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Biography
Born in Rutherford, New Jersey, near the city of Paterson,
William Carlos Williams studied medicine at the University
of Pennsylvania. There he became friends with Ezra Pound
and Hilda Doolittle (later known
as H. D.) and started to think of his medical career as a
means of supporting himself while he composed poetry, even
as he interned in New York City and pursued postgraduate
studies in Germany. Williams made Rutherford his lifelong
home and practiced medicine until he retired, writing at
night and spending weekends in New York City with other writers
and artists. Williams consciously wrote poetry that provided
a counterpoint to that of Frost, Pound, and Eliot.
In his work, he wished to speak like an American within an
American context of small cities, immigrants, and workers.
He wanted his poetic line to reflect the rhythm of everyday
speech and drew his subject matter from ordinary surroundings
-- a painting, a red wheelbarrow, a dish of plums. Williams's
collections include Spring and All (both poetry and
prose; 1923); Paterson, which was published in five
books (1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958); and Pictures from
Brueghel (1962). Williams also wrote essays, some of
which are collected in In the American Grain (1925).
Explorations
Widely regarded as one of the founders of what came to
be called Postmodernism, Williams wrote verse that fiercely
refused notions of transcendence and rejected the complex
spirituality and epistemology which English and American
poetry had favored since the Romantics. His poetry can be
dark, meditative, playful; but it places its trust in immediate
experience, the world as seen and felt around the poet. 1. Portrait of a Lady (1920) pokes fun at the
way that love poems are constructed. What is being satirized
here? The satiric elements notwithstanding, does this turn
out to be a love poem anyway? How?
2. The Red Wheelbarrow (1923) is probably Williams's
most famous and widely anthologized poem. What is remarkable
about it? Is it a poem? Or is it a manifesto about modern
poetry? Compare it to Stevens's Anecdote
of the Jar. What are the interesting differences in
how these ordinary objects are contemplated and used?
3. Death (1930) works within, and against, a centuries-old
tradition of elegies. Describe its tone. Why is the dead
man not given a name? The closing line is "for shame." Who
or what ought to be ashamed? How is this poem suggestive
of Williams's quarrel with Anglo-American poetic traditions?
Other sites to consult:
Academy
of American Poets Williams page. Includes
a biography, links to Williams's contemporaries,
a selected bibliography, and a link to the online
exhibition The Modern Revolution: Make It Now! featuring
Williams and eight other poets.
William
Carlos Williams page. Includes an overview
of Williams's career by Linda W. Wagner; a bibliography;
and links to other sites. Site maintained by Michael
Eiichi Hishikawa.
American
Modernism: William Carlos Williams. Includes
a bibliography and study questions. From the PAL:
Perspectives in American Literature site maintained
by Paul P. Reuben (California State University, Stanislaus).
The
Poet Speaks of Art. A site by Harry Rusche
for his "Introduction to Poetry" class at Emory University.
Allows one to look at the dialogue between twelve
Williams poems and the paintings that inspired them.
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/williams/williams.htm:
A biography and selected criticism from the Modern American
Poetry site.
http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=120: A biography
from the Academy of American Poets.
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