The American Poetry Review, November 1st, 2006
The following essay originally appeared in New Literary History, volume X, no. 1 (Autumn 1978).
THE REASON A POEM TENDS TO BE OPAQUE and even seems to turn its back on a reader, especially in his first readings, is not that the poem is autonomous and experientially vivid, though those appear to be qualities characteristic of genuine poetry, but rather that the poem comes to a reader as twice-told. If autonomy--or the lack of any cultural context continuous in quality and texture with the poem--and experiential richness and intensity were the primary qualities of a poem, then one might submi...
HighBeam Research, Free Preview: 'Poetic listening.'... Full Membership required for unlimited access. Free 7-day trial.
Subscribers: HighBeam content is only available to HighBeam subscribers. Click the link above for more information.
