Ulysse’s review of All of Us the Collected Poems > Likes and Comments

Do they rate as poetry ? I always felt that Ray's poems were like his stories, spare.

It's a real shame, he sweats through life, gets noticed, gets endowments, life looks good, then he drops dead from the life he sweated through.

I suppose that would depend on one’s definition of poetry, Nick. A Parnassian would probably look down on Carver as too prosey. But if you see a poem as a very short short story, then Carver is a master. Personally I like this blending of fiction and verse, not really knowing where one begins and the other ends, and playing with that notion. The beauty of a sunset is that it is the perfect conjunction of day and night. Who needs labels anyway? If Carver says it’s poetry, then that’s what it is. This book has my five stars stamped all over it. Unforgettable. Poor guy, though, I agree.

That poem sings, Ulysse! Love it.

Fionnuala wrote: "That poem sings, Ulysse! Love it."

Thanks Fionnuala! I can credit the Ravel CD I bought myself for Christmas. La la la. (Yes I still buy CDs).

I loved the metamorphosis of the two anonymous ducks into Raymond and Ravel, with you introspecting them from the mirror of that pond into a dream that became a poem. That's some spectral multi-framing, if I got the words right, Ulysse!

By the way, Carver is my favourite full-house, tough-life writer.

Bogdan wrote: "I loved the metamorphosis of the two anonymous ducks into Raymond and Ravel, with you introspecting them from the mirror of that pond into a dream that became a poem. That's some spectral multi-fra..."

Thank you dear Bogdan, I'm so glad you noticed these transformations. Carver was one of those who give a voice to a voiceless class. Lumberjacks and door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen. He could tell it how it is, without ever sounding opportunistic. Fabulous writer.

That’s some really nice imagery there Ulysse and some great rhythms too. The Parnassians? Pfff, they wouldn’t recognise the profound poetry of winter morning mud if it bit them in the face…😜

Jeroen wrote: "That’s some really nice imagery there Ulysse and some great rhythms too. The Parnassians? Pfff, they wouldn’t recognise the profound poetry of winter morning mud if it bit them in the face…😜"

Haha thanks, Jeroen :-) You know I really don't mind Leconte de Lisle and his gang but they should have rolled their perfect verse in the mud a little more than they did.

Man, that's some poem, Ulysse! Great stuff. No idea why but I couldn't help reading in in the style of Dylan's 'I Shall be Free', complete with Harmonica breaks! Not at all what you were after, I suspect. 😅😄
Brilliant stuff on the Chrissie present btw! :)

Jonathan wrote: "Man, that's some poem, Ulysse! Great stuff. No idea why but I couldn't help reading in in the style of Dylan's 'I Shall be Free', complete with Harmonica breaks! Not at all what you were after, I s..."

Oh I love Bob Dylan and his I Shall Be Free ("catch dinosaurs") I'm always happy when someone brings him up! Yeah I got myself a box set of Ravel's complete works for Christmas, which wasn't expensive because he wasn't such a prolific composer. It has Pogorelich's version of Gaspard de la nuit, which is a wonder and which I listened to while writing this review.

I love how poetry speaks differently to different people, and I've enjoyed the comments which spun from your fine poem, Ulysse.

Me, I heard a beat poet, all "free-versy and jazzy" speaking into the dark night to an electrified audience.

This is one of your finest!

From your neck of the woods, Carver is, non? I well remember loving this collection, prosy as it is, maybe because he's so good at narrative poetry. Glad you got to this!

Julie wrote: "I love how poetry speaks differently to different people, and I've enjoyed the comments which spun from your fine poem, Ulysse.

Me, I heard a beat poet, all "free-versy and jazzy" speaking into th..."

It sure does, Julie, and I love that about it too! None of this is this and that is that in poetry. No ownership of meaning. Just words that dance and sing on the page for the reader to like or dislike. I like your comparison to jazz too. Ravel was inspired by the early jazz he heard in 20's Paris and some of his own works have a tinge of this influence. I've never been one of those dudes who hate jazz. How could one hate jazz? It's like hating moonlight in an otherwise dark alleyway. It just don't make sense.

Ken wrote: "From your neck of the woods, Carver is, non? I well remember loving this collection, prosy as it is, maybe because he's so good at narrative poetry. Glad you got to this!"

Yeah he was a Pacific Northwester like me. I've been to most of the towns he lived in: Port Townsend, Yakima, Eugene, Eureka, Arcata, etc. I love the stories he had to tell, whether they were proetry or poetrose, whatever he wrote was pure Raymond Carver and thus inimitable.

Ulysse wrote: .."I've never been one of those dudes who hate jazz. How could one hate jazz? It's like hating moonlight in an otherwise dark alleyway. It just don't make sense.

I see a few jazzy moonlit notes trailing over your head as you stroll down that dark, narrow alley, Ulysse. : )

Now ... back to studying, for you! I hope you're almost at the end of that hard work. It will pay you back well.

Julie wrote: "Now ... back to studying, for you! I hope you're almost at the end of that hard work. It will pay you back well."

Thank you, dear Julie. It's a struggle for I am not of the studious kind, but I must press on! My first exam is at the end of March and if I pass that one I get to move on to the finals in June. Even the NHL playoffs don't last that long!