Theodore Roethke
Paperback | Pages: 288 pages Rating: 4.14 | 4888 Users | 93 Reviews
Particularize Books In Favor Of The Collected Poems
| Original Title: | The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke |
| ISBN: | 0385086016 (ISBN13: 9780385086011) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | National Book Award Finalist for Poetry (1959) |
Rendition In Pursuance Of Books The Collected Poems
There a several poems by Roethke that I quite like. Once in a while I think he is brilliant. But I've decided I can't read collections of his work. There is too much I don't care for, and too much repetition -- primarily repetition of a mood of self-absorption that gets old fast. Lust, guilt, poor you, whatever. Maybe if you tried actually talking to a woman instead of talking about their bodies and animality and desirability you'd have more luck. Even the poems about his wife (he married in middle age) don't really communicate much about her personality so much as how he was hot for her. Personally, I would not be pleased if my husband described me as a "creaturely creature" or "my lizard, my lively writher."Roethke reminds me just a little too much of those over-introspective, socially retarded guys in grad school and how I had to explain to them why so-and-so was mad at them or such-and-such action would get them in trouble. And then they'd start thinking I was their friend (by which they really meant a recipient of their speech) and I'd have to say things like "Theodore, dude! You really can't write a poem like that to your underage student! Huh? It's okay because she's dead?! Um, I'm not sure that makes it better... I think her parents might be upset... It would really be better if you... What? No, I don't want to hear a poem about how you masturbated by the pond in the woods! No, really, don't tell me about it!"
But as I said, there are some great passages, and it is always interesting to how an individual's writing evolves over time.
This one reminds me of a slightly darker and dirtier Ogden Nash:
The stethoscope tells what everyone fears:
You're likely to go on living for years,
With a nurse-maid waddle and shop-girl simper,
And the style of your prose growing limper and limper.
My favorite of the ones I hadn't encountered previously is the first poem in the collection, "Open House":
My secrets cry aloud.
I have no need for tongue.
My heart keeps open house,
My doors are widely swung.
An epic of the eyes
My love, with no disguise.
My truths are all foreknown,
This anguish self-revealed.
I'm naked to the bone,
With nakedness my shield.
My self is what I wear:
I keep the spirit spare.
Mention Appertaining To Books The Collected Poems
| Title | : | The Collected Poems |
| Author | : | Theodore Roethke |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 288 pages |
| Published | : | 1974 by Anchor (first published 1961) |
| Categories | : | Poetry. Classics. Literature. American |
Rating Appertaining To Books The Collected Poems
Ratings: 4.14 From 4888 Users | 93 ReviewsCrit Appertaining To Books The Collected Poems
Roethke's historical significance rests both on his established place in the American canon and on his influence over a subsequent generation of award-winning poets that includes Robert Bly, James Dickey, Carolyn Kizer, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, William Stafford, David Wagoner, and James Wright. The other difference between Roethke and other poets of his time is his technique. Roethke is never obscure; he always writes in fresh language, avoiding cliches, although his symbols are indeedThe Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke is a collection of all of the poet Theodore Roethkes poems, as you can tell from the title. It contains 200 poems on various subjects and themes, as well as in various styles and structures. The collection is separated into the books that originally published the poems in chronological order. I overall enjoyed this poetry collection. Some of the poems I naturally liked and related to more than others, with some of my favorites being titled What Can I Tell
There a several poems by Roethke that I quite like. Once in a while I think he is brilliant. But I've decided I can't read collections of his work. There is too much I don't care for, and too much repetition -- primarily repetition of a mood of self-absorption that gets old fast. Lust, guilt, poor you, whatever. Maybe if you tried actually talking to a woman instead of talking about their bodies and animality and desirability you'd have more luck. Even the poems about his wife (he married in
I need to find out what poems I read in Premier Book of Major Poets: An Anthology that made me want this book so bad, because it was so tedious and disappointing. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to get it, but this guy rambles about leaves almost as much as Walt Whitman. Maybe that's not my genre. I think I need more structure. Like if you're going to talk about a river, finish the thought. If you're going to talk about love, don't cut yourself off mid-way to start talking about dirt on a
A wordless silence between words. An underrated poet in my mind, wouldn't doubt that he'd all but been forgotten had he been any less than brilliantly innovative. You want deep image? His stick runs deep. The river is wide. The way home for Roethke is back through the womb, back into blood. Additionally, if you've read My Papa's Waltz only, you have no idea, alright?
The Awakening is a dream come true. Love this piece.
Roethke is a subtle, brilliant, indispensable American poet.Wish I'd discovered him sooner - great stuff!
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