Fenton on Juvenalia
I have been reading James Fenton’s “The Strength of Poetry,” and his chapter on “Wilfred Owen’s Juvenalia” is something every young poet should read. He concludes that
a complicated set of forces combined to release [Owen] from the spirit of his juvenilia. When reasoning about our creativity, we cannot assume that causality is going to behave in the way causality normally behaves. There must be such a thing as causality, we assume; but we cannot expect to understand its workings. In the writing of poetry we may say that the thing we predict will not happen. If we can predict it, it is not poetry. We have to surprise ourselves. We have to outpace our colder calculations. |
Yes, that is nicely put.
Cheers, John |
I also love that essay because you slowly realize that Fenton, with all his teasing and fondness, has a serious crush on Owen.
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Aaron, I love Fenton and what he has to say in your post. I’m reminded of something Auden once said, that he had always trusted the Muse to send him the right thing to read next. I feel that’s true; once again, there is something in the poet’s or artist’s development that can’t be calculated or exactly planned. I’ve never heard a better expression of it than in this song by Stephen Sondheim, from "Sunday in the Park with George". Sondheim certainly knows something about the creative process.
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Whoops. I mistakenly dragged this thread up again.
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Well, I'll take advantage of it by adding proof that I love him, too...Attachment 1016
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Ann, I had him as a prof at Columbia for a semester. We covered Auden. I think he was unhappy there. I wish I could have had more time to get to know him. I hope he is happy wherever he is.
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Well I envy you both!
Annie, what was the context? Excuse me if I should know... |
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