Donna Masini, one of my poetry teachers at Hunter College, offered this rule of thumb for use of a particular word in a poem: the word should serve the poem in (at least) two ways -- in meaning and sound, or sound and motion, or motion and image, or . .. .
Richard Wilbur (1921 - ) is a former US Poet Laureate (1987-88), a prolific translator, and one of my favorite poets -- and perhaps this is because he seems to maximize his word-choices with multiple uses. When I read Wilbur, I see and hear and feel -- and, after multiple readings, these sensory impressions coalesce into understanding. Here is one of his sonnets, a poem of the geometry of absence:
Showing posts with label Geometries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Geometries. Show all posts
Friday, October 26, 2012
Saturday, November 20, 2010
More from Guillevic
My October 13 post presented three small poems by the French poet Guillevic (1909-97). Strongly drawn to his work, I have purchased the collection Geometries (translated by Richard Sieburth, Ugly Duckling Presse, 2010); Guillevic has found in each geometric figure a personality and a voice. Buy the book and enjoy!
Here are three additional samples from Geometries:
Here are three additional samples from Geometries:
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