Thread: Hidden Gems
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Unread 04-20-2017, 12:49 AM
William A. Baurle William A. Baurle is offline
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Help me out here, Aaron.

In my copy of The Poems Of Marianne Moore (2003, Schulman), the poem is printed in its originally published form on page 14. I can't find another version of it in the book, and I've combed through the index of titles. Where did this final version appear?

I notice that when searching the poem, various sites give one or the other. Poets.org gives the older version, and says that the poem was ..."Published in Poem-a-Day on August 30, 2015, by the Academy of American Poets."



I agree that the 8 line version is superior.

***

It's very hard to decide on a good lesser known poem by M.M., since she was so damn good. But I finally settled on this little piece, not because I think it represents how good she was (it doesn't) but because it mentions Tagore, who's been cited in this thread, and Yeats, who didn't know how to write a lousy poem.



To William Butler Yeats on Tagore

It is made clear by the phrase,
even the mood—by virtue of which he says

the thing he thinks—that it pays,
to cut gems even in these conscience-less days;

but the jewel that always
outshines ordinary jewels, is your praise.

— Marianne Moore

Last edited by William A. Baurle; 04-24-2017 at 11:09 PM.
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