Visions and Revisions: On T.S. Eliot Visions and Revisions: On T.S. Eliot
Two volumes of T.S. Eliot's letters elucidate how the momentous achievements of his art were determined by moments of awful daring.
Sep 6, 2011 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach
An Imperfect Life: On George and W.B. Yeats An Imperfect Life: On George and W.B. Yeats
Perfection of the life or of the work? The correspondence between W.B. Yeats and his wife George shows the complexities of art and life entwined.
May 18, 2011 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach
Ardor and the Abyss Ardor and the Abyss
Emily Dickinson's reclusiveness was a way of protecting the world from herself.
Jun 16, 2010 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach
A Music of Austerity: The Poetry of Wallace Stevens A Music of Austerity: The Poetry of Wallace Stevens
In his best poems, Wallace Stevens makes deprivation feel seductively like plenitude.
Aug 26, 2009 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach
Letters Letters
Greider: An American Dream Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
Jun 10, 2009 / Letters / William Greider, Our Readers, and James Longenbach
This Small Extravagance: The Life of Shakespeare’s Mind This Small Extravagance: The Life of Shakespeare’s Mind
Writing a biography of the mind of Shakespeare is a challenge that requires the ingenuity of an artist.
Apr 15, 2009 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach
Between Reticence and Revelation: Bishop’s and Lowell’s Letters Between Reticence and Revelation: Bishop’s and Lowell’s Letters
Reading the letters of Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop.
Nov 6, 2008 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach
A Test of Poetry A Test of Poetry
More than any other American poet, George Oppen begs us to consider the elusive relationship between aesthetic and political responsibilities.
Jan 24, 2008 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach
Reasonable Cause Reasonable Cause
Imagine cities you've Inhabited, streets Paved in lava stone. You never intended to pray In the temples, had Nothing to sell. Now imagine yourself Returning to those same cities. The river flows, the summit Emerges each morning from the haze. Hunt for people you knew, Knock on their doors. Ask yourself Where are the vases, animals Etched in gold? Where are the wines From distant places, Banquets ferreted From the bowels of the earth? While you were missing Other people wore Your garments, Slept in your bed. How frightening The man who said In his affliction Wood has hope. Cut down It will flourish. If the root grows old And the trunk withers In dust, at the scent of water It will germinate.
Jun 1, 2006 / Books & the Arts / James Longenbach