One thing that struck me about H.D.'s poetry was how she slowly crept in to talks of being a recognized poet by simply going along with the flow of expressing herself through her vivid and distinct works. Her writings being recognized in that time period was unheard of. Of course, Pound had a huge part to do with getting her stuff out there but nonetheless, her material spoke for itself and wasn't totally over the top for her audience to read. Compared to Gertrude Stein, she wasn't as outspoken about feminism but was very subtle with her opinion. It almost seemed as if she was just content being where she was and never really pushed the boundaries. As said before, she wrote what she was passionate about and tried not to cause a stir within the poetry world. Although, there may have been a poem or two in her works that would question he audiences motives about supporting a male industry of writers. One poem in particular that stood out to me is the work "Garden". This is a tremendously and beautifully written poem. It gives just an amazing and vivid view of nature throughout. H.D. acts as the narrator making requests to "mother nature" as we see it and asking certain things to happen within its domain. Lines such as "O wind, rend open the heat, cut apart the heat, rend it to tatters." and "Cut the heat- plough through it, turning it on either side of your path" really harsh side of nature in a very tender way.
http://lemonhound.com/2014/03/14/michael-casteels-two-poems-and-one-frog-pond-sudoku/
Another poet I found quite interesting, Michael Casteels, writes a sonnet that has a setting within nature in one of his works. Lines such as "The irises arrive, serene and swallowing
the orchard" and "A pheasant
integrates from treetop to treetop; the curtains
part and there she is" help set the mood of the overall poem. Surprisingly this poem is about an out of order type writer but the author does a great job captivating its surroundings within its setting.
I really enjoyed this poem as well. The descriptions given about the garden takes me back to many old cemeteries I walked through in Savannah. Some of them neglected for a while which gives it a feel like the garden mentioned by H.D. Honestly, reading this poem just relaxed me. It made me imagine everything H.D. described. Her garden really was not a treat to walk through, but it sure made me feel. I find the simplest poems are the best. H.D. says what needs to be said with no wasted words to get the reader to become immersed in her poems.
ReplyDeleteH.D. does offer a different poetic experience. I don't necessarily feel like I walk away with a lesson or having learned anything new with her. However, my reading of Garden was different in that there are a lot of 'I' and 'you' pronouns in the first section. And what is the deal with wanting to 'break' something? While the poem does speak of a rose, rock, petals, and grapes, it isn't your typical 'garden' scene one might expect. Guess I'm reflecting on the whole idea of an image verses a picture.
ReplyDelete