John Hollander is a poet and scholar who teaches at Yale. His books include The Untuning of the Sky.
Martial and Jonson frame my text, A pleasant catalogue of what Delights for you are to be got At lunch with me on Monday next:
An avocado full of pink Prawns we will wash in a tide cleaner Than ocean – pale Gewürztraminer Chilled just to make the palate wink;
A green world walled within a bowl, Unfallen leaves that crown their plate With which sweetly to celebrate Crispness of...
The poet who pretends to read John Austin’s essay on ‘Pretending’ Need never grasp its condescending Point that pretending can’t succeed.
Thus the weak-minded, headstrong youth Private returns to his unending Wording of fables, still pretending Not to pretend to tell the truth.
She said, affably, ‘Calm next Mahnday,’ Indicating that his pants would be ready by then, But nonetheless unwittingly invoking a mysterious occasion, Which, on ultimate reflection, appeared to be a sort Of centennial celebration for the author of Joseph and His Brothers And other works, even as it eventually turned out not to be.
‘Let’s have lunch on Tuesday,’...
Eliot may not have been wrong in valuing ‘workshop criticism’, or criticism by poets. True, criticism as we know it consists largely of interpretation and evaluation, activities in...
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