In-class work for Wednesday, January 10

Hello Poetry students. I'm sorry that I'm still sick. I'm very sorry to miss discussing James Wright's poems with you today. I'm hoping very much that I'll be back tomorrow to discuss the poems of his son, Franz Wright. (They are a rare and interesting pair––together they are the only parent and child to have both won a Pulitzer Prize in the same category.)

In the mean time, some information about James Wright and the school of poetry he was associated with, and then more writing and group work:

James Wright (1927–1980) was born and grew up in Martins Ferry, Ohio. His first book, The Green Wall, which won the prestigious Yale Younger Poets Prize in 1956, was mostly formal poetry (poems with a regular rhythm and rhyme). But by the early 1960s, Wright, increasingly influenced by the Spanish language surrealists, had dropped fixed rhythm and rhyme in his work. His best known book was The Branch Will Not Break (1963), which all three of our poems for today come from.

Along with Robert Bly, W.S. Merwin, Galway Kinnell, and Mark Strand, Wright is considered a “Deep Image” poet (especially in his work of the 60s and 70s). (“Deep” not necessarily in the sense of “deep thoughts,” though some may relate to deep thoughts; More “deep” in the sense of images that call on levels of subconscious emotion and thought.)

Deep Image poets:

• Took inspiration from Spanish and French surrealism (e.g. French poet Andre Breton, Spanish artists Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí, and Argentine writer Julio Cortázar)
• Experimented with poetic techniques meant to bypass rational thought and tap into unconscious realms
• Connected mundane moments and experiences to spiritual and ecstatic realms

Keeping the above information about Wright and Deep Image poetry in mind, answer the following questions in your  in-class writing googledoc. (Write for about fifteen minutes.)

1. What activity is Wright describing in the last stanza of "Autumn Begins in Martin's Ferry, Ohio"? What details of the poem tell us what the "sons" are doing? How does Wright's oblique (i.e. not explicit) description of the activity affect how we see it (especially in the context of its role in the town)?
2. How do you understand the last line in "Lying in a Hammock..."? What does the speaker mean by "I have wasted my life"? And what does that have to do with this moment he's experiencing as he relaxes (presumably) on his friend's farm, and with all the images he uses to paint the picture of that moment?
3. Is "A Blessing" beautiful, or cheesy, or both?

For the rest of the period, get into your groups from yesterday and discuss these questions:

• Which of these poems did you like best, and why?
• How do you think James Wright feels about football?
• If you have time, read the poem on page 7 of the coursepacket. Do you like Ed Ochester's parody of Wright's poem better, or the original, and why?