Although within the twentieth century and therefore not truly a classic just yet, Donald Justice helped pave a lyrical path for Mark Strand, who was influenced by this late poet. Living from 1924 to 2004, Justice was associated with the Iowa's Writing Workshop as Strand was, and was best known for his "formal control, depth of insight, and limpid, elegiac lines." In his carreer, filled with not an abundance of poems but rather a small quantity of great quality, he won many prestiguous awards including the Lamont Poetry Prize for The Summer Anniversaries (1960), the Pulitzer Prize for Selected Poems (1979) and the Bollingen Prize in 1991. In his poems he used the themes of memory, lost, and chance, to delve into the reader's souls and express sincere and beautiful meanings. It is easy to see the correlations between Strand and Justice's work, both use memory and loss, using emptiness as a tool to express there feelings about themselves and the world around them. Strand also seems to have developed Justice's keen insight on word choice.
ABSENCES
It's snowing this afternoon and there are no flowers.
There is only this sound of falling, quiet and remote,
Like the memory of scales descending the white keys
Of a childhood piano--outside the window, palms!
And the heavy head of the cereus, inclining,
Soon to let down its white or yellow-white.
Now, only these poor snow-flowers in a heap,
Like the memory of a white dress cast down . . .
So much has fallen.
And I, who have listened for a step
All afternoon, hear it now, but already falling away,
Already in memory. And the terrible scales descending
On the silent piano; the snow; and the absent flowers abounding.
Within the poem above we see the ever present "absence" both Justice and Strand feel, and the feeling of total isolation.
MEN AT FORTY
Men at forty
Learn to close softly
The doors to rooms they will not be
Coming back to
Here we see some subtle humor, that Strand inevitebly picked up on and carried into his own work. They both choose words carefully, not saying more then needed to convey the important messages they want.
Mark Strand
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Timeline of Poetry
Poetry
* Sleeping with One Eye Open (1964)
* Reasons for Moving (1968)
* Darker (1970)
* The Story of Our Lives (1973)
* The Sargentville Notebook (1973)
* The Late Hour (1978)
* Selected Poems (1980)
* The Continuous Life (1990)
* Dark Harbor (1993)
* Blizzard of One (1998)
* Chicken, Shadow, Moon & More (1999)
* Man and Camel (2006)
* New Selected Poems (2007)
* Reasons for Moving (1968)
* Darker (1970)
* The Story of Our Lives (1973)
* The Sargentville Notebook (1973)
* The Late Hour (1978)
* Selected Poems (1980)
* The Continuous Life (1990)
* Dark Harbor (1993)
* Blizzard of One (1998)
* Chicken, Shadow, Moon & More (1999)
* Man and Camel (2006)
* New Selected Poems (2007)
SLEEPING WITH ONE EYE OPEN
Unmoved by what the wind does,
The windows
Are not rattled, nor do the various
Areas
Of the house make their usual racket–
Creak at
The joints, trusses, and studs.
Instead,
They are still. And the maples,
Able
At times to raise havoc,
Evoke
Not a sound from their branches
Clutches.
It’s my night to be rattled,
Saddled
With spooks. Even the half-moon
(Half-man,
Half half dark), on the horizon,
Lies on
Its side casting a fishy light
Which alights
On my Floor, lavishly lording
Its morbid
Look over me. Oh I feel dead,
Folded
Away in my blankets for good,
and
Forgotten.
My room is clammy and cold,
Moonhandled
And weird. The shivers
Wash over
Me, shaking my bones, my looses ends
Loosen,
And I lie sleeping with one eye open,
Hoping
That nothing, nothing will happen
Strand always seems to talk about how either he is disrupting everything around him or everything around him is disrupting him. Within "Sleeping With One Eye Open", he is worried of what might dirupt or harm him. He hopes that "nothing will happen", and therefore relays an underlying meaning within the poem. He is scared of chance, scared of something new. Strand uses one word lines to relay important words and allow their meaning to be absorbed by the readers. Perhaps one of the most important one worded lines is "Forgotten." Does he want to truly be forgotten? Does he really want nothing to happen? Or is he just scared of the outcome.
The windows
Are not rattled, nor do the various
Areas
Of the house make their usual racket–
Creak at
The joints, trusses, and studs.
Instead,
They are still. And the maples,
Able
At times to raise havoc,
Evoke
Not a sound from their branches
Clutches.
It’s my night to be rattled,
Saddled
With spooks. Even the half-moon
(Half-man,
Half half dark), on the horizon,
Lies on
Its side casting a fishy light
Which alights
On my Floor, lavishly lording
Its morbid
Look over me. Oh I feel dead,
Folded
Away in my blankets for good,
and
Forgotten.
My room is clammy and cold,
Moonhandled
And weird. The shivers
Wash over
Me, shaking my bones, my looses ends
Loosen,
And I lie sleeping with one eye open,
Hoping
That nothing, nothing will happen
Strand always seems to talk about how either he is disrupting everything around him or everything around him is disrupting him. Within "Sleeping With One Eye Open", he is worried of what might dirupt or harm him. He hopes that "nothing will happen", and therefore relays an underlying meaning within the poem. He is scared of chance, scared of something new. Strand uses one word lines to relay important words and allow their meaning to be absorbed by the readers. Perhaps one of the most important one worded lines is "Forgotten." Does he want to truly be forgotten? Does he really want nothing to happen? Or is he just scared of the outcome.
The New Poetry Handbook by Mark Strand
1 If a man understands a poem,
he shall have troubles.
2 If a man lives with a poem,
he shall die lonely.
3 If a man lives with two poems,
he shall be unfaithful to one.
4 If a man conceives of a poem,
he shall have one less child.
5 If a man conceives of two poems,
he shall have two children less.
6 If a man wears a crown on his head as he writes,
he shall be found out.
7 If a man wears no crown on his head as he writes,
he shall deceive no one but himself.
8 If a man gets angry at a poem,
he shall be scorned by men.
9 If a man continues to be angry at a poem,
he shall be scorned by women.
10 If a man publicly denounces poetry,
his shoes will fill with urine.
11 If a man gives up poetry for power,
he shall have lots of power.
12 If a man brags about his poems,
he shall be loved by fools.
13 If a man brags about his poems and loves fools,
he shall write no more.
14 If a man craves attention because of his poems,
he shall be like a jackass in moonlight.
15 If a man writes a poem and praises the poem of a fellow,
he shall have a beautiful mistress.
16 If a man writes a poem and praises the poem of a fellow overly,
he shall drive his mistress away.
17 If a man claims the poem of another,
his heart shall double in size.
18 If a man lets his poems go naked,
he shall fear death.
19 If a man fears death,
he shall be saved by his poems.
20 If a man does not fear death,
he may or may not be saved by his poems.
21 If a man finishes a poem,
he shall bathe in the blank wake of his passion
and be kissed by white paper.
he shall have troubles.
2 If a man lives with a poem,
he shall die lonely.
3 If a man lives with two poems,
he shall be unfaithful to one.
4 If a man conceives of a poem,
he shall have one less child.
5 If a man conceives of two poems,
he shall have two children less.
6 If a man wears a crown on his head as he writes,
he shall be found out.
7 If a man wears no crown on his head as he writes,
he shall deceive no one but himself.
8 If a man gets angry at a poem,
he shall be scorned by men.
9 If a man continues to be angry at a poem,
he shall be scorned by women.
10 If a man publicly denounces poetry,
his shoes will fill with urine.
11 If a man gives up poetry for power,
he shall have lots of power.
12 If a man brags about his poems,
he shall be loved by fools.
13 If a man brags about his poems and loves fools,
he shall write no more.
14 If a man craves attention because of his poems,
he shall be like a jackass in moonlight.
15 If a man writes a poem and praises the poem of a fellow,
he shall have a beautiful mistress.
16 If a man writes a poem and praises the poem of a fellow overly,
he shall drive his mistress away.
17 If a man claims the poem of another,
his heart shall double in size.
18 If a man lets his poems go naked,
he shall fear death.
19 If a man fears death,
he shall be saved by his poems.
20 If a man does not fear death,
he may or may not be saved by his poems.
21 If a man finishes a poem,
he shall bathe in the blank wake of his passion
and be kissed by white paper.
These humorous and oxymoroic "rules" illustrate a passionate and funny side to Strand. This poem is once again mainly about his own take on life, his own principles he feels he must share with others. It is also interesting that in his poetry he writes mainly about poetry, highlighting the fact that poetry is entirely his life and his passion. At first he focuses on the many drawbacks to poetry, the "troubles" one faces when understanding and acknowledging poetry. As the poem continues, it also shares some of the wondorous and amazing things poetry can do for a person. He uses numbering to highlight the irony of poetry, how it is art yet can have so many rules and guidelines that make it almost mathematical. He has 21 rules, a number extremely significant when speaking of luck. Perhaps he feels lucky to be able to express himself with poetry and knows the euphoric experience felt when finishing a poem.
Lines For Winter by Mark Strand
Tell yourself
as it gets cold and gray falls from the air
that you will go on
walking, hearing
the same tune no matter where
you find yourself --
inside the dome of dark
or under the cracking white
of the moon's gaze in a valley of snow.
Tonight as it gets cold
tell yourself
what you know which is nothing
but the tune your bones play
as you keep going. And you will be able
for once to lie down under the small fire
of winter stars.
And if it happens that you cannot
go on or turn back and you find yourself
where you will be at the end,
tell yourself
in that final flowing of cold through your limbs
that you love what you are.
as it gets cold and gray falls from the air
that you will go on
walking, hearing
the same tune no matter where
you find yourself --
inside the dome of dark
or under the cracking white
of the moon's gaze in a valley of snow.
Tonight as it gets cold
tell yourself
what you know which is nothing
but the tune your bones play
as you keep going. And you will be able
for once to lie down under the small fire
of winter stars.
And if it happens that you cannot
go on or turn back and you find yourself
where you will be at the end,
tell yourself
in that final flowing of cold through your limbs
that you love what you are.
This inspirational poem is almost giving advice to the audience. When in a depression, or perhaps near death, both symbolized by the snowy walk the speaker is taking, one must not forget who they are and why they are important. In times of fear and pain, we tend to lose our sense of being and worth, and wonder why we bother living. Within "Lines of Winter" Strand explains the "tune your bones play", or rather memories of your happy memories and memories that have made you what you are today. Strand uses imagery in a few special spots, the "cracking white of the moons gaze" paints a vivid picture. It almost makes death or depression not as scary, by relating it to an object we all find comforting.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
So You Say by Mark Strand
It is all in the mind, you say, and has
nothing to do with happiness. The coming of cold,
the coming of heat, the mind has all the time in the world.
You take my arm and say something will happen,
something unusual for which we were always prepared,
like the sun arriving after a day in Asia,
like the moon departing after a night with us.
Whats interesting about this poem is it has nothing to do with Strand's thoughts, it is based only on his significant other. Obviously this person is so important within the speakers life that he trusts them with his entire being, his entire state of mind allowing them to "take my arm and say something will happen". There is a sense of isolation in the couple, within the last line it refers to the moon spending a "night with us", as if the moon is there only for them. They seem to be living in their own world, making up their own rules and basing things off each other. The speaker uses repetition a few times almost in a soothing nature. The speaker's significant other tends to use two examples of use, as to illustrate her point in a evidential way.
nothing to do with happiness. The coming of cold,
the coming of heat, the mind has all the time in the world.
You take my arm and say something will happen,
something unusual for which we were always prepared,
like the sun arriving after a day in Asia,
like the moon departing after a night with us.
Whats interesting about this poem is it has nothing to do with Strand's thoughts, it is based only on his significant other. Obviously this person is so important within the speakers life that he trusts them with his entire being, his entire state of mind allowing them to "take my arm and say something will happen". There is a sense of isolation in the couple, within the last line it refers to the moon spending a "night with us", as if the moon is there only for them. They seem to be living in their own world, making up their own rules and basing things off each other. The speaker uses repetition a few times almost in a soothing nature. The speaker's significant other tends to use two examples of use, as to illustrate her point in a evidential way.
Courtship by Mark Strand
There is a girl you like so you tell her
your penis is big, but that you cannot get yourself
to use it. Its demands are ridiculous, you say,
even self-defeating, but to be honored, somehow,
briefly, inconspicuously in the dark.
When she closes her eyes in horror,
you take it all back. You tell her you're almost
a girl yourself and can understand why she is shocked.
When she is about to walk away, you tell her
you have no penis, that you don't
know what got into you. You get on your knees.
She suddenly bends down to kiss your shoulder and you know
you're on the right track. You tell her you want
to bear children and that is why you seem confused.
You wrinkle your brow and curse the day you were born.
She tries to calm you, but you lose control.
You reach for her panties and beg forgiveness as you do.
She squirms and you howl like a wolf. Your craving
seems monumental. You know you will have her.
Taken by storm, she is the girl you will marry.
your penis is big, but that you cannot get yourself
to use it. Its demands are ridiculous, you say,
even self-defeating, but to be honored, somehow,
briefly, inconspicuously in the dark.
When she closes her eyes in horror,
you take it all back. You tell her you're almost
a girl yourself and can understand why she is shocked.
When she is about to walk away, you tell her
you have no penis, that you don't
know what got into you. You get on your knees.
She suddenly bends down to kiss your shoulder and you know
you're on the right track. You tell her you want
to bear children and that is why you seem confused.
You wrinkle your brow and curse the day you were born.
She tries to calm you, but you lose control.
You reach for her panties and beg forgiveness as you do.
She squirms and you howl like a wolf. Your craving
seems monumental. You know you will have her.
Taken by storm, she is the girl you will marry.
This poem is extremely funny, and what is so ironic is that Strand uses the title, "Courtship". When first looked at it would seem this poem is about a romantic affair in which a lady is courted. However, once read this is obviously not the case. He uses abnormal line breaks "that you don't/ know what got into you." It shows the speaker thinking on the spot, the awkwardness of the situation, and as he tries to scramble around for something to say to win the girl over. He also uses second person, which allows readers to feel as though they are within the poem. It could be releatable to many men (i'm assuming) and by adding the "you" aspect Strand accentuates the awkwardness and horribleness of the situation.
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