete), it contains one of my favorite images in Dickinson’s work:
“The second half of joy
Is shorter than the first.”
This paradox – that one half of some event could be “shorter” than the other – has always astonished me, but it certainly is true, as proven by the old adage “time flies when you’re having fun.” For me, the lines bring to mind, too, another perplexity about time: if an infinite amount of time lies ahead of us in the future, then doesn’t an infinite amount of time lie behind us in the past? So if one were to travel as far back in time as one could, then couldn’t someone else travel back even farther? If so – if there is, in fact, an infinite amount of time behind us in the past – then how did we arrive at this moment in time?
Hmmm…I have to admit, Emily Dickinson was on to something: “the truth I do not dare to know. I muffle with a jest.”
Consulting summer's clock,
But half the hours remain.
I ascertain it with a shock --
I shall not look again.
The second half of joy
Is shorter than the first.
The truth I do not dare to know
I muffle with a jest.
Not only does this poem relate to my current situation (although I know for sure that I shall “look again” at “summer’s clock” to pace all of the work I need to complete), it contains one of my favorite images in Dickinson’s work:
“The second half of joy
Is shorter than the first.”
This paradox – that one half of some event could be “shorter” than the other – has always astonished me, but it certainly is true, as proven by the old adage “time flies when you’re having fun.” For me, the lines bring to mind, too, another perplexity about time: if an infinite amount of time lies ahead of us in the future, then doesn’t an infinite amount of time lie behind us in the past? So if one were to travel as far back in time as one could, then couldn’t someone else travel back even farther? If so – if there is, in fact, an infinite amount of time behind us in the past – then how did we arrive at this moment in time?
Hmmm…I have to admit, Emily Dickinson was on to something: “the truth I do not dare to know. I muffle with a jest.”
July 5, 2012
With Deference and Respect
My wife and I went to the Art Institute of Chicago yesterday, and we strolled through and thoroughly enjoyed the Roy Lichtenstein exhibit. I was very surprised to see in one room that Lichtenstein had adapted his style in a series of paintings where he emulated the styles of famous modern artists, like Picasso, Monet, Matisse, De Kooning, and more. Comments by the exhibits curator noted that “through appropriation, repetition, stylization, and parody, Lichtenstein was the first artist to critically and systematically dismantle the history of modern art, though not without deference and respect. As he admitted early on, 'The things that I have apparently parodied I actually admire.'”
Certainly the same is true in my two-book set, Great American Poems – REPOEMED. I am a great fan of Dickinson, Cummings, Frost, and other great American poets, so my parodies are certainly written with “deference and respect.”
Having just celebrated the Fourth of July, I thought I would share my parody of E. E. Cummings’ “next to of course god america i” – although my take-off is less a parody of the poem and more a complement to it.
Just as Cummings alluded to famous lines from song, anthem, pledge, children’s rhyme, patriotic lingo, and “so forth,” I did the same with references to well-known speeches, sayings, names, poetry, and “so froth.” Plus, the stream-of-thought language and the run-on nature of the words and expressions add nuances to the insinuations of the poem.
So, is the glass at the end of Cummings’ poem half empty – or half full?
Here is Cummings' poem:
"next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn's early my
country 'tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jingo by gee by gosh by gum
why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful than these heroic happy dead
who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter
they did not stop to think they died instead
then shall the voice of liberty be mute?"
He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
Here is my take-off:
“listen my children and you shall fear
is the only thing we have to give
to our country is fear itself which
points to the ballot or the bulletin just in
time to lockandload no time for splitting
crosshairs or march hares or march scares of a mad
tea party and i’ll cry if i want to
by hook or by crook (which i am not) for
fools Rush in at his Beck and call to arms
Hannity bo Bannity banana go insanity with
balanced and fairly breaking noise to
hail to the chief mission accomplished to
still the voice of liberty so froth and so on.”
Thus spoke. And drank rapidly a half empty glass.
Certainly the same is true in my two-book set, Great American Poems – REPOEMED. I am a great fan of Dickinson, Cummings, Frost, and other great American poets, so my parodies are certainly written with “deference and respect.”
Having just celebrated the Fourth of July, I thought I would share my parody of E. E. Cummings’ “next to of course god america i” – although my take-off is less a parody of the poem and more a complement to it.
Just as Cummings alluded to famous lines from song, anthem, pledge, children’s rhyme, patriotic lingo, and “so forth,” I did the same with references to well-known speeches, sayings, names, poetry, and “so froth.” Plus, the stream-of-thought language and the run-on nature of the words and expressions add nuances to the insinuations of the poem.
So, is the glass at the end of Cummings’ poem half empty – or half full?
Here is Cummings' poem:
"next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims' and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn's early my
country 'tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jingo by gee by gosh by gum
why talk of beauty what could be more beaut-
iful than these heroic happy dead
who rushed like lions to the roaring slaughter
they did not stop to think they died instead
then shall the voice of liberty be mute?"
He spoke. And drank rapidly a glass of water
Here is my take-off:
“listen my children and you shall fear
is the only thing we have to give
to our country is fear itself which
points to the ballot or the bulletin just in
time to lockandload no time for splitting
crosshairs or march hares or march scares of a mad
tea party and i’ll cry if i want to
by hook or by crook (which i am not) for
fools Rush in at his Beck and call to arms
Hannity bo Bannity banana go insanity with
balanced and fairly breaking noise to
hail to the chief mission accomplished to
still the voice of liberty so froth and so on.”
Thus spoke. And drank rapidly a half empty glass.
