Customer Reviews (1)

A legendary American poet whose work does not speak to me
William Carlos Williams is one of the central figures in twentieth- century poetry. He not only was friendly with many of the major poems but was generous in helping many young poets. His influence is great indeed. He published extensively during his lifetime while at the same time working as a pediatrician. He seems a far more responsible and generous person than most poets are considered to be.
Years ago I read his work and was untouched by it. I hoped that by returning to this major work of his I would discover how wrong and limited my perception of his work is. Unfortunately if I seem to remain wrong and limited.
The method of the work is to 'report' on the reality of 'Patterson'. Patterson is not only the city in New Jersey but the central personna of the poem. While the work is formally structured as an epic in five parts, with fragments of a sixth included as an appendix it rather gives the impression of being a collection of random fragments. Williams who so much wanted to be true to the American experience and American speech, nonetheless does not give me the feeling asTwain Ring LardnerSalinger, do of really making American speech come alive on the page. I do not too hear in the work the kind of distinctive poetic vocabulary a Wallace Stevens gives us.
The incidents and observations presented do not 'add up' in my mind. And I do not feel a powerful emotional connection in any of the relationships described.
I wish I could say I enjoyed and appreciated this work more. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
WCW, A Voyage to Pagany. Novel about an American Poet traveling through Europe. ... Read more