Originally for my final project I wanted to take a look at The Tennis Court Oath from Ashbery and how it related to themes of exile and the other, but then I dived into his other collections and the criticism done on his poetics and decided against this. It would have been difficult to talk […]
Author Archive | Isaac
The Violent Process of Night, On Robert Hayden’s “Night, Death, Mississippi”
Right away Robert Hayden’s poem drew me in with the “A quivering cry. A Screech owl?” I wasn’t sure exactly where we were going to go from there, but it did a great job of capturing that haunted sort of night. I also appreciated the way the question was worded in a way that realistically […]
Restless Indivisibility
Language poetry to me felt more like a post-modern philosophy of language, a constant experiment, rather than poetry as I normally understand it or try to grasp. I feel like this writing really requires time to get used to reading just because it is so different than what people normally read. As soon as one […]
“Phantom,” A Creative Exploration of Leithauser’s “The Haunted”
PHANTOM A laughing black lamp Strikes in shuttered bursts Where the weeping floor Thunders and drifts like a hearse— Out of which, She rises here without call, Out of which, She rises here for us all, Who tremble and try to shut our eyes, Only to consummate her […]
Gwendolyn Brooks’ Expansive Signifier
In “Signifying “Afrika”: Gwendolyn Brooks’ Later Poetry,” an article published by the John Hopkins University Press, Annette Debo focuses on the establishment of African roots as one of the major sentiments of the Black Nationalism that affected Gwendolyn Brooks. Debo pays special attention to Brooks’ use of “Afrika” as an expansive signifier that changes […]
The Ambivalence of Reappearing in Plath’s “Lady Lazarus”
These readings more than the other poems certainly disturbed me. Something about them —the anxiety, the anger; it was those moments of poetic, raw confession given by someone who is obviously not doing too well with their mental health: “Soon, soon the flesh/ The grave cave ate will be/ At home on me” (Plath 417). […]
“A Dream of History,” Ashberry’s “These Lacustrine Cities”
I really enjoyed reading the New York School poets, even though it may be hard finding a poem which adequately represents the school. All of them appear much more playful than the projectionists. Frank O’Hara seems to be more easy to recognize with his ” I do this, I do that” type poems ( which […]
Writing within Rimbaud: Olson’s “Variations Done For Gerald Van De Wiele”
I have never read any of the Black Mountain poets, but I am glad I have now. It was all very enjoyable and rewarding for me to read. And while I think these poets may be more difficult to talk about compared to the Beats, maybe sticking to the techniques mentioned in the Osborne essay […]
The Absurdity of the Artist in Corso’s “Marriage”
Gregory Corso’s “Marriage” is a comic, yet tragic poem about the speaker’s rambling thoughts on the institution of marriage, and whether he should get married or not. We as readers witness his personal fantasies, anxieties, and idealizations that all eventually lead back to a harsh and lonely reality, but even this turns into a quick […]