Reznikoff - spare, plain, when not autobiographical. I felt Stevens' thirteen ways when reading 'Epitaphs' and '[I Walk through the Lonely Marsh].' These compact morsels of poetry make my brain happy. Reznikoff's Objectivism feels humane, human.
'[On Brooklyn Bridge I Saw a Man Drop Dead.]' is first in the anthology. I had just read the intro, which pins Reznikoff squarely to his Brooklyn upbringing. I read it with a New York accent, and it fit so well. Not mocking, but as an enhancement. It works with several of the poems, as if Mr. Reznikoff were reading. Then there is 'Holocaust.' It shocks sensibilities, and it employs the Objectivist ethos most particularly. It is only the thing, the actuality of cruelty (I nearly wrote human cruelty, but remembered we are the only animals who practice it). No adornment of sentiment, no self. And then, as a balancing-out, I wish to acknowledge '[It Had Long Been Dark . . .' as beautiful, even lyrical, true. Still Objectivist, which is a remarkable achievement. It feels so personal, yet is observationally removed. I'd like to do that with what I write. Mostly I don't.
1 comments:
These are engaging comments, Mark.
One thing: chimps and dolphins, among other species, can be cruel as hell (I hear that dolphins sometimes rape, but don't ask me how that works). I don't think humans have any monopoly on meanness--we just have more equipment to practice it with.
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