Truth And Beauty: 2011’s Best American Poetry
One of the few things almost everyone can agree on about contemporary American poetry is that no one can agree on much. At present, poetry is a jumbled landscape, with no single, dominant style and few living figures whose importance is accepted in more than one or two of the art form’s tiny fiefdoms. Although some might find this state of affairs discouraging, I think there’s good reason to be optimistic—poetry often needs to undergo periods of confusion to achieve the clarity for which we’ll later remember it. Here are five books that suggest that even if American poetry isn’t entirely sure where it’s going, that doesn’t mean it’s gotten lost.
The Rediscovery of Luis de Góngora
"But what is this poem about?" This dread question stalks almost every poetry classroom, and it's vanquished only to return with a tenacity that would intimidate Michael Myers. Most recently, Ernie Lepore, a professor at Rutgers, took a swing at it in The New York Times's philosophy blog, The Stone. Lepore is interested in what's sometimes called "the heresy of paraphrase"—the idea that what a poem is really about is best represented by the poem itself. He concludes that while the usual reasoning behind the heresy claim is suspect, the idea itself is basically right.
When you imagine a poetry reading, the scene that comes to mind probably doesn't involve battalions of underwear-slinging admirers. Poetry is supposed to be dusty stuff, the reading of which can inspire even a hyperactive 4-year-old to go gentle into that good nap. And yet here is Dylan Thomas's wife, Caitlin, describing her husband's famous 1953 performances at the Poetry Center in New York, now part of the 92nd Street Y, 'I used to come in late and hear, through the mikes, the breath-strained panting … booming blue thunder into the teenagers'delighted bras and briefs.' As signs of performative triumph go, happy underwear surely beats a standing ovation.
