During and after the writing of "Scale," I thought I'd only ever write poems about fatherhood, or absence. Now, granted, as I say this, both subjects are present in the poem, ha ha, but this poem reminded me of the power of allegory, story, figuration, especially as "Scale" was often straightforward in its approach to its materials. The poem taught me about the closeness of clarity and mystery, how each could impart its own nuance, and really, that I had more within me to explore. But also, that I didn't have to feel pressure to explain everything, even to myself.
Nathan McClain on "Myth of the Bear" |
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"In Memoriam: Charles Simic"
"He draws on the dark satire of Central Europe, the sensual rhapsody of Latin America, and the fraught juxtapositions of French Surrealism, to create a style like nothing else in American literature. Yet Mr. Simic’s verse remains recognizably American—not just in its grainy, hard-boiled textures, straight out of 1940s film noir, but in the very confidence of its eclecticism."
via THE NEW YORK TIMES |
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What Sparks Poetry:
Brian Henry on Tomaž Šalamun's "Sutra"
"Though Šalamun would leave the interview format behind, he continued to ask many questions in his work, sometimes building poems upon a series of questions, as in the poem featured here. Although the title, 'Sutra,' implies the imparting of wisdom or knowledge, Šalamun was more interested in the interplay between the questions and answers than in satisfying the expectations of a conventional sutra." |
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