Poems Are Delicate Creatures

"Make it and it is a poem."

- William Carlos Williams

             

There was one section of William Carlos Williams writing I found very interesting. His poem The Descent of Winter, reminds me a great deal of Gertrude Stein’s work Tender Buttons. Similar to Stein, Williams writes in a way that does not explicitly describe what he is talking about, but almost talks around it, behind it, about it, through it, describing an object, or a place with vivid adjectives, but never explicitly stating the direct thing or place he is describing. There is a certain openness to his poetry that leaves the reader feeling curious and wanting more. In The Descent of Winter, Williams writes a section titled “Introduction” written on 11/1. Williams opens,

in almost all verse you read, mine or anybody else, the figures used and the general impression of the things spoken of is vague “you could say it better in prose” especially good prose, say the proses of Hemingway. The truth of the object is somehow hazed over, dulled. So no body would go to see a play in verse if

the salvias, the rusty hydrangeas, the rugged cannas

there’s too often no observation in it, in poetry. It is a soft second light of dreaming. The sagas were not like that they seem to have been made on the spot.

While this is only an excerpt from the introduction, I found this section interesting because it seems as if Williams is “blurbing” on his view of poetry, and clearly explains how he views poetry. He admits to vagueness in his poetry, and later on writes, “The good poetry is where vividness comes up “true” like in prose but better. That’s poetry.” This reminds me of Pound’s “Doctrine of Poetry” and the Imagist movement. Pound did not like frivolous, wordy writing, because that’s what prose does; poetry, in Pounds eyes (and it seems Williams feels this way as well) is concise, yet descriptive, saying what you need to say in one image, not a great mass of words. I would not say that Williams is an Imagist poet per se, but I think some of his poetry displays similar characteristics of this type of poetry. For Williams, poetry displays vividness in its lines. Williams writes, “That thing, the vividness which is poetry by itself, makes the poem. There is no need to explain or compare. Make it and it is a poem. This is modern, not the saga. There are not sagas—only trees now, animals, engines: There’s that (Cary, Modern American Poetry Anthology).” I like this section of Williams’ poem because I feel like he is writing with his own individual style and uniqueness, and shedding his “modern” light on poetry. I felt freedom in poetry when I read this excerpt of The Descent of Winter. He treats poetry creatively and directly, and writes with delicate themes and images. Williams has a way with words that make a mere "red wheel-barrow" seem like the most beautiful thing you've ever set your eyes on. He writes with beautiful, yet simple language that flows, and I liked the way he described poetry in his "Introduction."

            In correlation to William Carlos Williams’ poetry, I would like to explore Wendell Berry’s “How to Be a Poet.” I have heard great things about Wendell Berry, and his themes of nature in his poetry, and his style remind me a great deal of Robert Frost. He also reminded me some of William Carlos Williams, and I enjoyed his poem “How to Be a Poet.” Ever since I read Muriel Rukeyser’s poems on her view of poetry and how to write poetry, I have found it very interesting when poets make poetry about poetry. Berry writes:

i

Make a place to sit down.

Sit down. Be quiet.

You must depend upon

affection, reading, knowledge,

skill—more of each

than you have—inspiration,

work, growing older, patience,

for patience joins time

to eternity. Any readers

who like your poems,

doubt their judgment.

ii

Breathe with unconditional breath

the unconditioned air.

Shun electric wire.

Communicate slowly. Live.

a three-dimensioned life;

stay away from screens.

Stay away from anything

that obscures the place it is in.

There are no unsacred places;

there are only sacred places

and desecrated places.

iii

Accept what comes from silence.

Make the best you can of it.

Of the little words that come out of the silence, like prayers

prayed back to the one who prays,

make a poem that does not disturb

the silence from which it came.

Berry’s poem is almost like a peaceful reminder to the poet to slow down when writing poetry. Berry’s opening lines set the tone for the rest of the poem, “Make a place to sit down. Sit down. Be quite.” There is an element of stillness and relying on the things you have been taught, things you like, things you have experienced, etc. in the second stanza, Berry encourages poets to “Shun electric wire. Communicate slowly.” When I read this, I thought of energy running through a wire. That energy is quick and shoots through that wire in a matter of seconds to produce electricity, but the poet should “communicate slowly.” Berry also encourages poets to explore with poetry, and in a way to let the poem come to the poet instead of forcing a poem onto a page. Berry writes, “Accept what comes from silence. Make the best you can of it. Of the little words that come out of the silence, like prayers prayed back to the one who prays, make a poem that does not disturb the silence from which it came.” Poetry to Berry is an art and is not something to be rushed. To Berry, poetry is delicate and is to be handled carefully. Both Williams and Berry bring creativity and unique beauty with their poetry. I greatly enjoyed these poets, and their poems about poetry.