Scan barcode
b_p's review
2.0
I became enamored with Ron Padgett's poetry when I first saw Jim Jarmusch's Paterson, the only film that I have ever seen that meditates on the life of a poet who works in today's world. Padgett's clarity, keen observation, and unelevated language is often a beautiful vehicle for poetic bliss. To quote Eminem: when it's going good, it's going great. However, when it isn't going good, Padgett's poems can feel more like notebook scraps or toothless first drafts.
This is not necessarily a criticism that will or should turn readers off from all of the work collected in Alone or Not Alone; there is still a fifth or so of this collection that is treasurable. Padgett, a poet who falls neatly into the "New York School" with the likes of Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch, values spontaneity (and purity) in poetry over intensive revision. The unpolished feel of his work is part of his voice and charm as a poet, and ultimately, the keystone of his overall aesthetic.
The two-star rating is not meant to be a knock on Padgett's style, but on the lack of truly affecting and memorable poems contained in his latest collection. All too often, reading Alone and Not Alone feels like reading the unpublished or uncollected section of a Collected Poems book from a poet that you admire. Are the poems still pure Padgett? Yes. Are they of a consistently high caliber? No, not at all really. Ultimately, this collection if not an effective starting point to embark down the Padgett path - it may turn readers off from him with a resounding "meh." Luckily, I have been flipping through Padgett's Collected Poems in order to remind myself of Padgett "going good."
Highlights:
"What Poem"
"The Roman Numerals"
"Butterfly"
"Where Is My Head?"
"The Punding Rabbit"
"The Elevation of Ideals"
"Birgitte Hohlenberg"
"Preface to Philosophy"
"Art Lessons"
"The World of Us"
"Of Copse and Coppice"
"Shipwreck in General"
"French Art in the 1950s"
This is not necessarily a criticism that will or should turn readers off from all of the work collected in Alone or Not Alone; there is still a fifth or so of this collection that is treasurable. Padgett, a poet who falls neatly into the "New York School" with the likes of Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch, values spontaneity (and purity) in poetry over intensive revision. The unpolished feel of his work is part of his voice and charm as a poet, and ultimately, the keystone of his overall aesthetic.
The two-star rating is not meant to be a knock on Padgett's style, but on the lack of truly affecting and memorable poems contained in his latest collection. All too often, reading Alone and Not Alone feels like reading the unpublished or uncollected section of a Collected Poems book from a poet that you admire. Are the poems still pure Padgett? Yes. Are they of a consistently high caliber? No, not at all really. Ultimately, this collection if not an effective starting point to embark down the Padgett path - it may turn readers off from him with a resounding "meh." Luckily, I have been flipping through Padgett's Collected Poems in order to remind myself of Padgett "going good."
Highlights:
"What Poem"
"The Roman Numerals"
"Butterfly"
"Where Is My Head?"
"The Punding Rabbit"
"The Elevation of Ideals"
"Birgitte Hohlenberg"
"Preface to Philosophy"
"Art Lessons"
"The World of Us"
"Of Copse and Coppice"
"Shipwreck in General"
"French Art in the 1950s"
More...