Thanks for posting this, eaf. Who edited the 1993 BAP, do you remember? My guess is that while it isn't great Donald Hall, decent Donald Hall is still more accomplished/controlled than a lot of stuff that was being published in 1993; also, highly likely that the editor was a friend. Now I think there is a lot more interesting stuff of all stripes being published.
To keep this from going too far afield, maybe we can discuss either Donald Hall or BAP choices.
There's a lot of nice low-toned assonance here. But I guess I agree with you that the dance/music images don't quite cohere with the nation of rain, the airplane, etc. The cloth image appears twice--as tearing and muslin. The second stanza seems to me the least necessary or linked. To be honest, it doesn't strike me as free verse exactly. (There's a sort of loose three or four beat business.) At least, it seems to work more like metrical verse. And what's the deal with the indented lines otherwise? A lot of this feels like a good writer on an off day. What about, for instance, the fancy Latin title? What's gained by that? I guess this is the sort of accomplished poem that leaves me with a shrug.
The Kooser poem is of course worth a discussion in its own right. Thanks for posting, Steven.
PS--Tom, uh, what's with the bile? Why not post something productive to the discussion?
|
Hybrid Mode
