Comments on: Old Enough To Read a Good Poem http://squarezero.org/2007/poem/ Just another WordPress weblog Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:55:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: Eric http://squarezero.org/2007/poem/comment-page-1/#comment-13492 Eric Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:35:28 +0000 http://squarezero.org/2007-0418/68/#comment-13492 John—I wonder if you really want to compare yourself to Homer Simpson! By the way, I have (somewhere) and autographed copy of the second Larson book. My favorite Wallace Stevens poem is "The Anecdote of the Jar," which I used to recite while cleaning our first apartment, trying to get the rhythm and emphasis just right: <div class="poem"> <ul> <li>I placed a jar in Tennessee,</li> <li>And round it was, upon a hill.</li> <li>It made the slovenly wilderness</li> <li>Surround that hill.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>The wilderness rose up to it,</li> <li>And sprawled around, no longer wild.</li> <li>The jar was round upon the ground</li> <li>And tall and of a port in air.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>It took dominion every where.</li> <li>The jar was gray and bare.</li> <li>It did not give of bird or bush,</li> <li>Like nothing else in Tennessee. </li></ul> </ul> The poem was, apparently, suggested by an actual "Dominion" brand canning jar. But just imagine coming upon a plain old canning jar in the middle of the wilderness. Suddenly the wilderness is "no longer wild": man has been there, and made his mark, "claimed" this wilderness for his own ends, simply by placing his artifact there on the hill. This poem is the story of that man, the one who claimed the wilderness, who tamed it by this simple act of placing a jar there. However strange that act may seem ("I placed a jar in Tennesee . . . upon a hill"—Why did you do that?), I think this poem truly evokes the impact of man and his ways upon the world. John—I wonder if you really want to compare yourself to Homer Simpson! By the way, I have (somewhere) and autographed copy of the second Larson book.

My favorite Wallace Stevens poem is “The Anecdote of the Jar,” which I used to recite while cleaning our first apartment, trying to get the rhythm and emphasis just right:

  • I placed a jar in Tennessee,
  • And round it was, upon a hill.
  • It made the slovenly wilderness
  • Surround that hill.
  • The wilderness rose up to it,
  • And sprawled around, no longer wild.
  • The jar was round upon the ground
  • And tall and of a port in air.
  • It took dominion every where.
  • The jar was gray and bare.
  • It did not give of bird or bush,
  • Like nothing else in Tennessee.

The poem was, apparently, suggested by an actual “Dominion” brand canning jar. But just imagine coming upon a plain old canning jar in the middle of the wilderness. Suddenly the wilderness is “no longer wild”: man has been there, and made his mark, “claimed” this wilderness for his own ends, simply by placing his artifact there on the hill.

This poem is the story of that man, the one who claimed the wilderness, who tamed it by this simple act of placing a jar there. However strange that act may seem (”I placed a jar in Tennesee . . . upon a hill”—Why did you do that?), I think this poem truly evokes the impact of man and his ways upon the world.

]]> By: John Jansen http://squarezero.org/2007/poem/comment-page-1/#comment-13435 John Jansen Thu, 19 Apr 2007 19:52:29 +0000 http://squarezero.org/2007-0418/68/#comment-13435 I can't say as I share your enthusiasm for Wallace Stevens' poetry. Truth be told, I detested his poetry when I read him for a 20th century American lit class in college. When it comes to poetry - especially by the likes of Wallace Stevens and others in his genre - I find myself like Homer Simpson, who, after expressing initial excitement upon discovering an old Gary Larson calendar, said, "I don't get it." [Flips to the next month] "I don't get it." [Flips to the next month] "I don't get it." Still, learning of Stevens' baptism shortly before his death has brought a smile to my soul. Thanks for including that tidbit. I can’t say as I share your enthusiasm for Wallace Stevens’ poetry. Truth be told, I detested his poetry when I read him for a 20th century American lit class in college.

When it comes to poetry - especially by the likes of Wallace Stevens and others in his genre - I find myself like Homer Simpson, who, after expressing initial excitement upon discovering an old Gary Larson calendar, said, “I don’t get it.” [Flips to the next month] “I don’t get it.” [Flips to the next month] “I don’t get it.”

Still, learning of Stevens’ baptism shortly before his death has brought a smile to my soul. Thanks for including that tidbit.

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