Tag Archives: John Peale Bishop

No-Comfort Zone Week ending October 7, 2012

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Today marks the last day of week 4, ModPo. This course continues to be my main focus, and a challenge too. We have now handed in two assignments and studied quite a few Proto-Modern and Modern poets. We’ve looked at Imagists, including Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, eaten plums with William Carlos Williams

English: Passport photograph of American poet ...

and visited In a Station in the Metro with Ezra Pound. We’ve gone to A Supermarket in California with Allen Ginsberg. We’ve taken a look at Marcel Duchamp‘s inverted urinal,

Fountain from Marcel Duchamp

Fountain, and puzzled over his Nude Descending a Staircase.

At the next stop, we paused to read from Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein, pondering Water Raining and Malachite, The Long Dress.

Portrait of Gertrude Stein, with American flag...

Wikipedia)

We stopped awhile to hear her as she recited If I Told Him, then continued on to a mad barroom with the Baroness Elsa von Freytag Loringhoven. We even attempted creating our own Dadaist poem following Tristan Tzara‘s instruction, before pausing to rest on a sonnet by John Peale Bishop, A Recollection. Check that one out, looking for its hidden and impolite message!

By the way, here are some  Kelly Writers House folks, shown below. Looks like it was an interesting event!

English: Participants at a Kelly Writers House...

English: Participants at a Kelly Writers House event honoring Gertrude Stein (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Next week, we review this week’s assignments before moving along to Ruth Lechlitner and Genevieve Taggard. Then we visit Countee Cullen, Claude McKay and Robert Frost. And quickly along to Richard Wilbur and  X.J. Kennedy. All of these poets are new to me, except of course for Robert Frost. But I am not familiar with the poem we ‘ll study, Mending Wall.  All in all, a busy week coming up!

All photos courtesy Wikipedia where not otherwise stated.

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