In our second session we looked at poems by Debora Greger
and D. Nurkse which set us to pondering pronouns and reminded us that the poet
is not bound by the requirement of journalists to make it clear who is who and
what happened.
In Greger’s “Autumn.” contrasting images of heat and chill,
darkness and light create a tension, things not working (a meow that fails…a
garden no longer tended), and we see the narrator alone, deep in nostalgia and
loss.
D. (for Dennis) Nurkse seems to be writing about a relationship
gone wrong (perhaps more than one). The narrator, a poet, considers human
affairs global (bomb the rebel cities) and personal (walk by the breakwater),
but the world goes on—the ant under its burden, as the other person (she) seems to chide. The end of the
second and third stanzas suggest a darkness and sadness that one critic thinks
characteristic of Nurkse: whose poems “trace with rueful accuracy the
locked-together waltz of romantic attraction and dissolution.”
A couple of other interesting points about Nurkse: Mike
reminded me that Nurkse’s father was a well-known economist. The poet himself has
written extensively on human rights issues and has taught at the Rikers Island
prison in New York.
We may not know if the “she” in the second stanza of
“August” is the narrator or the cat, or what Nurkse’s she actually wrote or said. Asking these questions helps us
approach the poet’s art and see different implications. Coming to definitive
conclusions may be neither possible or necessary.
Further reading—bio, commentary, more poems:
On Debora Greger: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/debora-greger
On D. Nurkse: http://bombsite.com/issues/1000/articles/6116
Here is a link to Richard Blanco reading the Inauguration
Poem. Interesting to hear him reading and have the text in front of you. A
commercial may come first—be patient!
We also mentioned Natasha Thethewey, the current U.S. Poet
Laureate. Check out her fine poems and her life story.
http://www.bookslut.com/features/2008_02_012353.php
(don’t be put off by the name of this site)
Next week will look at two poems by George Bilgere, winner
of a competition judged by Billy Collins. Some may remember his “Grecian
Temples” from last year. His breezy style is entertaining and moves along
quickly, which is not to say his subject matter is not serious.
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