The Diary of James Schuyler

by James Schuyler, Nathan Kernan (Editor)

The search for ways to contain the evanescence, fragility and ephemeral beauty of the moment has preoccupied lyric poets from Catullus to James Schuyler. For Schuyler, indeed, discovering and glowing in the ineffable contingency of the moment was both theme and goal. Nowhere in his work is this more true than in that marvelous celebration of the miracle of impermanence, his remarkable Diary , here published in full for the first time.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels wrong to assign a rating to this. I love reading works like this - where you deeply feel the presence of another, for the good, the bad and the tedious. Schuyler had such a particular and fine perception of the seasons.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and moving -- many entries are poems. But little gossip -- probably interesting only to Schuyler completists.

[Steve Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a comprehensive, well written biography of James Schuyler, a significant American poet and Pulitzer prize winner. It demonstrates the author’s meticulous research, no doubt drawing on the previous work he did editing the “Diary of James Schuyler”, published in 1996.

The title draws no doubt, on the poets idea that meaning and emotional depth lie in the ordinary, the every day, so it’s a fitting homage to Schuyler’s view of the world where no day is truly “like any other“ when seen through the eyes of a poet, observing the world and people around him. “A day like any other” offers an intimate glimpse into the daily life and inner world of one of the most quietly profound poets of the 20th century. Understanding his upbringing and his working life, you can appreciate the human foundation beneath his poetry—one that is marked by fragility, humour, resilience, and a clarity of perception.

The biography begins with Schuyler’s first public reading in 1988, then follows his life chronologically, from his Chicago birth to his formative years in Washington, D.C., and upstate New York, to his immersion in New York City’s literary scene in 1944. There, he met W. H. Auden and became associated with the New York School poets. These included Frank O’Hara, John Ashbery, Kenneth Koch and Barbara Guest. Whilst he was probably the most emotionally and vulnerable of the group, they all shared a love of spontaneity and had deep ties to the visual arts particularly abstraction and a rejection of rigid formality. Poetry was for them a lived and personal present tense experience.

Despite mental illness and hospitalisation (He suffered with schizophrenia), Schuyler produced profound work during these challenging times. Living with painter Fairfield Porter in Southampton and summers in Maine influenced his affinity for nature. It was there that he met with Peter Ackroyd, the author who was at Cambridge and knew my brother-in-law, who incidentally was also a poet. Despite poverty and health issues, his later years at the Chelsea Hotel signified a renewal until his death at relatively young age of sixty-seven.

Whether you come to this volume as a devoted fan of Schuyler’s poetry, a student of the New York School, or someone new to his work, as I was, A day like any other is a luminous and unforgettable must read. I have no hesitation in giving this superb work five stars.

My thanks to Farr, Strauss and Giroux, the author Nathan Kernan and to NetGalley for providing an uncorrected digital galley.

[cy]

no rating cause it feels wrong to rate a diary, tho i will say i think most of this was written to be published? hmm… anyways, this makes me want to chart the weather in my own journal, lil mini sketches of the morning sky, the way the air feels. schuyler is so goofy, and i rly relate to the way he thinks about certain things, a self-consciousness, a presentness, a cataloging and a drawing from.

[Regina Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the intimate journey with this very visual poet. Recognized many of the names and especially loved being transported to the years he lived in SouthHampton with the Fairfield Porter family.